Day 2

The Journey to Secret Destinations

By Cindy Yanofsky, Julie Krasker and Andrea Shapiro

“Most of the things worth doing in the world were declared impossible before they were done”                                                                                                                                                          – Louis Brandeis

This quote embodied our experiences today.

Thursday morning started with a bang! We were woken up to a huge thunderstorm extra early in the morning. Once everyone was ready to get the day started we headed off to Independence Hall. We arrived on time, however we were not important enough to park yet, we were bumped to a later time slot as SOMEONE from the Prime Minister’s office was arriving. This worked to our advantage as we were treated to a mini tour of greater Tel-Aviv, if nothing else we are learning to be extra flexible. Independence hall is an opportunity to learn about Theodore Hertzl, the father of Zionism and the signing of the Declaration of Independence which happened in the very room where our group sat.  It was a powerful experience. After a quick stop at Cindy’s favorite Israeli coffee shop-Aroma- our group was ready for the next leg of the adventure.

Traveling south towards Tel Sheva, a Bedouin community we arrived at Bat Hamidmar-Desert Daughters Natural Healing Remedies and Cosmetics (www.desertdaughter.com). A business started by the first entrepreneurial female Bedouin. Mariam the proprietor, greeted us and another group from Europe in her tin tent shop/store with a warm cup of tea and a smile on her face. She graciously showed us her factory and the many healing products that can be made with 12 different desert herbs. After the tour we were led back to the store area where we sat around a fire box and she shared her life story with us. She took us from her early years where she was born in a traditional Bedouin tent all the way through to her successful business. She shared many of the hardships along the way, including how the Israeli government moved the Bedouin community to Tel Sheva to more permanent housing. This turned out to be counterproductive as the pre-designed homes did not fit the Bedouin culture. The government then decided to sell pieces of land to Bedouin families so they could build according to their needs. Mariam explained how her business was born in her brother’s garage, and this is still where it is today. Believe it or not this is a business that ships internationally, and is run and operated by a woman with a B.A. in Business from an English University. She is a trailblazer in her tribe and continues to work on breaking down barriers and carving new paths for women. We are still marveling at her inspirational words “My luck I do it, everything you do, you should have an aim.”

Heading further south we headed to Kibbutz Hatzerim where Netafim-the leading company in drip irrigation technology operates (www.netafim.com). Our next inspirational speaker was Itzik a member of the kibbutz who has spent the last 50 years old his life “Helping the world grow more with less.” He shared the history of the kibbutz and its hardships and triumphs. After his lectured we toured the factory where they produce the “dripper” for every single Netafim irrigation system in the world. We left feeling like even if you fail at something, so long as your heart and soul are in it, eventually you will succeed. You have to be willing to push through and stay with it.

Our final stop of the day was David Ben Gurion’s burial site in the Wilderness of Zin. A truly awe inspiring place. We arrived just in time to see the end of the rain and the sun setting. We looked out into the horizon over the sand dunes and a powerful feeling came over us. This is where Israel began, and Ben Gurion ended.