Wednesday (Dec. 29th) in Israel…

Wednesday, our last full day in Karmiel, was definitely a good one. We started our day with a visit to Kishorit. Although Sophia described the village in detail on one of yesterday’s posts, I wanted to make sure you got to see some pictures as well. And in case you forgot, here are a few more words about this incredible and unique place…

Kishorit is a village for adult special needs people where they live and work and create lives for themselves. Out tour started off with a video about various members and their families speaking about growing up as a person who didn’t fit in or in their parent’s case, feeling lost about where their child would one day fit into the world. It then went onto describe Kishorit and all it has done for not only the people who now live there but also their families. There are various options for the people who live there to create a livelihood. Whether it be by making toys in the factory (where there are now clients all over the world) or helping out with the award winning dogs they raise or even with the goats (which Pittsburgh donated 200 of the 500 goats to). The members also have a choice when it comes to the way they want to live. They can live in an apartment by themselves, with a roommate or even a partner.

While walking around and interacting with some of the members, it is so easy to see how happy these people are at Kishorit and how revolutionary of a concept and the program really is. What a cool and amazing thing for our group to see and potentially be a part of when we return home to Pittsburgh. Many, if not all, were so touched and inspired by Kishorit that they have already begun to brainstorm ideas about how we can help and stay connected with this amazing place.

Some of the children's toys made in Kishorit.

Inside the toy factory.

Beth and Carolyn with their purchases from the toy factory gift shop!

The outside of the factory.

Um, the cutest pup ever! This is the area where they keep the dogs (some are award winning!)

Pups! (and Carolyn and Sara)

Some of the lovely goats. They were actually kind of fun :)

A member on a horse.

Once the afternoon rolled around we were sure in for quite a treat. There is a P2K bike trail that Pittsburgh had helped to build and we were lucky enough to bike on it. This wasn’t just any biking either, this was more like mountain biking. We got off to a pretty rocky (haha) start but once we got used to being back on a bike, we were off! There are many trails on the path and we tended to take the easier ones for obvious reasons. There were beautiful views of Karmiel that we often stopped to take in.

Our bikes!

The map of the P2K bike trail.

We're all ready!

We had to practice a bit before we went on the trail...

And we're off...

Once our bike riding adventure came to an end, we stopped at a lovely place in the woods for lunch. This wasn’t just any lunch either. One of the young Karmielians that hosted 2 of our group members was waiting for us with ingredients to cook our own feast. The cool thing is that he owns his own catering business so he actually knows what he’s doing! We worked as a group for well over an hour to prepare the most delicious meal ever for everyone. It was a great effort but was well worth it in the end.

Shir, Sophia and Becca choppin' away...

Cookin' away over the camp fire.

Beth and Evan peeling the peppers.

Rich and Shir!

Makin' dessert!

Nice looking pita, Hara!

The amazing looking spread...

Be careful with those knives boys...

Our evening ended with a summary meeting with all the people involved with the partnership. We opened the discussion up to the big question of what we do now and how do we continue with the amazing bonds that have now been made. Our brainstorming session was quite successful and we are all very excited about moving forward. We also HAVE to get this group of young Israeli’s from Karmiel to Pittsburgh. This is a must! After dinner and our discussion we were entertained by a very special performance by Robbie Gringras. He did a one man show (with help from his friend Adam on the guitar) about why he made Aaliyah from England and built his family here many years ago. He was very entertaining and it was a great way to end an amazing day.

Robbie and Adam performing for us!

And we’re off again! (Dec. 28th)

Tuesday was a very exciting day for the J’Burgh Israel group. It was the day we got to get a full on taste of what Karmiel has to offer as not only a great place to live but also to work. Our first stop was at a local graphic design studio where the young entrepreneur designs and prints his work for clients all over the world. He loves Karmiel and what it has to offer him and his small business. While there, a young woman spoke to us as well about her project of bringing locally grown food to the Galilee. While doing this, perhaps the Jews and Arabs could ultimately work together to provide such a common goal: food. It’s a dream of hers to have a farmer’s market in the area for people to have the option of buying locally and actually knowing exactly where their food is coming from. Our final stop on our small business tour of Karmiel was at a furniture store (with lots of fun decorating options!) that imports their merchandise from all over the Middle East. It’s now a very successful business that has made its home in Karmiel for over 8 years.

all the girls on the couch of the furniture store!

After our tour of the small businesses of Karmiel we were in for quite a treat. We headed to Hararit Community Village for a very unique concert performed at the home of Shir Sofer (whose name translates to “Song Writer”). He lives in a village where the residents are involved in meditation and he and his family live in a beautiful home overlooking Karmiel that is like nothing else we’ve ever seen. His specialties involve playing just about every musical instrument and helping to use his talents within the mediation community.

After enjoying some cookies, tea and coffee, we were invited downstairs to hear him play and sing. We were just about blown away at first when he began singing using 2 voices! He had studied with Monks to learn this skill and we sat there in awe. He also played many of his instruments from around the world. At one point, he invited us to close our eyes while he played the Tibetan Bowls. The entire experience was moving and it was so interesting to see this man do what he loves and be able to make a living from it here in the Galilee.

look at all the instruments!

Shir playing one of his many instruments.

Um, did you know you can literally play the saw? Shir showed us and you definitely can...

That's pretty much the nicest collection of gongs I've ever seen.

Before our day was over, we also visited a place where olives are harvested and made into olive oil. What was so unique about this place in particular is that it is made my Jews. We learned that 90% of Israel's olive oil production is made by the Arabs. The afternoon was left for a delicious lunch and time to spend with our host families in and around the area. Our amazing day was topped off with bowling and pizza at a local place. (This makes us very excited about J’Burgh and PSL bowling league that starts on January 10^th right after we get back!)

Lots o olive oil.

Pretty much the best picture ever of the entire group. 

Check out Justin's sweet bowling shoes.

Carolyn used the granny roll technique and managed to win somehow. 

As you can see, we are really learning about Karmiel and getting a feel for what this region is all about and exactly how Pittsburgh is connected. It’s thrilling to see all the possibilities for future connections and oh are we excited!

Our trip to Israel: How we are making an impact on the region, and the impact the region is making on our group

Here's a little guest blog spot from our very own J'Burgh Director, David Katz.

Over the course of the past few months our group has spent time learning about the city of Karmiel and the partnership that they have with Pittsburgh. While we sat in a room hearing about this partnership, it's something you can't fully understand without seeing the relationships that exist firsthand, and building your own. 


For the past 6 days our group members have been living with young adults in Karmiel. We are learning that the issues they face are very similar to those facing young Jewish adults living in the states. We have toured the regions businesses and spent time volunteering in a neighborhood that houses residents of a lower socioeconomic status. The project we have been working on was started 4 years ago during the 2006 2nd Lebanon war. The residents of this neighborhood were forced to spend long periods of time living together in bomb shelters. During this time, feuds arose between neighbors due to a lack of communication. While these residents, primarily immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia, had been living next to each other for years they had not truly created the necessary lines of communication to build a community. Following the war, the City of Karmiel, with support from the JDC, Partnership 2000, and the Jewish Agency for Israel created a new program meant to build bridges between the residents. Programs were set up for the residents to interact with each other, including a cooking club, language courses, and beautification of the neighborhood.  For me personally, this is the 3rd time I have been with a group to volunteer here.  Each time we’ve focused on painting walls, bomb shelters, and gardening.  With this current group we spent 2 full days painting. By bringing a group to the neighborhood to paint we are enhancing the quality of life for the residents and empowering them to take part in the upkeep of their surroundings. Each new section that is cleaned up continues to be cared for by the residents, as they don’t wish to see it fall back into disrepair. By painting walls outside of a housing complex, our group is not only beautifying the surrounding area, but also creating a new feeling of responsibility amongst the residents living there. This concept serves as an excellent metaphor for our trip as a whole. By painting walls in Karmiel our participants are enhancing their understanding of the Partnership 2000 program and exploring their relationship to Israel and the region. 


For the participants, this trip is not just a chance to get out of the cold winter weather in Pittsburgh. For participants, this trip is a chance to begin developing what being a community leader means to them. Each member of our group is learning invaluable leadership skills and gaining tremendous educational opportunities on the complexities of life in Israel. We’ve visited an Arab Israeli village and met with a young Arab women who lives there, learned about the politics of the Middle East from renowned scholar Neil Lazarus, and toured small industries throughout the Galilee. Tomorrow we will head to Jerusalem for an in-depth look at how this city plays into the ongoing peace process between Israel and her Palestinian neighbors. On Friday we will visit the settlement of Efrat as we continue to explore the issue of the settlements and the role they play in life here. As a whole, we have already made a tremendous impact on Karmiel, Misgav and Partnership 2000, and the State of Israel is making a tremendous impact on our group as well.  While we are halfway through our trip, we are only in the beginning stages of figuring out how we continue to grow and share our experiences here with our friends, families, and the greater J’Burgh community.  What comes next will truly measure the success of this amazing experience we are all sharing here in Israel and we can’t wait to continue sharing it with all of you as well!

our second day of volunteering (12.27)

This day started out the same way as the day before. We went over to the apartment complex in the center of Karmiel to finish up our painting. We really just had some touching up to do. It was also a beautiful afternoon (like 70 degrees!) so we were able to enjoy the sunshine as well. We were very lucky to have a group of residents come over and enjoy lunch with us!

After finishing up with painting, we headed over to a local park in Karmiel to discuss our visit thus far. We sat by a beautiful waterfall and enjoyed everyone's company in lovely Karmiel.

Shir, Justin, Rachel, Evan and Hara on the grass in the beautiful park in Karmiel.

Everyone. 

After a great little break in the park we traveled to the Karmiel Children's Village. This was so exciting for all of us because we had a special mission to complete. As blogged about before we left, 8 suitcases were filled to the brim with children's clothing and toys compliments of the Hebrew school at Rodef Shalom. A few of us stopped by to pick them up before we left for Israel. They were dispersed between us and brought so we would be able to personally give them to the children at the children's village here in Karmiel. We felt quite honored being able to personally deliver these special things to these children.

When we first arrived, we were given a tour of the village's very own pettting zoo and layout of the place. We then broke up into groups and were able to take a tour of the Mishpachtonim where these very special families live. The concept is that there are families (some still have young kids while others are just couples) who live in these houses with 12 children who are not their own. These children are still in contact with their biological families but are not able to live with them full time for various reasons. The "father" normally has a full time job while the "mother's" full time job is to take care of these children and provide them with a loving, caring and stable family unit. 

The outside of one of the Mishpachtonim.

You must have many sinks with 12 kids...

The kid's little buckets in the bathroom.

The second hand shop where the suitcases were unloaded.
You can see one of them on the left.

There's another one of the bags we brought!

Being there was quite an experience and it was an honor bringing those suitcases from Pittsburgh to Karmiel. The village was such an amazing place to visit and our J'Burgh trip participants can't wait to become more involved in it when we return back home. Possibilities are really endless. 

After leaving there, we had a free evening with our host families to enjoy the area for dinner and just hang out and get to know each other even better. One of the most exciting parts of this trip is definitely the AMAZING host families we are staying with. They have been beyond welcoming and we all feel we are walking away from this experience with an extended family here in Karmiel. 

our first day of volunteering in Karmiel (12.26)

Wow. We have had some crazy busy past couple of days here in Israel! Monday morning started a whirlwind of a day where we began our volunteer work here in Karmiel and were able to meet some pretty cool people along the way. 

Our day started at a local apartment complex where we were given a tour and a large amount of white paint and rollers. It was our job to paint the outside walls white, and oh boy did we do that. It was a blast working as a team together to paint and give time to a good cause right in the center of Karmiel. We walked away covered in paint but it was well worth it. The apartment complex where we were working has been completely transformed in the past couple years into something new and beautiful. What a great opportunity for us to help with the process. 

Here are some pictures of us learning about what we're about to do and then painting...

 Learning about the apartment complex before we started with Aya and Andrea.

And we begin... 

laying plastic down to protect the floors.

Sophia was lucky to get the extra long brush.

Painting away with Beth and Hara.

Steve getting the bottom. 

And a smiling Kiki.

After we finished painting for the day we headed over to a nearby place for a little nosh (the place was called Nosh Nosh). They fed us until we were stuffed and then we were off...

Refueling at Nosh Nosh before our next stop.

After covering the walls (and ourselves) in white paint, we made our way to the Israeli village of Shoresheem where we learned about coexistence between Israelis and Israeli Arabs living in the Galilee. From there we had a very special opportunity to hear a young Arab woman speak at the school where she teaches English. Imam, the young religious Muslim, shared with us her perspective on life as an Arab Israeli living in the Galilee. We ended the day with dinner and an informative (and entertaining!) lecture about Israel and the political relations with the middle east with a focus on Iranian threat presented by Neil Lazurus. 

All in all, a wonderful and exciting first full day of volunteering and learned about Karmiel. We had a lot to take in and were all so thankful for the opportunity to even be given the chance to be on a trip like this. 

saturday. it was a great day for sure.

Shalom!


The past 2 days in Israel have been insanely intense, educational, and amazing. We had the day off yesterday to spend with out host family's and explore the area. Some people spent the day hanging around and catching up on sleep and others went on little trips around the area. About 12 of us (including the Israeli's) heading to a Kibbutz near the Kinerat for a fun tractor ride through the banana trees. It was a fabulous afternoon of site seeing and fun with friends


Here are some pics...

Carolyn, Evan, Hara, Beth and Justin

Beth and Sara on the tractor.

Carolyn on her new tractor!

Our Israeli hosts!

We completed our day off with a lovely night at a local pub in Karmiel. Our whole group was in attendance and it was a great way to end the day. I think it's safe to say everyone enjoyed themselves. 

Moshe, Hara and Jesse at Pub. 

Evan and Kiki.

 This is a great one. Rachel, Hara, Justin, Jesse, Nir, Erin and Evan!