The members of the French-speaking teachers’ delegation to Israel began the fourth day of their Israel Enrichment Tour at the tomb of Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes where some participated in the morning Shacharit prayer service. Although this stop was not on their original itinerary, some participants made a special request to visit the site before departing from the Galilee. Rabbi Meir, as he is called, was a Jewish sage who lived in the Mishnaic Period and is known to be a miracle maker. He is admired for his wisdom and his contribution to the Mishna, the book of Jewish Oral Law. The site is located on a hill just south of Tiberius alongside the Sea of Galilee.
Yael Benarush who is the principal of a Jewish school in Paris said that visiting these sites is of the utmost importance for Jewish educators in the Diaspora. “We feel distant just teaching about Israel from books. It makes a big difference when we are here and visit places like this that totally embody Judaism and Zionism. When I go back to Paris I feel like a mother bird that collects food in Israel and then feeds it straight into the mouths of her teachers and pupils. I have been coming to Israel very often lately because my two children live here and just last month I brought a large class of school children on a visit.”
A short distance away from the tomb of Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes on the banks of the Sea of Galilee is the historic Kinneret Cemetery where many famous Israeli pioneers and leaders of the labor movement are buried. Explanations at the site were provided by the group’s two well-informed tour-leaders
Yoel Kahn and
Ariel Assaf. They led the group along the paths between the headstones while stopping at graves along the way to tell the stories of the people who are buried there, including
Berl Katznelson,
Nachman Syrkin,
Rachel Bluwstein,
Ber Borochov,
Moses Hess,
Avraham Herzfeld and
Shmuel Stoller. At the grave of musician
Naomi Shemer, Ariel Assaf played her composition “Jerusalem of Gold” on his portable music player. The participants sang along.
The next stop was at the “Old Bridge” at Naharayim where in 1932 Jewish engineer Pinhas Rotenberg built the first hydroelectric power station in the Middle East.
Gil Alter of Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov was on-site to meet the group. He led them to the border fence between Israel and Jordan where standing before a huge gate, he said that he needs permission from the IDF to take the group into the area. A short telephone call provided the go-ahead and Gil then asked delegation member
Violet Ittah from Morocco to unlock and open the gate. Violet who was thrilled by the honor she received, issued a load ululation and while opening the gate shouted, “For Morocco!” Gil explained that construction of the plant was made possible at the time following an agreement between Israel and King Abdullah of Transjordan. “The site was destroyed during the 1948 war and became off-limits to Israelis for 46 years. After the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan was signed by late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and late Jordanian Monarch King Hussein Israelis were permitted to enter the site once again.”
The delegation then made its way back into Israel to visit the Naharayim Reconstruction Site where the participants were able to view the large model that demonstrated how the power station actually worked. They also saw films and heard stories about the Gesher community settlement that was founded nearby and withstood an Iraqi army attack for over 30 hours until the defenders were evacuated to safety.
Before leaving Naharayim, Violet asked the KKL-JNF photographer to photograph her with the
Jordan River in the background to show her class during the next school year. “This is wonderful for me because I teach Hebrew and Bible studies and tell my pupils how Joshua and the children of Israel crossed the Jordan to come and fight and capture the holy land. Now I can show them that I was there too.” Violet said that unlike the current situation in France, the Jews in Morocco feel safe and protected.
Ruti Elhadad who is also from Morocco and teaches at the Alliance School in Marakesh said that she was very excited to be near the Jordan River. “I also teach my pupils bible studies. This is the first time I saw the Jordan. It is very important to see it and not only know about it. We have been all over the north and it has enriched me as a Jew and as a teacher. This is my third time on a KKL teacher’s tour. They invest a lot of thought and effort in these trips.”
Lunch was held in the communal dining room of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. However, the participants first visited the BioBee hi-tech laboratory where the kibbutz produces biological solutions to protect agricultural crops from pests and diseases. Veteran Kibbutz member
Rafael Zarfati was well known to several of the visitors because his two brothers are principals of two schools in Paris. He told them that a vast majority of Israeli farmers prefer to get rid of their pests using BioBee’s host of friendly predators, rather than rely on chemicals to do the job. “This year, 2,000 hectares of peppers, nearly nine-tenths of the country’s production, will be protected from aphids, mites, thrips, and whiteflies using of BioBee’s products and services.” He produced examples of several insect hives which are cultivated to be released at a later date in fields where needed. “Bio-Bee exports eight different species of biological control agents, plus pollinating bumblebees, to 32 nations from Japan to Chile. Only about 45 percent of its market is domestic.”
Delegation participant
Alexandra Haccoun who teaches at a Jewish School in Geneva said that she was fascinated by what she saw. “This trip,” she said with a big smile,
“Has been incredible. Kef gadol, lots of fun, and very educational including modern and ancient history, Judaism and Zionism. I have been vastly enriched with didactical skills and with new pedagogical goals. Kol Hakavod, kudus, to KKL-JNF and the people who worked on this tour.”
The delegation members then traveled to their hotel in Jerusalem to rest before attending their gala dinner at Mini Israel hosted by Israeli musician
David D’Or.