Hello Workshop Blog,
This update is simply to report, as the title suggests, that Kaveret
continues. In the past couple weeks, the
chanichim had their first Poland journey preparation seminar. The topics they delved into covered how the
Holocaust is educated and often misrepresented, envisioning a society that is
based on the opposite values of the ones in Nazi Germany, and the idea of a
journey and what it entails. The seminar
all in all went very well in both Akko and Karmiel.
In other news, winter is in full swing in Israel. It may seem silly to think about winter in
this mostly desert-like landscape, but winter we have. It mostly consists of cold rainy days every
few weeks. From one point of view, this
is a miracle from the heavens and we should be thankful – after all, the
Kinneret is still dangerously low. But,
on the other hand, most buildings in Israel were not built for the couple
months of wintry weather this country gets, and as a result it is cold and
miserable many times. This is certainly
true of the Kaveret houses, which can be cold and damp at times. This has led to a noticeable upswing in colds
and light sicknesses experienced by the chanichim as a whole. In addition, as you all probably know, there
have been other technical issues in the Kaveret houses which are being dealt
with hastily to ensure a safe environment.
Next week, the chanichim have a special 4 daylong seminar
jointly organized by MASA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is a seminar about advocacy and they will
be mostly in Jerusalem, with a trip to Sderot as well. They will be learning about different aspects
of Israel and its place in the world and how it is - and should be - represented. This is a new element in the Workshop program
and we are excited for the opportunity.
In the future, I hope to get chanichim to write about
their Messima experiences on Kaveret to give you a better understanding of the
day-to-day reality they are in.
Until then, keep warm and dry wherever you find
yourselves this winter.
