Thursday, May 8th Kiryat Shmoneh to Tel Aviv

Thursday, May 8^th  K. Shmoneh to Tel Aviv

I wrote yesterday's blog post too soon.  Late in the evening, after the Federation meeting call, a massive lightning and thunder storm lit up the Hula Valley.

So much for all of Shayna's clothes that I put on the balcony to dry..

Back to today:

With a shout out to Sarah and Natan Fenner, who met on Kibbutz Hanita while we were all on the first year of Project Otzma, a year-long social service program in Israel, I asked special permission to bring Shayna to Hanita so I could show her where I studied Ulpan, worked, and opened my year in Israel.

Shayna started her day at Kibbutz Yiron, located high on the ridge overlooking the Hula Valley and bordering Lebanon. BHDS-Marin’s sister school is located there.  They all spent the morning with their Israeli counterparts.  Shayna reports it was a great time.

Hanita, also on a mountain ridge bordering Lebanon, formed in the 1930s as the only settlement in the area, securing that critical mountaintop, very close to Rosh Ha’nikra, for the eventual Jewish state.

It took us about half an hour to make the drive, winding on roads that took us to see great views, valleys, and several Lebanese villages to the right of the car.

The kibbutz looks a whole lot better than the last time I visited 4 years ago.  It appears they have (finally) abandoned the classical kibbutz approach to finances.  Now with private homes, a dining room that charges for meals, it seems that Hanita now has the resources to improve the place.

I brought along my photos from 1986, sharing them with any old-timers we could find on the kibbutz.  Then, with Shayna as photographer, we retook the shots.  Here’s some:

Welcome to Kibuttz Hanita

The Kolbo Market..where ham was sold..

Remnants of a Katusha rocket.  Several fell during my months there.

1987 in the kitchen..

Standing in the same spot today...

This is for you, Natan.. I think you worked on the dish line..

The door to my room. Now storage area for the house above it.

The bomb shelter made into a kid's play area

They've made huge improvements to the Hanita Museum. It was a messy room full of artifacts.  Now, it's a professional, multi-room, museum telling the story of Hanita's formation.  They made a film, in English, and the museum director gave Shayna and me our own screening.

We made it to Tel Aviv by the afternoon (driving through the tunnel in Haifa). Put Tel Aviv driving as my LEAST favorite driving activity (though I haven’t tried yet in Athens or Cairo). Fortunately, the GPS directed us to the car rental agency where I got rid of the thing and celebrated NOT having to navigate this city. (Also cost nearly 300 shekels, about $90, to fill up the car with gas. Ouch.)

Shayna told me that she hadn’t yet eaten falafel on the trip.  Dinner decision made. 

We spent some time getting shopping done before returning her to her hotel.

A quick hello from Dizengoff Center..

I dropped off Shayna to her group at the hotel and made my way back to my hotel...