Last week we went in to the desert to see one of the main things in the Zionist dream. Making the desert bloom.
We left campus on Wednesday and went to this place called Revivim. Revivim is an really old kibbutz that was setup as an experiment to see if Jews could live in the desert. The answer they got was yes and because of their work the Negev was included in the Jewish land that was allocated in the UN partition plan. There we also saw the underground rooms that were used as a hospital during the war of independence. The rooms were safe because there were air pipes that were used to bring air into the room and the Egyptians thought that they were anti-airplane missiles and stayed far from the room.
After we went on a hike, it was straight up hill and it was evil. However, it was cool when we got to the top. At the top we found out that we were on a Makhtesh. A Makhtesh is a mountain formation unique to Israel, it is when erosion erodes a mountain until it ends upside down. It looks a lot like a crater.
After that we went to the house of Ben Gurion in the Negev. It was neat looking at his house, because even though he was a famous politician he had a very small and modest house. It really showed what type of person he was.
Next we went to a Bedouin town and rode camels. There were two people per camel and I was on a camel with Brendan. It was a fun ride but our camel kept stopping to eat on the side of the trail, and the person leading it would let it eat for a bit then laugh because it was eating a thorn bush and smack it so it would keep moving. It was very funny.
That night we had Bedouin food and slept in a Bedouin tent. We also learned about how Bedouin people in Israel are treated as normal citizens and enjoy the same equal rights that all Israelis have. We also learnt about how many of them serve in the army. It was interesting to hear someone who was not a Jew talk about the Jewish state with the same amount of pride that a Jew has.
The next day we got up really early and went to a lookout deck over Makhtesh Ramon, after that we got back on the bus and drove into the Makhtesh. After a long, curvy, and scary drive on a road that was almost as wide as the bus we began to hike. After a while of walking we reached these massive sand dunes and got to play on them. It was fun, the thing was the most fun was this rock that had a drop below it. We began to jump off it, I went twice and had a lot of fun.
When we arrived at the bus we then drove to Eilat and had free time there. I walked around with Mason and Eric. We went swimming and then had dinner. In between we walked around the mall where I got to have the experience of washing off my feet in the bathroom there (don’t ask). After dinner we drove to this Kibbutz that the reform movement founded in the 1970s. It is called Kibbutz Yahel.
That night we had a “party” with the “local” Israelis. It wasn’t much of a party and there weren’t really more that like 10 Israelis there, but it was still fun. After about 6 or 5.5 hours of sleep I got up and was forced got to go on another hike. It was an interesting hike that took us really close to the Egyptian border and we saw the land that once was Israel until we gave it back to make peace. The hike ended at a coral reef and we proceeded to snorkel in it. This was not my first time snorkeling and it was a lot easier for me this time than last time. (The last time was about 2 or 3 years ago in Catalina)
Then we were taken back to Eilat and given more free time. That night (Friday night) we slept on the Kibbutz and went to synagogue there. It was nice to see how the people who live there pray. It showed me that it is possible to have a middle ground when it comes to religion in Israel. We also spent Shabbat there and because of the (purposeful) lack of scheduling we had a really nice relaxing time.
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