TJJ BUS 4
Wednesday July 26
Max Felix
Wednesday was a day full of action and experiences. We started off the day getting up from a rough night sleep at the Bedouin tents. Luckily, we could be confident no one stole our stuff in the middle of the night because of the courageous work of Daniel Johary and Benji. Covered in dirt and sweat, we made it to the dining hall for breakfast. We were able to select from a great choice of food in a cafeteria style setting. Once we were done, we went to our typical prayer groups to study about prayer and how to make it meaningful. We eventually loaded on to the bus to start our journey for the day.
Our first stop was a farm in the south. In this farm, we learned about how the farm operates and conserves water. We also learned about the different types of crops grown and invented in Israel. We were eventually allowed to pick different types of vegetables. We started off picking many different types of tomatoes and cucumbers. Once we were satisfied with that we moved on to corn. We finally ended off picking carrots.
Eventually we went to a rented area in the farm to eat lunch. Lunch consisted of falafel sandwiches and Israeli salad. Yum!
After the farm we to the important city of Sderot. Sderot is a city that borders the dangerous area called Gaza Strip. In the city we learned of how the city is in constant watch of bombs and terrorist attacks. The city had made preparations for any situation which included bomb shelters at every house, office, bus stop, and park. We traveled to a park and learned how the play structures in the park are adapted to also be used as bomb shelters. At one point our tour guide started counting down from 15. We then had to run to the nearest bomb shelter at the park. The drill was designed to show how random and scary the threats of bombs can be.
We then traveled to a hill where we could see the border and Gaza Strip. We were taught the manipulation and terrorist tactics of Hammas (government in charge of Gaza). Hammas attacks building that support their electricity to trick the media into believing that Israel oppresses their people.
Next we went to Bar Ilan university in Jerusalem. We were seated in a college auditorium and were given a class. When we first arrived our instructor introduced herself as a Israeli-Palestinian conflict professor. We then we’re allowed to ask questions but it turned quickly into a debate. The instructor was very pro Palestinian and her facts seemed to degrade Israel in every way she could. Eventually we called her out on some of her facts, and she came out and admitted that she was faking the whole time and was actually a Israeli advocacy professor. She then proceeded to teach us how to advocate for Israel and to defend against anti Israel professors in America.
Lastly back at our hotel in Jerusalem, we sat down and had a motivated speech from Sari Singer. She is an advocate for the support of people involved in terrorist attacks. She told us her life story and how she, herself, was involved in a terrorist attack on a bus in Israel. We ended off with a huge group picture and went to sleep.