Judea and Samaria

We started off our day discussing the issue of Settlements in the West Bank.  The Senior Class had the opportunity to meet with representatives from both sides of the current dispute.  Our first speaker was Leor from the organization Peace Now.  Leor presented the more left-wing view on the issue.  Leor did a good job covering all issues related to the settlements and gave the class a great insight on the topic from a more liberal stance.  We then crossed into the West Bank to visit Kfar Etzion, a Jewish Settlement located just south of Jerusalem.  After learning about a brief history of the area, we toured with Eve Harow, a former Efrat Local Council member, who provided us with a view of the settlement issue from a more right-wing perspective.  Eve discussed the history behind the settlements by taking the class on a tour of the region around the city of Efrat.  After listening to both speakers, their words really opened my eyes to the different sides of the political spectrum.  I am glad I had the opportunity to formulate some of my own views on the topic. The group had some time before heading to Beit Guvrin and stopped at a Stalagmite Cave discovered about 30 years ago.  This little sidelight tour provided an interesting view of part of Israel that is little known. We then traveled to Beit Guvrin to visit with Israeli teens on a program called Mechina.  This program is designed for Israelis who are in a gap ear and about to enter the army.  We played some ice breaker games and broke into small group discussions. Everyone had a delightful time as they were great hosts who used the brief time with us to get to know us better.  After our dinner with the Israeli teens, we journeyed back to Jerusalem for a meaningful reflection about our experiences today.

Posted by Danny Hochberg