Here was the view I awoke to this morning outside of our hotel on the Mediterranean Sea.
Looking out at the sheer beauty and thinking of what we have in store for our tour during the next week I find myself struggling. How can I experience and write about seeing things in Israel after Auschwitz? I find myself feeling guilty enjoying a meal, or even a conversation after seeing the misery and destruction of Majdanek and the horrors of Auschwitz. Everything feels mundane after such deep and emotional experiences. How do I keep the rest of my life from feeling mundane?
These questions and more I tried to answer on this, the next day of our tour. I am sure that although I found answers to these questions today, my answers may not be suitable tomorrow and I will have to seek new answers. It seems that I am always seeking. Seeking is not a bad thing, but it can be frustrating. Maybe the power is in the seeking.
We began our day with one of my favorite places to visit, the Ayalon Institute near Rehovot for a tour of a clandestine munitions factory used during the British Madate and the war surrounding Israeli independence. I know what you are thinking... You are taking this group to a bullet factory? And the answer is YES! This is one of those sites that will be on EVERY Israel trip I plan, without compromise, because of the lesson learned here.
We drove to Kibbutz Hill, a place where people would go to learn how to live and maintain a kibbutz before settling their own to learn this important and unbelievable story. We learned that there was a huge need to produce bullets for the war, an act that was illegal in the eyes of the Brittish who were in charge. So the decision was made to make a secret factory where bullets could be produced without the Brittish knowing. So where do you build a secret factory? It turns out if you want to do something in secret, you do it under the nose of those you are trying to keep is a secret from. The factory was built right in front of Brittish soldiers.
We sat in the laundry facility of the kibbutz where our guide showed explained that the factory was placed beneath the laundry because the noise of the laundry would cover up the sound of the machines producing bullets. A bunker was dug out beneath the laundry that had a secret door to the factory below.
The laundry was adjacent to the bakery, the smell from the baking bread would cover up the smell of the machines...
When you get below your breath is taken away at the size of the factory, which produced more than 2 million bullets that literally saved the war effort. If this factory didn't exist, Israel would not exist. Period. WOW! We learned story after story of how every challenge was overcome. It was inspiring!
Here is the ladder used by the workers who would secretly come down to work each day in the factory.
And the special UV light that would nourish their skin from lack of sunlight.
And the range they would test the bullets.
I have been to this factory before and know the story. This time it felt different to me. Rather than just focus on the accomplishment of this factory, it was yet another example of the ingenuity of humanity. When a need is discovered, humanity finds a way. It gives me great hope that some of the challenges facing humanity today are conquerable with determination and hard work. Why can't Israel and Palestinians live side by side in peace? It reminds me of so many other accomplishments in our history where the answer could simply not be "no, we can't do that." I loved to watch our community experience this important piece of Israel history, as they understand how kids, not older than 19 or 20 played a crucial role in us being able to visit our home in the east.
Our guide shared with us a story of Pnina who visited the factory. Shortly after they received a letter from Pnina explaining that she was so moved by the experience of being there. Pnina had been a Jewish slave in Germany where they were working in a bullet factory for the Nazis. Only the bullets they were creating were in order that they can be used to help exterminate Judaism from the earth. They were told that there were no Jews left at all. How interesting to think of the differences in these situations. This person was forced to work against their will. The Jews in the factory were working of their own free will in the call of freedom. The bullets this person was creating was for the sole purpose of destroying Judaism and the Jews were helping to preserve a Jewish state. It was an eye-opening connection that deepened the meaning of this place for all of us. It is as if everything I experience now is through the lens of Auschwitz. Brian read from the actual letter written by this Pnina.
While here we encountered a small miracle. Turns out that the Chasins, two dear people on our trip, saw their cousins at the factory, and that their cousins were actually a part of our tour! They had not seen each other in years and somehow found each other in Israel. Only in Israel!
Our next stop was something I had been wanting to see for a long time, the memorial for Yitzhak Rabin. We went to the square named in his honor and saw the exact location where his assassination took place. We learned that this event occurred during a huge peace rally where Rabin had read words from a famous and chilling song, Shir L'Shalom, a song about peace written from the perspective of dead Israeli soldiers that basically says, "nothing can bring us back, so instead of war, sing a song of peace." This is a song that always sends a shiver up my spine when I sing it. Ron explained how Rabin was starting to change the mindset of Israelis and turn them towards peace. His loss sent shockwaves throughout Israel.
Here is Ron showing us how the event unfolded. Below you will see Brian, standing on the spot where Rabin was standing when the assailant (in this picture, Ron) approached and shot him from point blank range. There are circular markers on the ground that show where Rabin was, where the gunman was, and where the guards were.
You would expect that the gunman was some kind of Palestinian extremist. Actually, it was an Israeli extremist who did this terrible act. It makes me so sad to see Israelis killing others Israelis, Jews attacking other Jews. It feels like there are more than enough people in the world who want to see us pushed into the ocean that we need to rely on each other rather than kill each other. We looked at the memorial, which shows broken stones that represent the broken hearts of the people. It was so moving to be there.
This is another example of a very simple memorial design. There are no huge statues, no fancy lighting. For me, the circle on the ground where Rabin was standing is the memorial. The event speaks for itself.
After some time at the memorial we had time for lunch and I had my long awaited first taste of Israeli falafel, the best in the world!
I also went and looked at a special Holocaust memorial at Rabin Square, which shows an upside down Jewish star. The inverted star shows how backwards the world was during World War 2 where something as dark as the Holocaust could exist. We still have work to do to make that Jewish star right...
And then we went to our Tel Aviv art tour where we would experience art in Tel Aviv. I have to say that I was not looking forward to this. How could I look at art after experiencing the heaviness of the Rabin memorial? How could I do this after Auschwitz? I shared my concern with my new friend, Ron, who said that this is exactly what I should be doing. He said during the war and the years leading up to it we were not allowed to express ourselves artiscally, and our engaging in this activity now is a sign of our freedom. As the song Hatikvah states "Lih'yot am chofshi b'artzeinu," to be a free people in our land, is a powerful message that we all should celebrate. This perspective really spoke to me and I was able to participate and really enjoy it. Thank you, Ron, for giving me this gift of perspective.
We first looked at art in a sculpture park in Tel Aviv.
I was most drawn to this piece entitled "Albeit Macht Frei?" The question mark at the end makes this piece really intriguing. Here you see a dead Jew in between a pyramid, a symbol of the slavery in Egypt and a symbol of the ovens of the Holocaust. In both cases, work did not make us free, and it was a powerful commentary and connection.
We wandered through the sculpture garden. And then we made our way to an artist colony where we would see a special gallery and then meet with a local Israeli artist and learn about his creative process. These sculptures jumped out at me along our path. It seems like I was drawn to the scary sculptures.
In this gallery, all of the artwork was done through the lens of being viewed from above, some pieces using a kite to take a photograph, some using Google Earth and some using a drone.
We then looked at this following exhibit, called "Targeted Killing" by photographer Miki Kratzman. This was a collection of photos taken from above by the same camera that a drone uses in the targeting killing in the Palestinian Territories. In it you can see innocent Palestinians as seen through the eyes of the camera. Do they look menacing to you? I was surprised to see how you can't make out the faces of any of these subjects. They are faceless, nameless people, just like we were faceless and nameless during the Holocaust. The connection was chilling for me and I found myself looking at these photos for a long time. These pictures were taken in East Jerusalem. It was hard to see the living conditions so horrible there. It looks like the roads are musket and there is sewage running down the street. It makes me sad to think of anyone living in these conditions. It makes me understand that there is a desperation among these people for a better life. It makes me sad that drones and targeted killings ar needed on order to keep Israelis safe. There must be a way to solve this seemingly impossible dilemma. What do you see in the photos below?
We then met with with a local painter, Elad Rosen, who was given a grant to work here for a year in order to create as much art as possible. The grant gives him studio space at no cost and a monthly stipend I'm order that he can spend as much time on his art as possible. He shared his style of painting and the process he goes through to create his art. We listened intently as he explained how he works on many paintings at the same time, adding new layers to them as they evolve. And he told us, just as he falls in love with a painting, he must destroy it and add to it to take it to the next level. He said it is as if the paint is controlling the process, and he is just the means of getting the paint onto the canvas. We could see the dialogue between different paintings, some who shared similar images. They were colorful at first, and almost disturbing upon further reflection.
His comment about taking the painting he loves and destroying it in order to make it better really struck me. Elad was never quite comfortable with his work. He was always striving to add more layers to it. Throughout our life we continue to strive to make the world better. If we are ever comfortable where we are and we stop pushing the world forward then we are back in Eastern Europe facing our destruction. We can never be totally comfortable and complacent. We must always be seeking.
We enjoyed a fine meal at Goshen, and no one went back to the hotel hungry.
Today, I started with a pretty view and a challenge. How can I bring the weight of the Holocaust with me and not let it define my Identity? How can I be present for the things in life that are not as intense as the Holocaust and still honor the memory of the victims? My answers gave me a temporary piece of mind. I must constantly remind myself that I have a responsibility to live, to engage in my freedoms, to speak where others are forced to be silent, to love and enjoy life. I have to get to a place where my happiness is the way I honor the memories of the lost souls and remember that if I am consumed by the weight and sadness it is as if I died in Auschwitz, too. Sometimes choosing life is a challenge. We must always seek life. It seems like we are always seeking.
Here is a photo of the sunset at the end of the day today. It looks similar to the picture I took at the beginning of the day, and it is so different. It seems like I have changed today as well.
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