Israel Mission 2014

Another rainy day in the Ashkelon region. This time, the rain is so heavy that parts of the road are flooded over, but our minivan pushes on. The verdant rolling hills remind Rabbi Robinson of his native Scotland. We pass Erik Sharon's ranch (one of the very few private ranches in Israel) and his grave. Our driver, Aaron, finds his way to Tzvika's ranch in the Negev where he raises sheep. Tzvika, like other ranchers in the Negev and the...Read more...

"It's a beautiful place to live and to raise children, except for the neighbors", so said Barak, a resident of Moshav Netiv HaAsara. The moshav, located a mere 400 meters away from Gaza is very peaceful now. The moshav is spotless. Flowers bloom in front of every house and in all common areas. The hothouses are a bevy of activity growing organic tomatoes for the local market, and flowers that are sold at the...Read more...

The overarching theme of this very sad, yet ultimately emotionally uplifting day was Achdut. The group started the day in Tel Aviv. In a change from the original itinerary, a change that was actually announced by the rabbi in shul on Shabbat, instead of driving straight to the South, we drove to Har Nof. 

The generally chatty group became more and more somber as we were nearing our destination. We entered the town to be "greeted"...Read more...

The Solidarity Mission to Southern Israel landed at Ben Gurion to a welcome sight: Rain! Geshem! And not just a drizzle, but a steady, soaking rain, the very kind that Israel needs and the answer to our prayers ever since we've been inserting "mashiv ha'ruach ve'morid ha'geshem" in our prayer.
 
From the airport, we went to our beautiful hotel close to the beach in Tel Aviv, leading Rabbi Robinson to remark wistfully that this...Read more...