Project Interchange Israel- Day 2

The Chronicle's Sabrina Rubakovic is a part of a week-long trip in Israel with Project Interchange, an institute of the American Jewish Committee. She is one of many representatives from American campus newspapers visiting the Middle Eastern country to broaden perspectives of the region and explore Israeli-American relations. Rubakovic will be blogging daily about her experience.

So I'm a little late for the day 2 blog post, but I have a valid excuse: the Bedouin tent we spent New Year's eve in didn't have Internet access. Yes, it was a great way to start off the New Year. The day began back in Tel Aviv, where we met with soldiers in the Israeli Defense Force. They talked about their experiences in the army, navy, air force, and even as an army doctor. One of the most intriguing aspects of our discussion was how the IDF differed from the American army. Although both nations share democratic and capitalistic ideals, many aspects of the armed forces differ. The debate that we've had in the States over whether or not homosexuals should be allowed in the army, for example, is a non-issue in Israel, as there is no formal policy—as made evident by the blank looks on the soldiers' faces when we asked them if they had a Don't Ask Don't Tell-like policy. As the air force pilot stated, it doesn't matter what they do in their free time, but just how they perform in action. This tolerance has not completely translated over to gender equality, however, as women and men usually have differing positions hierarchically and women have their own battalions. But the IDF has made signifcant headway towards lifting a gender bias, giving more women military roles normally held by men.

After this discussion, our group left for what I see as the most fascinating part of the trip: a tour of kibbutz life, something entirely unlike what I had learned about in school. The community is hard to describe—somewhere between a town and a village, with school buildings, residential areas, a cafeteria and plenty of beautiful natural landscape. We talked with a member of the kibbutz, who explained the basic tenets of their style of living. They abide by a socialistic lifestyle, where everyone gives what they can, takes what they need and works their hardest for whatever job they have. Adults work from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and receive a monthly budget that is calculated based on their needs. The man we were speaking with received $500 a month, which is sufficient living wage because the kibbutz provides all members with the basic needs of food, health care and housing. There's even a lot of 70 cars to choose from when you need a ride. But he said one of the main challenges of living in such a society is maintaining one key aspect: trust. Trust between all members of the kibbutz is a core factor to the maintenance of the community. In addition, people have to be satisfied with what they have, maintaining a balance between giving up some aspirations but never having to worry that their kids will go hungry. The kibbutz member explained the socialistic ideology as thus: people are not born equal and one person giving 100 percent to their work should be weighted the same amount in society as another person giving 100 percent to their work. Although the ideas are seemingly radical from an American perspective, the kibbutz is functioning fine, and I wouldn't be opposed to spending a few months there myself.

After learning about kibbutz life, we talked to students at the kibbutz that immigrated to Israel, completing the aliyah, or ascension. The students study Hebrew for 5 months in their "absorption" process into society. The students came from all different areas, from France to the United Kingdom to Boston, Mass. Their motivations ranged from reconnecting to their Jewish roots to escaping the antisemitism of their home countries.

Our group then traveled to the town of Sderot, which has been subject to some of the largest amounts of bombings in the past eight years. We viewed many of the rockets that fell in the area, taking note of bomb shelters dispersed throughout the city and even in a children's playground. The head of the town's security force said that people have a 10-second notice to run to a bomb shelter. For some parents, he said, this means choosing which of your many kids you can successfully take with you. We then talked to a victim of many of the bombings and a native of a kibbutz in Sderot. She is an activist for a philanthropic group in the region, and spoke to us about the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, which affects 70-90 percent of Israeli youth that were subject to the bombings.

After listening to these individuals speak to us about the horrors of the bombings, I could only wonder why they stayed in the region. For many, it turned out that they did not have the means to go to another area. But one strong reason for staying in Sderot was the Israeli's unique connection to their land. They did not want to back down due to fear, for that may result in the entire area's population leaving and succumbing to the aggression. This was not a viable option, especially for the female activist, who stated that her family grew up in the area and her aunt and uncle started the kibbutz in which she lived. This strengthened the impression I have been gaining throughout this trip that Israelis cherish the land of Israel due to their sense of being connected to their ancestors and Jewish heritage on that land.

Our final stop of the day was a Bedouin camp, in which we ate a traditional Middle Eastern dinner on the floor, and even had an African drumming lesson with a resident musician. We slept in a large tent that night, but not before we were able to count down the New Year many hours before our family and friends in the United States. In the morning, we rose early to take a camel ride, which was a frightening yet wonderful experience. Today, the group will venture to Jerusalem, a hotspot of religious life and culture in Israel.