A Congress to remember!

Contributed by Vicki Maler

The day started a little later than usual as we exchanged bittersweet goodbyes with our host families and boarded the bus for the (super long) 10 minute bus ride to Congress! Soon we arrived at the park, after a short pee-break for a certain fellow who couldn't quite hold it in for the entirety of the bus ride where we proceeded to eat lunch. [Editors note: this means that the fellows are taking their water drinking job seriously. We are very proud of them at the San Francisco office.]

After lunch we split into "tribes", mixed cohort groups consisting of one fellow from each Israeli and International cohort and played ice breaker games. After this, we joined together again in local groups with some going for an optional dip in a nearby lake to cool off, while others stayed behind in the shade. At around 4 o'clock, the fellows got on the bus and drove to our hostel where we got to unwind and settle into the rooms that will be our home base for the next few days.

Yonim is reunited with his mandolin

We were told by the JCs to put on nice clothes for dinner and with that we boarded the bus and arrived at opening ceremony which was at a beautiful venue with AMAZING food. There were stations dedicated to different parts of the world -- there was everything you could imagine! Burgers, fries, shawarma, falafel, "Mexican", kabobs, sushi and other asian cuisine, and a variety of fried foods and of course to top it all off: parve desserts! 

The opening ceremony was opened with an inspiring speech by San Francisco's very own Mark Reisbaum and was followed by an incredible dance performance by our beloved JCs and adopted uncle/international staff, Phil! This long day and night finally ended with a hilarious dance song session while we waited for the bus back to our hostel and headed off to bed.

Who is an activist?

Contributed by India Jeremy

Today's theme was Activism, which was a perfect way to end our community week. This morning our MOSHE, Yonim, opened with a question relating to our theme of the day: "What does it mean to be an activist?" This past week, many people in our cohort voiced the fact that we are ready for the next step- to act- but we don't know how yet.

We met this morning in, "Park HaZahav", which is named after San Francisco, because without the financial help of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the park wouldn't exist.

 At the park, we met with an activist who has fought with her group for the rights of the environment in general, but specifically the park. The municipality of Kiryat Shmona wanted to destroy the park to make houses instead, but thanks to her group, that never happened. Her group was also responsible for getting water back into the dried up stream, using petitions. She taught us any form of activism can help, and it's not only about the big things. 

We were then physically active and spent some time cleaning up the park ourselves. We got down and dirty, picked up some shovels, sang some songs, and worked.

After the park, we drove over to Beit Vancover to listen to three different groups of speakers- the first group were soldiers who spoke about being in the army and what it's like to fight for your country and be an activist for your country. The second group were people who are taking a gap year before the army with a group where they travel Israel and volunteer. They all said they wanted to continue to be activists for the rest of their lives. The third group were teenagers (one of them being in the Upper Galilee cohort- go May!!) who are active in their youth groups. Two of the girls are in a youth group with kids who have disabilities, while May talked about being a counselor for her youth group that she has been in since seventh grade. This gave a new perspective on activism, showing us that it doesn't matter what age you are, anyone can make a difference. 

For lunch, we had something new- Chinese food! It wasn't as good as the Chinese food from SF, but it definitely was a change from what we had been eating. We went to a theatre in Kiryat Shmona where we met with Ofek's (from Diller UG) father, who is an activist himself. He told us that we need passion to make a difference, and told us about how he and his wife fight for what they believe in. We split into groups and were each presented with a form of activism- Political activism, economical activism, etc. and since we were in a theatre, we came up with skits to represent what these types of activism looks like. We then watched videos of different groups advocating for what they believe in in the form of protests from all around the world- specifically Israel. It was really interesting to watch and great to see people making a difference. Being an activist, especially as a young adult, can be intimidating and hard, but if I've learned anything today, it's that any form of speaking out for what I believe in is activism. 

We then went to a pool in Kiryat Shmona for some relaxing time to enjoy the sun before closing ceremonies. Closing ceremonies was a bittersweet ending to our week, as we watched a slideshow reminding us of all the amazing things we have accomplished this week. We sat with our host families, who are like second families now, and were sad that it was over, but excited for what is coming next- congress. We finished the night with our SFUG cheer, which we haven't sang since we were at the closing ceremonies in San Francisco in April. Of course we all knew the words, because it was like we never left each other. 

So what does activism mean? Who is an activist? After all of the discussions our cohort has had this week, and after visiting all of the different places, and learning so much, I can confidently say everyone in 'SFUG' are activists. But it's not only about knowing what is going on- it is acting upon it as well. With this information, we are going to go into Congress, ready to talk to the other cohorts and both share and gain knowledge.

And on the 11th day they rested.... Entering Shabbat in style in the Upper Galilee!

Contributed by Sofia Friedman 

Today's theme was legacy; a very interesting and thought provoking one to start off our Shabbat weekend. We began with a bike ride through the Hula Valley. 

After getting our helmets and bikes, we cruised through orchards and whizzed by the Jordan River, with sweat on our backs and smiles on our faces. 

We got to engage with each other and the land, having meaningful conversations with our peers, while looking out on the Naftali Mountains, and listening to the trees swaying and birds chirping. 

Around the 1 hour mark, we took a break on the riverbanks of the Jordan. We splashed around, noshed on some snacks, and learned some fun facts about the Hula Valley. However, Ma'ayan and I were scouting out the perfect nature-peeing spot and I only heard the tail end of the info session. Luckily we still heard one of the most important facts, which is that the main water source in the Upper Galilee is the Jordan River. Then, we continued our ride. We were all very sad when we got to the end of the ride, but our frowns were quickly turned upside down when we were greeted with Popsicles. 

Then, we headed to our next program in Metula. On the bus ride, we engaged in 5 minutes of silence, giving us the change to take in all of the pretty views of the Hula Valley, reflect on the week, and prepare mentally for Shabbat. When we arrived in Metula, we split into small groups for a discussion about differences between Israeli and American Shabbats, what we each want to get out of tonight's Shabbat, and what challenges might be stopping us from reaching those goals. We then ate a delicious lunch of pizza, and then heard from Chaim, a Holocaust survivor. 

He was born in Paris, and grew up in a monastery, which he hated and where he behaved very badly. He ran away at age 4 and a half, but was found by Neo Nazis who checked if he was circumcised and upon seeing he was a Jew, decided to kill him. Luckily, he was saved by a French woman and his in a French village until he went to Israel. Now he works with young kids, helping them write and perform plays. He also writes poetry for Yad Vashem. We were all very inspired by him and enjoyed spending time with him. 

Our last program was about the theme of legacy. It was an individual exercise, where questions were read aloud, and we had 3 minutes to write down an answer. It allowed us to practice active silence and introspection, and think about how we want impact each other and the world. The questions were: What do you want to be remembered for once Diller ends? Who is one person in Diller who has left their mark on your life? What do you think you are known for among your peers? By the time you die, what do you want your legacy to be? What is holding you back from achieving your legacy? What can you do to achieve your legacy? When we finished the exercise, we folded our papers into paper airplanes. 

The paper airplanes were a metaphor for how each of us has our own plane, or legacy, and it's up to us to keep moving forward like a plane does. Also, all of our papers had a yellow dot, symbolizing that we all have different legacies but we're also all united and connected. We counted down from 10, and as we all flew our planes across the street, we thought about how incredible all of us are and how much we can accomplish when we are all together. 

After this meaningful exercise, we had our Maagal (closing circle). As yesterday was the official halfway mark of our trip, we talked about what advice we thought our parents would give us at this point in the trip. Then, we closed our eyes, and when we opened them, our counselors had given each of us a letter from our parents that they had written prior to our trips. We read through our letters, some smiling, some crying. It was an amazing surprise and connection to home. Now, we are on the bus home to our host families for Shabbat. I am going to celebrate and keep Shabbat with my partner, Shira, not using my phone, lights, etc. It is surely going to be a meaningful, relaxing, and unique chance for all of us to bond and spend time with our partners, their families, and the Upper Galilee!

שבת שלום,

Sofia 

Midway through the week - Midway through the trip!

Contributed by Gabrielle Finestone

We started day 3 of community week by meeting all together at the Beit Vancouver community center and wishing a big, happy birthday to one of our most amazing fellows: Yonim! We presented him the gift that we all pitched in to get him. Earlier in the week, Yonim discovered that he had left his mandolin in Sde Boker, our desert hostel. After many calls to the elusive hostel staff, he was convinced that the mandolin was lost for good. So, two Israeli fellows, Emunah and Ofek, decided it would be a good idea if each fellow contributed to purchase Yonim a new mandolin. The mandolin was purchased but then the original mandolin was found, so now Yonim has two beautiful mandolins! 

After singing "happy birthday," and enjoying some home-baked treats made by Emuna and I, the staff led us all in a program about memory: collective Jewish memories, personal memories, and national memories. It brought up a lot of interesting questions such as: Which memories have shaped Israel/America? How do our personal memories shape our identities? How does our perception of events impact our opinions? 

The theme of this day was community. After our session on memory, we headed to Mutav Yachdav (Better Together), a community organization dedicated to bettering the Kiryat Shmona area through community engagement, projects, and events. We had time in small groups to discuss questions about different approaches to bettering communities. The staff of Mutav Yachdav explained their approach, which values treating the community members as equals and meeting their wants and needs rather than coming in from the outside and imposing projects on the community before engaging with them directly. 

After that we drove to Kfar Blum where we ate lunch and participated in a program created by the leaders of the day where we discussed water culture in our different communities, SF and the Upper Galilee. Finally we began our rafting journey down the Jordan River complete with water gun/splash fights! After drying off, the leaders of the day led a program about kibbutz culture with an emphasis on community, which included some yummy snacks, much needed after such a long day in the sun. Both cohorts completed their days with Maagalei Lailah (evening circles.) The American Maagal Lailah included yet another celebration of Yonim's birthday with some sweet treats. After a long day, fellows headed back to their host homes and hopefully are getting some good sleep so they can be well-rested for another busy day tomorrow!

Community week - meeting people, finding inclusion

Contributed by Sophia Felson

HELLO FROM ISRAEL!! It's day 2 of community week and the Dillers are having a blast! We started off the day in Kiryat Shmonah where we went to a special needs school called Renanim. At the school they have a cafe where the students of the school can work. 

The cafe was beautiful and the cake was delicious. It was amazing that a group of special needs teens could make us feel so welcomed into their school. In the cafe, we talked with other students from the school where we asked them questions about their hobbies and plans for the future. 

Yahel models the delicious cake from the cafe

Phil enjoys the "throne". So much. 

We then went to a "hostel" (assisted living facility) for adults with special needs. We toured the hostel and it was so cool to see how many adults with special needs could really be integrated into society by being given their own apartments, taught how to use public transit and even given help to find jobs. We then drove to Rehaniya where we toured the Circassian museum. There, we talked about integration of the Circassians and their role in Israeli society. We then went to Shauki's house, the man who gave us the tour, to make a traditional Circassian dish called "halivas". Lastly, we ended the day with an evening circle and debrief about our day.    

Cannot wait to see what the next days have in store!