Days 18 and 19: Shabbat, Sderot, and Netiv HaAsara

On Shabbat, the chanichimot had a sleep in and then had some time to prepare for their Yom Kvutza, when they will be putting their peer-leadership skills to action! They'll get to choose what topics they want the day to be about, plan the activities, and then run them for each other. They also had several chugim (special electives) to choose from, such as learning about First Nations in Canada, soul, doing acrobalance, and more. They later had the opportunity to go evening swimming and eat dinner by the pool. This week, Machaneh Gesher led everyone in Havdallah. Afterwards, everyone did musicale and medura and had the chance to perform skits and songs for each other.

The MBI chanichimot went to Sderot, Netiv HaAsara, and Beer Sheva on Sunday. They started the morning learning about Sderot and some of the activities of Dror Israel, a movement founded by graduates of Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed. The group also spent some time learning about the realities of life in communities along the Israel-Gaza border. At Moshav Netiv HaAsara they went to a joint mosaic creation called Netiv L'Shalom (Path to Peace). This mosaic is placed upon a wall that separates Gaza and Israel. They met with a resident of the moshav who told them about this project, and that when the Israeli government erected the wall, it stood out as a huge gray eyesore - a daily reminder that people living on both sides of it are caught in a reality of conflict and cycles of violence. However, the group also spoke about the importance of acknowledging that there are people and organizations, living and working on both sides, who do want peace, who recognize humanity in the other, and retain hope for a better reality. Before they left the moshav, they had the chance to write personal wishes and messages for the future, and then add their ceramic pieces to the mosaic. Afterwards, the group went to Beer Sheva for a barbecue dinner and hanging out in the park, before heading to Sde Boker where they will sleep for the next couple of nights.

Overall, it was a challenging, but eye-opening day for the group. Tomorrow, MBI will have Yom Kvutza. It will be exciting to hear about what topics they are interested in, and to see what types of activities they will be running for each other!