Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 58, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 2011 Page: 6 of 40
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Page A6
Jewish Herald-Voice
March 31, 2011
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JHV: MICHAEL C. DUKE
Miriam Beer, Julie Kagan and Bus 2 captain Julie Rubenstein planted native
oak trees at the Neot Kedumim Biblical Landscape Reserve on the first day of
the mission.
Houstonians help the desert bloom
By MICHAEL C. DUKE
Tree planting was the first official deed upon setting foot in Israel for
a few young adults who took the earlier flight on the Jewish Federation
of Greater Houston’s 2011 Israel mission, Feb. 28-March 8.
Those Houstonians who flew Continental ventured directly from
Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to the nearby Neot Kedumim Biblical
Landscape Reserve in Lod.
After hiking the trails and weathering a refreshing cloud burst,
mission-goers partook in the mitzvah of planting a grove of oak tree
saplings native to Israel from biblical times.
“It’s nice to actually come to Israel and plant a tree, instead of just
collecting money in support of planting trees,” said Julie Kagan, one of
nearly 30 young adult participants on the mission.
Rabbi David Rosen, of Congregation Beth Yeshurun, offered
blessings to mark the special occasion. □
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There, along the volcanic rock-
strewn Israeli-Syrian border, they
took a two-hour ATV ride during
which they were briefed on the
strategic importance of the region -
both in terms of military defense and
vital water rights - and learned about
northern Israel’s incredible variety of
flora and fauna.
The trail cut through the farml-
and ranchland of the Hula Valley in
the shadow of Mt. Hermon, Israel’s
tallest peak. Hemming the path
along the way were patches of wild
white mustard blossoms, grazing
cattle, manicured grape vines,
towering Eucalyptus trees, migratory
songbirds and semi-abandoned
minefields from the 1967 Six-Day
War.
‘Ah-ha moment’
The labored, and at times jostling,
Jeep ride was a challenge for five-
months pregnant Austin-native
Ginger Marblestone. Nevertheless, as
a first-timer to Israel, accompanied
on the mission with third-time Israel
traveler husband, Grant Marblestone,
Ginger said she found educational
value in the experience.
“It was interesting to see the vast
differences in the Israeli landscape,”
she said.
“Traveling along the northern
border, we got to see the valley and
the farming up close. I’ve always
heard about that, how fruitful parts
of Israel have become, but to actually
see a valley and how the Israelis have
turned it all to farm- and ranchland,
it was impressive,” she said.
Marblestone said she had a
poignant moment upon glimpsing the
Syrian minefields that still, to this
day, litter Israel’s northern border.
“Passing by the minefields and
seeing the warning signs really struck
me,” she said. “We had a conversation
with our guide, Ami [Braun], about
cows stepping on the mines and
blowing up and if that actually ever
happened or not.” (Apparently, cattle
are not heavy enough to trigger the
mines, which are engineered to
destroy weightier targets, like tanks.)
“You hear about those things, but
to actually see them, it puts a new
perspective on it. Nowhere in the
States do I have to worry about going
out and driving through a minefield.
To realize that people still have to do
that here, that was one of those ‘ah-
ha moments.’ ” she said.
While Marblestone said she
preferred the more interactive
activities on the mission, such as
participating in an erev Shabbat
service at the Kotel in Jerusalem’s
Old City, or visiting with IDF soldiers
in a tank division stationed near the
Israel-Lebanon border in the north,
she said that the Jeep ride was fun
and memorable, and something she’s
never done before, even back in
Houston.
‘Huffin’ & puffin’ ’
More than 70 percent of participants
on the Jewish Federation of Greater
Houston’s Connection 2011: Mission to
Israel were first-time Israel travelers.
For Jennifer Lessey, one of those
first-timers, the visit to the Dead Sea/
Masada was the highlight of the trip.
The Dead Sea/Masada was
one of several specialty tracts that
Houstonians chose on the last full day
of the mission, March 7.
“Going to Masada, by far, was my
favorite day in Israel,” said Lessey.
“I’m really into the history of things.
Growing up, my parents took me on a
massive road trip up the East Coast,
and I think I saw every Revolutionary
and Civil War battleground there
is between here and New York. So,
I’ve developed a real appreciation
for visiting places where significant
historic events actually happened,” she
said.
“Hiking up Masada and knowing
what happened there, learning about
what the people went through there
2,000 years ago, and seeing the ruins,
was a very significant experience for
me,” she said.
Lessey was one of nearly a dozen
mission-goers from the Young Adults
Division bus who decided to snake
trail it up to the ancient mountaintop
fortress, rather than take the cable car.
The journey up the 1,400-foot-tall mesa
was a notable part of the adventure.
“This was a great bonding
experience for those of us who hiked
up,” Lessey said. “About halfway up,
most of us were huffin’ and puffin’. But,
everybody said we can do it - come on!
- and it was very encouraging. Masada
isn’t Everest, but it still is a mountain -
and we climbed it!”
Marblestone also appreciated the
bonding opportunities that the mission
provided participants, particularly
for the young adults who didn’t know
many others, or who weren’t very
involved in the local Jewish community,
beforehand.
“That was one of the best parts of
the mission - the friends that we made
and getting to meet a lot of different
people our own age, young couples with
kids and the young singles, as well,”
Marblestone said.
Lessey said she gained a deeper
understanding and connection to
the land of Israel through her visit
to the country’s second top tourist
attraction after the Kotel, which also is
a registered UNESCO World Heritage
Site.
“That people gave up their lives on
Masada because they would rather die
free than go back into slavery, that’s
an important lesson from history. No
matter what the land looks like, or
what’s on it, it was still their land and
their freedom and they were willing to
die for that,” she said.
“Compared to the other places and
sites we toured on this mission, the
Masada trip brought the history to
life. That’s what connects me to Israel,
as opposed to, say, museums. The
museums we saw here were great, but
I can go to museums anywhere. You
can only go to Masada when you’re in
Israel,” Lessey said.
Homecoming
Half the Federation mission was
spent in Israel’s capital city.
For Rabbi Pam Silk, of Congregation
Emanu El, and the only female and
Reform rabbi on the 2011 mission, time
spent in Jerusalem was both personal
and emotional.
“My favorite part of the mission
was being back in Jerusalem - the
familiarity of being back in a place that
was, is, so special to me,” she said.
As a rabbinical student at Hebrew
Union College, Rabbi Silk lived in
Jerusalem from 1998 to 1999. The
mission was her first time back, and
her second visit overall, to Israel.
The apartment she lived in as a HUC-
Jerusalem student could be seen from
her window at the Inbal Hotel where
the mission-goers stayed while in
Jerusalem.
“I felt a lot of excitement when
we entered the city and stopped at
Mt. Scopus. For me, this is a place
of marked time,” said the 36-year-old
rabbi, who likely would have been part
of the YAD group, but for the fact that
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 58, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 2011, newspaper, March 31, 2011; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth544283/m1/6/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .