יוםים לישראל - Two Days for Israel

This past weekend were what I believe to be two of the most important days of the year for Israel, and they also happen to be my favorite. In Israel Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) are celebrated back-to-back in an intense tradition of deep mourning that switches to grand celebration. Part of why I love these two days so much, as hard as they can be, is because to me they embody the truly paradoxical spirit of Israel and life in Israel. Eastern culture meeting Western, people full of both generous love and brutal honesty, ancient history and modern technology—so many things here are full of two extremes, coming together in unique harmony.

Although I was here last year for these two incredible days, each year I am in Israel I seek to do something new. As much as people like to believe it, there isn't necessarily an "everybody does this" in Israel. The country is full of many types of people with many types of experiences who observe and celebrate in their own ways. 

Yom Hazikaron (יום הזיכרון)

This year on Erev Yom Hazikaron (the night memorial day officially begins) our Ulpan took us to a ceremony on the neighborhood promenade. Community leaders and volunteers conducted the ceremony with participants from schools, community groups, and other community members. Each neighborhood generally has a ceremony like this where they read the names of soldiers and victims of terrorism lost in their neighborhood. Although all of us at the Ulpan are newcomers to the neighborhood, it felt very special to partake in such a meaningful ceremony. 

The next day we went to the high school next door to partake in a similar ceremony. Most schools around Israel have these ceremonies. Friends, siblings, parents, and alumni currently serving in the army attend to remember and honor those lost. 

The level of collective mourning is beautiful. But when you take a step back and realize that just about every person in Israel has a connection to at least one fallen soldier or victim of terror it is terribly sad. 

Yom Haatzmaut (יום האצמאות)

Erev Yom Haatzmaut (after sundown on Yom Hazikaron) is probably my favorite part of it all. After the intense day of mourning Israelis take it to the streets and celebrate! There are concerts set up all over the country, vendors sell treats and flags, and people young and old go out to celebrate that Israel exists and has made it through another year. Naturally I joined them. A group of friends and I from the Ulpan went out in the streets of Jerusalem, dancing the night away, watching fireworks, and feeling so special to have our first Yom Haatzmaut as true Israeli citizens. 

The next day I headed to Netanya with more friends to have a BBQ (al-ha'esh in Hebrew). The weather was so intensely windy that we had to take things inside, but it was great fun nonetheless. I think we grilled just about everything you could think of to grill. There's nothing like good friends and good food in a great place. 

Here's to you Israel! Happy 67th Birthday and to 67 more!!!

יזכור ותלמד

As Israel transitions officially into Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day,  I'd like to extend a challenge to all of my friends. The common saying on this day is "Never Forget"—and this sentiment is of the utmost importance—but there is a hidden piece in our remembering that we probably do forget. That piece is to teach. If we are to insure that the world never forgets the 6 million Jews and Millions of gays, gypsies, and others who were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime and it's sympathizers, then we must teach those who are unaware: the next generation and anyone around us about what happened.

Someone told me that my generation is likely the last to hear first-hand testimonies from Holocaust survivors. Thinking of what an impactful experience hearing these testimonies and meeting these survivors has been for me, I try to picture what Holocaust education will look like for my future children without this.

So this Yom Hashoah let's remember those who lost, remember those who survived, and teach others to also remember. 

On Tuesdays We Vote

After only a little over two months in this country I've already taken part in one of it's most amazing aspects—it's democratic process. Some fun facts about Israeli Democracy:
-Israel votes on a Tuesday because in the book of Genesis it is written twice on Tuesday (the 3rd day) that "this was good".
-This is going to be Israel's 20th Knesset (name for the Israeli Parliament)
-Israel has had one female Prime Minister—Golda Meir from 1969-1974
-The Israeli Parliament has 120 seats and a party must get at least 3.25% to sit in the Knesset
-On voting day you go to your polling place, are given a little blue envelope and are invited to go behind a little blue booth. Behind the booth are a selection of little slips of papers, each with the symbol of the participating parties. You choose one slip, seal the envelope and drop it in a blue box.

The election system here is much different than in the US because the style of government is different. Israel has a single chamber parliamentary system, with a Prime Minister (PM) and many more parties than the US. Essentially how it works is you get to vote for a single party. Each party then has a list of people who will sit in the Knesset (name for Israeli Parliament) depending on the percentage of votes they get. For example, Israel's current PM Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, is part of the Likkud party, the party with the highest percentage of seats in the latest Knesset.

The PM is not necessarily the head of the party with the most seats, although they have always been. Once the elections are over each of the parties who qualified to sit in the Knesset go to the President and recommend who they think should be the PM. The President then appoints the PM and gives him/her a time limit to create a coalition. The purpose of the coalition is for the sitting government to function. In the US we have 2 parties, one is always the majority and the other the minority. One needs 61+ seats in the Knesset to have a majority and it is nearly impossible for any single party to receive this high number of seats. Thus, the appointed PM must invite different parties to be part of what is called "the coalition" (essentially the majority party).

The system is a bit complicated to understand initially, so you can imagine how difficult it is to choose who you want to vote for. Do you vote for a larger party in order to influence who will likely become the next Prime Minister? Or do you vote for a smaller, fringe party because you want them to have a significant presence in the coalition? Will the party you want to vote for likely make it into a coalition led by a given PM? So many questions. On one hand the dynamic nature of the Israeli Political systems makes it engaging and fun, but it also makes it challenging to know what choices to make. I personally enjoy it very much and feel so privileged to participate in the only Jewish Democracy in the world! If you're interested in who I voted for and why, feel free to ask me!