On the 12th of July, Laura asked me to help guide a Birthright group from Toronto around Kiryat Moshe. I arrived in the big hall in the community center to find the usual sight one sees when chancing upon a group of birthright participants. Fifty very tired students aged 18-25 who have just had an entire Israel experience packed into 10 days. Late nights and early mornings leave these students exhausted and ecstatic having had one of the greatest and most memorable experiences of their lives. Laura and I briefed the participants on the situation in Kiryat Moshe as well as the volunteers’ role in the area and the difference we have been making to the community.
We then led the participants to the basketball and soccer courts next to the community center. Once on the courts, they were divided up and put on teams with children in the Kiryat Moshe day camp. It was amazing to see how quickly the Toronto Birthright participants and the Kiryat Moshe children warmed up to each other. Maybe it was the Toronto-Kiryat Moshe connection, maybe it was the children excited for another group of Torontonians here to help them, but within minutes the birthright participants were playing and joking around with the kids. One participant even gave one of the children his wristband as a gift. After an exciting and fun twenty minute basketball and soccer game, the Birthright participants were escorted back to their busses. I looked out the window to see an amazing sight. All the children who had just participated in this meeting were standing outside the bus waving, smiling, and calling out the names of the Birthright participants with whom they had just played for only twenty minutes. They had formed a connection, even if for a brief twenty minutes, that would not soon be forgotten.
After a brief tour of Kiryat Moshe the students were then taken to the new community-meeting centre, currently under renovation. There they spent 10 minutes sanding down the center preparing it for painting. Every Torontonian Birthright Group arriving in Kiryat Moshe has contributed to the center in some way, and the center has become a testament to the contribution of the Toronto community.
After the group left I realized how vital this visit was as a part of the Birthright itinerary. Birthright shows its participants the beauty of the land of Israel and instills a powerful love and connection towards the land in the hearts of all those that have been privileged to experience this fantastic program. However, each participant’s Israel experience should not stop at the sandy beaches of Herzliya, a refreshing dip in the waters of the Golan, or the springs of Ein Gedi. While it is very hard to fit more activities into an already hectic 10 day schedule, it is important to give these participants a small taste of the work that needs to be done in order to help this amazing young country develop into a strong democracy. After half an hour in Kiryat Moshe, after being shown that there are problems within the country beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict, these participants from Toronto were already talking about coming back to Kiryat Moshe. Birthright visits, like the one that took place on july 12th, are essential in taking the love of the land that the amazing CIE madrichim instill in their participants and allowing that love to expand into a strong desire to help their country grow. Israel today needs a new kind of pioneer. Today’s pioneers are not about making the land cultivatable. Today’s pioneers are about helping the country overcome it’s social problems, and helping the country develop into a strong, independent, moral democracy. It is the responsibility of birthright, all of us volunteers, and Jewish Organizations involved in Israel programming to help create opportunities for Birthright alumni to continue their relationship with the land of Israel and to give them the opportunity to take part in cultivating the land of Israel as the new modern day pioneers.
We then led the participants to the basketball and soccer courts next to the community center. Once on the courts, they were divided up and put on teams with children in the Kiryat Moshe day camp. It was amazing to see how quickly the Toronto Birthright participants and the Kiryat Moshe children warmed up to each other. Maybe it was the Toronto-Kiryat Moshe connection, maybe it was the children excited for another group of Torontonians here to help them, but within minutes the birthright participants were playing and joking around with the kids. One participant even gave one of the children his wristband as a gift. After an exciting and fun twenty minute basketball and soccer game, the Birthright participants were escorted back to their busses. I looked out the window to see an amazing sight. All the children who had just participated in this meeting were standing outside the bus waving, smiling, and calling out the names of the Birthright participants with whom they had just played for only twenty minutes. They had formed a connection, even if for a brief twenty minutes, that would not soon be forgotten.
After a brief tour of Kiryat Moshe the students were then taken to the new community-meeting centre, currently under renovation. There they spent 10 minutes sanding down the center preparing it for painting. Every Torontonian Birthright Group arriving in Kiryat Moshe has contributed to the center in some way, and the center has become a testament to the contribution of the Toronto community.
After the group left I realized how vital this visit was as a part of the Birthright itinerary. Birthright shows its participants the beauty of the land of Israel and instills a powerful love and connection towards the land in the hearts of all those that have been privileged to experience this fantastic program. However, each participant’s Israel experience should not stop at the sandy beaches of Herzliya, a refreshing dip in the waters of the Golan, or the springs of Ein Gedi. While it is very hard to fit more activities into an already hectic 10 day schedule, it is important to give these participants a small taste of the work that needs to be done in order to help this amazing young country develop into a strong democracy. After half an hour in Kiryat Moshe, after being shown that there are problems within the country beyond the Arab-Israeli conflict, these participants from Toronto were already talking about coming back to Kiryat Moshe. Birthright visits, like the one that took place on july 12th, are essential in taking the love of the land that the amazing CIE madrichim instill in their participants and allowing that love to expand into a strong desire to help their country grow. Israel today needs a new kind of pioneer. Today’s pioneers are not about making the land cultivatable. Today’s pioneers are about helping the country overcome it’s social problems, and helping the country develop into a strong, independent, moral democracy. It is the responsibility of birthright, all of us volunteers, and Jewish Organizations involved in Israel programming to help create opportunities for Birthright alumni to continue their relationship with the land of Israel and to give them the opportunity to take part in cultivating the land of Israel as the new modern day pioneers.
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