Shalom from Kibbutz Lotan in the southern negev! We are all doing really well and thrilled to be here at Lotan, which is an amazing place. Each day is very full and rich, and it actually feels like many weeks since we've been here because we have done and seen so much.

The mifgash (encounter) with the Israeli teens was fun. The home stay shabbat was a highlight for everyone, not just because they got to sleep in real beds, do their laundry, and get to know Israeli families, but mainly because it gave them a taste of what "real life" is like for their Israeli friends with whom they developed a real closeness. The teens organized a party for Friday night which the staff attended (sat in the corner trying to be unobtrusive), and they seemed to have had a blast together dancing, laughing, and showing each other the ropes of how each group spends fun time together. When we reconvened at the end of shabbat, the teens reported that shabbat itself (Saturday) had been spent doing things like blueberry picking, swimming, touring the kibbutzim or villages where the Israelis live, eating a lot (!!), and catching up on sleep and relaxation. When we said goodbye to our Israeli friends there were many hugs, a few tears, and many a commitment to remain in touch and gather again, perhaps at Tawonga!

On Sunday morning we headed south and spent a good part of the day on the bus making our way from the northern tip of the country to practically the southern tip. Along the way we made a stop in Jerusalem where we had a picnic lunch at the park outside of the knesset (the Israeli government) where a group of Bedouin we were meeting with had set up a small tent city where they were demonstrating against the policies of the government which has refused to recognize and provide services to many of their villages. Their signs said things like "demolition is not democracy." The Bedouin are by nature nomadic, and they prefer to live on the land in villages, and yet the state of Israel has refused to recognize some of their villages as legitimate, which means they are given no electricity on the national grid, no access to water through pipes, no representation in the government, and none of the amenities that other groups, even most other Arab groups, enjoy. In some cases their villages are simply demolished. We heard from Mustafa (his words translated by our Israeli staff member Reut) about the plight of his people and learned about the nature of the protest. The teens had many great questions, and it exposed us to sides of Israel that brought up more of the complexities of life here.

We then were able to contrast what we learned from the Bedouin from the unrecognized villages to another picture of Bedouin life when we stayed overnight in a huge Bedouin tent village designed for groups and tourists. There we rode camels (the teens LOVED that, especially the hilarious grunting noises the camels made for the rest of the night), and the host Bedouins made us tea, showed us how they grind and make coffee, cooked flat bread on the fire, played some Bedouin wedding songs on the oud, and introduced us to the positive and very interesting aspects of Bedouin culture. It was a great source of learning to have had two completely different experiences with the Bedouin, and the teens are thinking crtitically and able to ask provocative and thoughtful questions to help us all learn more.

We woke up in the tent at 4:00 a.m., and bleary-eyed but enthusiastic nonetheless, climbed Masada to see the sun rise. At Masada we got a tour led by Reut and Aaron, who led a great discussion on the controversy around the issues of suicide (or, in the case of the zealots, what was more like "noble death") in Judaism. The teens grappled with what they might do in a situation like the one the zealots had to face....would they choose to live but be captured like slaves and be forced to surrender their culture and values, or choose to die, even if by their own hands - forbidden within Jewish tradition. Another tough issue and a great discussion.

After Masada everyone enjoyed some free fun time at the Dead Sea, swimming both in the sea and in the pool at the hotel where we had lunch, putting mud all over them for a mineral bath, and just plain old play time. After that everyone fell fast asleep on the bus, and we had to wake them up when we arrived here at Lotan.

Lotan is an incredible place. The whole kibbutz is based on a permaculture, eco-village model. All the buildings and play areas are made from mud bricks, which our teens spent their morning making! We learned all about how they compost everything they use, how they re-use "grey" water for irrigation, capture solar energy (abundant down here!) and sell it to the national grid in return for electricity at night, recycle and reuse as much as they possibly can, and turn even their trash (like bottles, tires, etc) into play structures, buildings, and functional areas by covering everything in the mud bricks and straw bales they construct here - all from organic materials. It's just amazing. We will have many pictures to send and share very soon.

We will be here at Lotan for the next few days and are having a great time. Service, learning, socializing, discussing, getting in touch with ourselves, with each other, and with the people, the culture and the land here. It's been amazing so far and we know will continue to unfold and exceed our wildest expectations in its wonderousness.

Lots of love, or as they say here "B'ahava",

the TSL group

// posted by The Camp Tawonga Staff @ 10:01 AM