Sunday, May 31st. Sfat, Yemin Orde, Givat Chavivam Barta'a (both sides of the green line)
Today was so packed. We started off the morning with a visit to Ziv Hospital. This hospital is special because they have treated about 1600 Syrians who were injured in the civil war there. 17% of the victims are children. It's crazy to think that these kids wake up in a hospital and hear Hebrew. They're shocked especially because their whole lives they were brought up learning that we are their enemies who want to kill them. They come in malnourished which is a heart breakers and they're able to get edible flood here. Technically were at war with Syria since there was a disengagement as opposed to a peace treaty. Because of this the patients cannot become refugees and stay in Israel if they are not undergoing treatment. Ziv Hospital brings patient from a complete בלגן mess to a controlled situation. How long will these patients get clean good and water for? Will they ever see crayons and clean showers again? They even get to play with Arabic ABC toys that are brought in. A lot of the patients can't read or write and are missing limbs. How are they to live? A lot of patients are separated from their parents and despite the kindness endowed on them in the hospital, all they want to do is go back home and be with their families. Despite the conflict, Ziv hospital continues to treat patients and give them the best care that they can. They keep politics out, don't ask questions or judge, and show that they care. This is the epitome of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world)
We actually had some time today to go to the artists quarter in the old city of Safed so here are some touristy pictures
We love mitz gezer
Our next stop was the Yemin Orde Youth Village which has become a second home for children from at risk homes including immigrants. The high school kids that come here come from really rough backgrounds. At Yemin Orde, children get to find who they are and become leaders. The mission is to take them from anger and make the most of their moments in a short amount of time (4 years of high school). This place doesn't want to institutionalize the kids, they want to make them feel dignified. They focus on the future and dream big.
We were also taken on a tour of the village and got to briefly interact with some of the students there.
Our tour guide, an Ethiopian woman who now works in the village sat us down and told us about her life journey. Call me for deets, she was amazing.
At another stop, we met Lydia Eisenberg, a 69 year old woman who has been living in Israel for the past 50 years on Kibbutz Givat Chaviva. The kibbutz aims to bring Israeli Jews and Arabs together through educational and social projects. This place concentrated on a curriculum of peace. We even had the opportunity to speak to an Israel Arab about his life in Israel. Amir is from Jahd village right by the green line. He has Israeli citizenship, pays taxes, has an Israeli ID and passport. He complained about being treated like a second class citizen. I'm not going to get into it but we hammered him with hard hitting questions and a lot of us weren't please with his answers. However, Lydia taught us that it's important to hear different narratives and to increase our tolerance for others.
I'm in the Arab village of west Barta'a which is a town that was split in half when the green line was drawn. Coming to these areas of the country shows the people living here that we're willing to learn, and that we care. Literally standing on (and perhaps over) the green line, we stopped civilians in their cars and got to ask them about their lives here. It's important to hear different narratives and points of view and to increase tolerance. Thanks for showing us both sides of the story #hasbaraisrael
The east and west sides of the village are separated by a ditch
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