#walk tour israel

[heritageposts]

Ask an older generation of white South Africans when they first felt the bite of anti-apartheid sanctions, and some point to the moment in 1968 when their prime minister, BJ Vorster, banned a tour by the England cricket team because it included a mixed-race player, Basil D’Oliveira. After that, South Africa was excluded from international cricket until Nelson Mandela walked free from prison 22 years later. The D’Oliveira affair, as it became known, proved a watershed in drumming up popular support for the sporting boycott that eventually saw the country excluded from most international competition including rugby, the great passion of the white Afrikaners who were the base of the ruling Nationalist party and who bitterly resented being cast out. For others, the moment of reckoning came years later, in 1985 when foreign banks called in South Africa’s loans. It was a clear sign that the country’s economy was going to pay an ever higher price for apartheid. Neither of those events was decisive in bringing down South Africa’s regime. Far more credit lies with the black schoolchildren who took to the streets of Soweto in 1976 and kicked off years of unrest and civil disobedience that made the country increasingly ungovernable until changing global politics, and the collapse of communism, played its part. But the rise of the popular anti-apartheid boycott over nearly 30 years made its mark on South Africans who were increasingly confronted by a repudiation of their system. Ordinary Europeans pressured supermarkets to stop selling South African products. British students forced Barclays Bank to pull out of the apartheid state. The refusal of a Dublin shop worker to ring up a Cape grapefruit led to a strike and then a total ban on South African imports by the Irish government. By the mid-1980s, one in four Britons said they were boycotting South African goods – a testament to the reach of the anti-apartheid campaign. . . . The musicians union blocked South African artists from playing on the BBC, and the cultural boycott saw most performers refusing to play in the apartheid state, although some, including Elton John and Queen, infamously put on concerts at Sun City in the Bophuthatswana homeland. The US didn’t have the same sporting or cultural ties, and imported far fewer South African products, but the mobilisation against apartheid in universities, churches and through local coalitions in the 1980s was instrumental in forcing the hand of American politicians and big business in favour of financial sanctions and divestment. By the time President FW de Klerk was ready to release Mandela and negotiate an end to apartheid, a big selling point for part of the white population was an end to boycotts and isolation. Twenty-seven years after the end of white rule, some see the boycott campaign against South Africa as a guide to mobilising popular support against what is increasingly condemned as Israel’s own brand of apartheid.

. . . continues at the guardian (21 May, 2021)

#israel #palestine #gaza #south africa #i think all of us need to seriously study the history and actions of the anti-apartheid movement #and apply these lessons to the israeli occupation

[matan4il]

The way you explained things on your recent post made me so upset. Of course terrorists get paid more than Holocaust educators...it's clearly the case that hate is more popular than unlearning it...but how devastating to see it put so plainly. I'm also wondering whether you're able to offer your tours, lectures or workshops online or if it's only in person. I really value the kind of work you do and I know I am not alone.

Nonnie, thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate knowing that someone has read and really reflected on what I shared.

It's also lovely to hear that our work at the museum is appreciated. Originally, it was all done only in person, but since Covid, I have had the chance to give lectures online, through Zoom. It's a pretty amazing tool. I don't think anyone's done workshops online thourgh Zoom, but as an idea, it can be done, so long as it's adjusted to the medium. The trickiest one is doing tours, but Yad Vashem has actually developed an online, virtual tour that you can take with one of the guides, with the 'Google Earth street view' technology allowing us to "walk" through the museum together.

The big issue is that YV doesn't market these for the most part, it's something that's mostly offered to groups who were supposed to come visit us, but had to cancel their trip to Israel. But such groups tend to postpone rather than cancel, so they're usually not interested in taking a virtual replacement, if they're gonna visit in person later anyway. So... it's possible, it doesn't happen a lot. I can as an idea market my own services, but I'm really terrible at marketing. XD

In any case, I just wanted you to know the option exists, if you're ever interested in anything like this, and that I'm really grateful for the kindness. It makes my heart grow... Sending lots of love your way, and hope you're doing well! xoxox

#ask #anon ask #personal #antisemitism #holocaust #israel #fandom love #kindness #thank you! #<33333 #anon hate has nothing on anon love

[frances-baby-houseman]

This is a picture of me and my friend Jared in Israel! Here's a fun story about that night:

I went on a birthright trip in early june and the way birthright works is you get a round trip ticket to Israel and a 10 day tour, and you can go home at the end of the tour or you can change your flight to stay as long as you want for (at the time) $40. So I changed my ticket to stay for another two weeks and hung around in Jerusalem and stayed in a hostel and would just like, hang out every day with whatever australians were hanging around (everyone was australian.) At the end of my two weeks, my friends Joey and Jared were coming on THEIR birthright trip, so I decided to spend the last three days in Tel Aviv to see them. So I went to Tel Aviv and it was the fourth of july! (ed: I just did the math and it was not the fourth of july.) And we went to a bar and that was great and I was tired so I decided to go back to the hotel.

SO I was going back to the hotel and I was walking down the street and these two guys were walking toward me and they were like, hey, we know you! were you at the (whatever it was called, I can't remember) hostel in Jerusalem last week? and I was like yes! And they were like come have a drink with us! so I did! and I hit it off with one of them and we were definitely going to hook up and it was so exciting and we walked back to my hotel and JOEY AND JARED WERE SITTING ON THE FRONT STEPS OF THE HOTEL WITH THE POLICE WHO THEY HAD CALLED WHEN THEY GOT BACK TO THE HOTEL AND I WASN'T THERE.

So I did NOT hook up with this guy, whose name is lost to time, and I DID talk to the police about my not being dead or kidnapped and it was very upsetting tbh!! I think they should have just assumed I was fine until I wasn't there in the morning! Also in America I do not think the police owuld have taken them so seriously but I guess they like to keep the americans happy and also canadians bc Jared is from Toronto.

Anyway that was that I never saw any of those people again except Joey and Jared. And then 5 years later (I just remembered this) at our five year college reunion my friend Abby was like, Who is that he's hot! and I was like ABBY that's JARED he COCKBLOCKED me with the ISRAELI POLICE.

[eretzyisrael]

By EMANUEL FABIAN

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Beneath the Gaza Strip headquarters of the controversial United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known commonly as UNRWA, the Hamas terror group hid one of its most significant assets, the Israeli military has revealed.

The subterranean data center — complete with an electrical room, industrial battery power banks and living quarters for Hamas terrorists operating the computer servers — was built precisely under the location where Israel would not consider looking initially, let alone target in an airstrike.

The revelation of the server farm comes amid other accusations of UNRWA collusion with the Gaza-ruling terror group and the entanglement of the UN body that provides welfare and humanitarian services for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars and their descendants.

Israel last month accused 12 staff with the UN Palestinian refugee agency of taking part in the October 7 massacre by Hamas-led terrorists, who killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in the murderous rampage.

Since the allegations became public late last month, UNRWA has seen many of its top donor countries announce funding freezes, leading to concerns that the agency could stop operating in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East within weeks.

But the IDF’s recent discovery of the Hamas data center while UNRWA is under increased scrutiny appears to be merely a coincidence.

Col. Benny Aharon walks into UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters is located in Gaza City’s upscale Rimal neighborhood, an area that the IDF had previously operated in, dismantled the local Hamas battalion and withdrawn its troops from.

At the time of the initial ground offensive in Gaza City, the military had not found or known much about the Hamas data center. But new intelligence, primarily emerging from the Shin Bet interrogations of captured terrorists, helped pinpoint where to dig.

Related: UNRWA head says agency was in dark about Hamas center under Gaza HQ; Israel: ‘You knew’

“The IDF was here previously, the first time was to destroy the enemy, but when we were here the last time we collected a lot of intelligence documents and findings, a lot of prisoners, and thanks to this we reached here. Now we carried out a targeted operation to take this capability away,” said the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Benny Aharon, while giving a media tour of the tunnel and UN complex on Thursday.

“We had a basis of information, but not enough to be able to dig down 20 meters and find it, we needed a bit more. There’s information we get from prisoners we capture, from computers we find, from documents, maps,” he said.

The IDF in recent weeks has returned to carry out smaller operations in the northern Gaza Strip, after largely destroying Hamas’s fighting capabilities during the early stages of the ground offensive.

#gaza #hamas #unrwa #hamas servers

[moonshinemagpie]

Just took a walking tour in Barcelona and saw the Hebrew-engraved bricks that were used to build the palace of the viceroy of Catalonia after Barcelona's Jewish Quarter was attacked, thousands of Jews were murdered, and the bricks that made up a Jewish cemetery were stolen to use in this palace. These bricks are now surrounded by modern-day graffiti that says "fuck Israel" (in English) and "boicot Israel."

I'm not writing this as a defense of Israel's current military actions. This is just a simple snapshot of why I can't ever feel the endless anti-Israel barrage coming from Europe is done in good faith, and why we should self-reflect on our own obsession with Israel and learn about how our ancestors' history intermingles with antisemitism. To imagine that we get to be free from these prejudices and act in a totally unbiased way when we talk about Israel is madness.

#vacation posting #when i was a kid i used to half-joke with my sister that cultures that eat tons of pork do so as a kind of middle finger to Jewish culture #the tour guide told us that this is literally true #that there are over 100 Spanish pork products because everyone in the 1400s was so eager to show they werent jewish #would literally hang sausages outside of their houses #antisemitism #politics #negative #and also to show they werent muslim ofc

[girlactionfigure]

A Joke about Israel that Gave me Goosebumps

This Shabbat my daughter and some friends visited a nursing home where they met 99-year-old Saba Kalman. Saba Kalman told them about how he grew up in a small town in Poland and was transported to Auschwitz at 17. And how, after the war, he snuck past the British blockade on the bottom of a fishing boat, hiding underneath that day's catch with a crowd of other survivors.

When the refugees made it to the Haifa port, they were taken by bus to a Moshav. Even 76 years later, Saba Kalman clearly remembers the strong fragrance of the orange orchards they walked through on the way to their host families. It was, Saba Kalman said, the most beautiful scent he had ever smelled.

Saba Kalman's hostess presented him with an entire loaf of bread, from which she invited him to cut off a slice. This was the first time in many years, he reminisced, that he would have an entire slice of bread to eat.

Then his hostess told him she had turned on the water boiler for him, and invited him to take a hot shower.

And that night, well-fed, his body clean, and lying on clean sheets for the first time in many, many years, he told my daughter and her friends that he hadn't wanted to close his eyes that night because he was terrified that he was dreaming. And if he closed his eyes and fell asleep, the dream might stop.

That, he told my daughter and her friends, is what Israel still feels like to him. "If you live in Israel and you don't believe in miracles, you aren't a realist."

This past Friday night we heard a joke from our wonderful guest, Yehuda from LA. It was the first joke I've ever heard that gave me goosebumps:

"There was once a tourist who went on a tour of the Vatican led by a priest. The tourist noticed a pay phone, and asked the priest what this phone was for. The priest answered, 'With this phone you can make a direct call to God."

'Really?! How much does a call cost?'

'$2000," the priest answered.

The tourist's next stop after the Vatican was Israel, and when he visited the Western Wall he noticed a similar pay phone.

He asked the rabbi standing by the phone, "How much does a call cost?"

"1 Shekel," the rabbi answered.

Surprised, the tourist asked, "That's interesting, I was just in the Vatican, and they told me there that a direct call to God costs $2000! How come it only costs 1 Shekel here?"

The Rabbi pondered the question and then answered, "I guess because here it is a local call."

Shavua tov!

Jewish MOM

#Israel #Kotel

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

A Day Trip in Israel, Sea of Galilee I Town of Jesus, Magdala and Nof Ginosar Kibbutz Walking Tour

#Youtube

[mutant-what-not]

Regarded as the ‘Master of the Walking Bass,’ Leroy Vinnegar was a mainstay on jazz recording sessions from 1952 on where he was on over 600 dates. His signature walking bass was the foundation for his impeccable sense of swing, which has gone on to influence several generations of players.

Vinnegar was born into a musically inclined family in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 13, 1928. His earliest musical education came from the radio, on which he listened religiously to the great bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. His two sisters played piano, and young Leroy thought that might be his instrument as well. “I tried my hand at piano,” he says, “and I would have been a nice piano player, had I stayed with it.” Things changed when he actually started playing with others, however. “The bass player used to leave his instrument at the house after we’d rehearse,” Vinnegar remembers, “and I just started messing with it, and the next thing you know I was playing the bass. We just got a communication going.”

When he was about 24, Vinnegar considered pursuing his muse on a grander scale. “I was getting ready to make my push,” he recalls. “I knew I had to get out of Indianapolis, so I could get my music career started. There were good musicians in Indianapolis, but I wanted to move up the ladder, so I figured I’d move to Chicago and tune up, and then I would go to New York.” That was 1952, and Vinnegar was shocked to discover that the Windy City was something far more challenging than a momentary stopover. “Little did I know Chicago was just as fast as New York,” he recollects with another hearty laugh. “I thought I would just go there and get ready for the big one. Little did I know I was walking into a lion’s den. They were there waiting for my ass.”

Vinnegar found himself to be “the tenth bass player on the totem pole” in a hierarchy of jazz bassists topped by Israel Crosby and Wilbur Ware. “When you’re new, you just have to wait your turn,” he says. But Vinnegar’s turn was not long in coming. “All the bass players were busy one week,” he remembers, “and somebody said, ‘Hey there’s a new bass player in town by the name of Leroy Vinnegar.’ ‘Well, how does he play, man?’ ‘They say he can play, you know?’ ‘Well, we ain’t heard him.’ ‘Let’s try him and see. There ain’t nobody else here we can get.’”

Soon, Vinnegar was playing in a band with Chicago’s great native tenor saxophonist Von Freeman, and then, with a brotherly boost from Israel Crosby, in the house rhythm section at the famous Bee Hive. There, he had the chance to work with Lester Young, Ben Webster, Johnny Griffin, Sonny Stitt, and others. “It’s hard to pinpoint a single influence,” Vinnegar says, “because everyone I played with or made a record with was such an influence on my career. But I think Art Tatum topped ’em all. He gave me such a nice compliment by wanting me to join his trio. I figured if Art Tatum asked me to join his trio, I must be doing something right.”

It was while playing with Bill Russo at the Blue Note, opposite Tatum, that Vinnegar was heard by the great pianist. “He heard me and wanted me to move to Los Angeles to join his trio,” the bassist recalls. “I was going to move anywhere.”

Shortly after he arrived in Southern California in 1954, Vinnegar insinuated himself indelibly into that scene. “They say it was much better in the ’40s, but for me, everything was happening,” he says, citing the L.A. presence of Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Conte Candoli, Teddy Edwards, Frank Morgan, Hampton Hawes, Carl Perkins, Shorty Rogers, Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, Bud Powell, and many more. Ensconced again in a house rhythm section, this time at Jazz City, Vinnegar played regularly with pianists Kenny Drew, Carl Perkins, and Hampton Hawes, and drummers Lawrence Marable, Frank Butler, and for a while, Philly Joe Jones. He recorded with virtually everyone on the scene, formed a band with saxophonist Teddy Edwards, drummer Billy Higgins, and pianist Joe Castro, toured with Shelly Manne, and helped Les McCann put together his pioneering trio in 1960.

By then, at the urging of Contemporary’s Les Koenig, Vinnegar had already recorded his first albums as a leader"Leroy Walks!, in 1957, followed by Leroy Walks Again! “I was real nervous, wondering what I could do,” Vinnegar remembers. “Les said he wanted me to do songs that had the word ‘walk’ in them. That made it a little easier.”

The “walk,” of course, referred to the inimitably sturdy “walking” style that Vinnegar had perfected, a style he says came to him “because I couldn’t solo. I didn’t know the bass well enough, because I’d never studied it,” he elaborates. “I was just going by ear. I didn’t know the positions or the sound of the fiddle so whenever it got to me, I couldn’t solo and I just stayed right with the walking. It was a safe thing at the beginning, a sure shot, then it started developing into something. I found I had a lot of imagination for the walking bass.” That imagination had been fueled by singing bass in gospel choirs as a youngster, and it became invaluable for both Vinnegar and the musicians around him. “It gave other players a cushion to work off and it sort of woke up the bass players, too,” he says. “It gave people an understanding of what the bass could really do beyond going one, two, three, four.” Today, that understanding is as widespread as the respect that Vinnegar has garnered as the walking master.

Except for occasional recording sessions (such as Teddy Edwards’s breakthrough Mississippi Lad), festival appearances, and European tours, Vinnegar is content to play his regular gigs in Portland. “I’d been coming up to Oregon since 1973 and I fell in love with it,” he says. “Then I met some nice musicians up here and we started creating something, so I said I’ll stay right here. And I’m glad I did, because people up here accept real jazz.” And that’s what Vinnegar plays, with all the honesty and determination that “the Walker” has always embodied.

In 1995, the Oregon State Legislature honored him by proclaiming May 1 Leroy Vinnegar Day.

Leroy Vinnegar died August 3, 1999.

Source: AllAboutJazz/Wikipedia

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Dylan Martinez

Published: Feb 10, 2024

Israeli forces have discovered a tunnel network hundreds of metres long and running partly under UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters, the military says, calling it new evidence of Hamas exploitation of the main relief agency for Palestinians.

Army engineers took reporters for foreign news outlets through the passages at a time of crisis for UNRWA, which has launched an internal probe and seen a string of donor countries freeze funding over allegations last month by Israel that some of its staff doubled as Hamas operatives.

The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA, which employs 13,000 people in the Gaza Strip and has been a lifeline for the aid-dependent population for years. The agency runs schools, primary healthcare clinics and other social services, and distributes aid, describing its activities as purely humanitarian.

UNRWA Headquarters is in Gaza City, among northern areas that Israeli troops and tanks overran early in the four-month-old war against the governing Islamist faction Hamas, sending hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing southward.

Reporters on the closely escorted trip entered a shaft next to a school on the periphery of the U.N. compound, descending to the concrete-lined tunnel. Twenty minutes of walking through the stifling hot, narrow and occasionally winding passage brought them underneath UNRWA Headquarters, an army lieutenant-colonel leading the tour said.

The tunnel, which the military said was 700 metres long and 18 metres deep, bifurcated at times, revealing side-rooms. There was an office space, with steel safes that had been opened and emptied. There was a tiled toilet. One large chamber was packed with computer servers, another with industrial battery stacks.

“Everything is conducted from here. All the energy for the tunnels, which you walked through them are powered from here,” said the lieutenant-colonel, who gave only his first name, Ido.

“This is one of the central commands of the intelligence. This place is one of the Hamas intelligence units, where they commanded most of the combat.”

But Ido said Hamas appeared to have evacuated in the face of the Israeli advance, preemptively cutting off communications cables that, in an above-ground part of the tour, he showed running through the floor of the UNRWA Headquarters’ basement.

It appeared that heavy Israeli barrages and sustained winter rains may also have played a part in the departure: Several stretches of the tunnel were clogged with dislodged sand and knee-high water.

In a statement, UNRWA said it had vacated the headquarters on Oct. 12, five days after the war began, and was therefore “unable to confirm or otherwise comment” on the Israeli finding.

“UNRWA ... does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises,” the statement said.

“In the past, whenever (a) suspicious cavity was found close to or under UNRWA premises, protest letters were promptly filed to parties to the conflict, including both the de facto authorities in Gaza (Hamas) and the Israeli authorities.”

UNRWA’s supporters say it is the only agency with the means of aiding Palestinians in deepening humanitarian distress. Israel says the agency is “perforated by Hamas” and must be replaced. Hamas has denied operating in civilian facilities.

“We know that they (Hamas) have people working in UNRWA. We want every international organization to work in Gaza. That is not a problem. Our problem is the Hamas,” Ido told reporters.

Lack of cellphone reception in the tunnel made geolocating it as under UNRWA Headquarters impossible. Instead, reporters were asked to put personal items in a bucket that was lowered by rope into a vertical hole on the grounds of the headquarters. They were reunited with the still-tethered items during the tunnel tour.

As a condition of taking journalists on the trip, the Israeli military did not allow photographs of military intelligence such as maps or certain equipment in the convoy of armoured vehicles they traveled in. It also requested approval before transmission of photographs and video footage taken on the trip.

--

Date: Feb 10, 2024

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel's foreign minister called Saturday for the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees to quit, following Israeli claims that a Hamas tunnel had been discovered under its evacuated Gaza City headquarters.

Israel Katz dismissed UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini's claim that he was unaware of its presence as "not only absurd but also an affront to common sense".

"His prompt resignation is imperative," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Lazzarini, already under pressure after Israel claimed some UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack, said the agency had not operated from the compound since October 12.

Instead he called for an independent investigation.

Hamas has previously denied Israeli claims that it has dug an extensive network of tunnels under schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure as cover for its activities.

Israel's army and the Shin Bet security agency said operations in Gaza City in recent weeks had led to the discovery of a "tunnel shaft" near a school run by the humanitarian agency.

"The shaft led to an underground terror tunnel that served as a significant asset of Hamas's military intelligence and passed under the building that serves as UNRWA's main headquarters in the Gaza Strip," they added in a statement.

"Electrical infrastructure" in the tunnel -- 700 metres (765 yards) long and 18 metres underground -- "connected" to the agency's HQ, "indicating that UNRWA's facilities supplied the tunnel with electricity", they said.

[ Israel claims electrical equipment in the tunnel was powered by cables running to the UN agency compound. ]

Documents and a stash of weapons in the UN compound itself "confirmed that the offices had in fact also been used by Hamas terrorists", the joint statement said.

Katz claimed the discovery showed UNRWA's "deep involvement" with Hamas.

'Inviolable'

An AFP photographer was among a number of journalists taken to the compound and tunnel by the Israeli military on Thursday.

UN premises are considered "inviolable" in international law and immune from "search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference".

Lazzarini wrote on X that its staff were forced to leave its Gaza City compound under instruction from Israeli forces as bombardment intensified in the area and had not returned.

"We have not used that compound since we left it nor are we aware of any activity that may have taken place there," he added.

[ UN premises are considered "inviolable" in international law and immune from "search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation and any other form of interference". ]

The compound was last inspected in September 2023, he said.

Any suspicious "cavity" found near or under any UNRWA premises was previously reported to the authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Israelis, and also made public, he said.

The latest claims "merit an independent inquiry that is currently not possible to undertake given Gaza is an active war zone", he added.

"The Israeli authorities have not informed UNRWA officially about the alleged tunnel." Instead the agency learned about it from media reports, he said.

The UN has launched two separate probes into UNRWA, the first into Israeli claims that 12 of its staff may have participated on October 7, and the other a review of its overall political neutrality.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has spoken out in defence of the agency, calling it the "backbone" of Gaza aid.

So too has US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said it played an "absolutely indispensable role in trying to make sure that men, women and children who so desperately need assistance in Gaza actually get it."

==

It was inspected in September, they haven't occupied it since October, and we're supposed to believe that all this stuff was just built, installed and then abandoned completely without the UNRWA's knowledge or involvement? Give me a break.

Then crying that shutting down a terrorist front will hurt innocent people, when that front has been funnelling aid to Hamas chiefs, lieutenants and allies, training children to be martyrs, and actively participated in the terrorist attack?

Defund and dismantle UNRWA. Now.

#IDF #Israel Defense Forces #Israel #Hamas #hamas terrorism #UNRWA #defund UNRWA #UNRWA is hamas #exterminate hamas #Gaza #Gaza Strip #islamic terrorism #islam #religion is a mental illness

[ilhoonftw]

ok idk how widespread this information is but i grew up in kraków (cracow) and that's a touristy town. it's the capital of małopolska (lesser poland) voivodeship and it's rather close to both oświęcim and wieliczka. oświęcim is the city where nazis decided to built auschwitz at, when poland was occupied. before ww2 oświęcim a large jewish community. wieliczka is the city where a salt mine is located, very cool place. kraków itself has a district called kazimierz that used to be a place where both polish and jewish cultures co-existed, it has a lot of landmarks. it's also very gentrified but that's a story for another day. on the other side of river wisła (vistula) you can visit the schindler factory that was turned into a museum

the fact a lot of tourists come to the region to tour around those places. i mean it makes sense, you buy a tour package l, land in kraków airport, tour all those places at once. however you can say the order of things became a bit of a... paradox? isn't it weird that one day you go to a place where so many people lost their lives only to hours later enjoy the beauty of a salt mine. last time i went to mocak, an art museum next to the schindler museum, you had to pass through an outdoor art instaltion. it's a tunnel that has 'auschwitz wieliczka' and it's supposed to show the ... irony? idk the right word. the installation was moved couple times, it even ended up getting locked up in a warehouse due to weirdos constantly destroying it by spray painting terrible things on it.

and after this long intro, here's the main thing i want to you to know. in my community it was known that israel plans special tours for young people to show them the history. i used to see groups of tourists on the ghetto heroes square. it's also a home to an art installation, sculptures of chairs are meant to commemorate those who lost their lives. allegedly due to "previous unruly behavior" some hotels ban those groups from booking but idk how legit this info is.

those trips to poland are called shoah tours and organized for high school kids. that also are yet to enlist in the idf. could you say it is using a past tragedy to invoke some sort of duty to protect the country? they are widely criticized, both by polish and israeli researchers. there's this very known in poland documentary about them, showing how supposedly israeli kids are told polish people are hostile and will hurt them if they aren't careful? again, that's alleged. that documentary is unfortunately often used by antisemites. this is another long story i do not have the expertise to explain. it's upsetting in general. you have young minds being, maybe this is a strong word but, poisoned. every young person should be taught ways to make independent decisions and develop ways to analyze things on their own, not to be told what to think. also, there's a rumour that those kids and their teacher are accompained by mossad agent? some are so sure of this they play 'spot the oddly looking teacher with concealed weapon' whenever they see a large group of high school kids walking around the areas i mentioned at the start of the post, wit a guide that speaks hebrew

i know there's research done by various sociologists how those tours mostly benefit idf and are used as propaganda tool. in fall 2022 tours were cancelled due to government level conflict between israel and poland. as you can guess, there's a lot of tension there.

thank you for reading this very long post. i want to point out this is a topic i'm familiar with due to growing up in the area, however i moved out a long time ago so my experience as a local might be outdated. nor i'm an expert in the matter of jewish history. this is purely subjective account and i'm sorry if i misrespresented anything

#sorry for locking the post idk if i can handle it breaching the cointainment zone :(

[aestheticvoyage2023]

Day 218a: Sunday August 6, 2023 - "O'ahu"

A clever jetbridge trade with a local FA bought us a day of vacationing with Audrie here in Hawaii after crashing her HNL overnight. We got a morning walk to reset on the fresh ocean air, and to show my parents the famous Waikiki Beach where my Mom wasted no time in joining my Dad and I in the crystal cool Honolulu blue waves just off the shelly shore. It was a nice cleanse. Great way to start the day, and my first taste of salt water. We then rallied out to grocery for my first taste of Poke. As we started on down the road to our first adventure, I hoped the next few days would be filled with many tastes of both.

But first - we'd need to taste that famous Dole Whip! My Mom booked us tickets on the little train tour and we waited our designated hour and 15 minutes to say we rode the Pineapple Express at the Dole Plantation. The real gift there was watching William, mostly from my Dad's shoulders, love every second of every train that rolled in and filled up and rolled off again - -as if waiting in line was the whole game. He was very excited for the train, and waited one more round to sit in the very front seat, as it chugged us along through the pineapple farm. Is it time for ice cream yet? One last little line led us to our pineapple treats that my mom exclaimed as the best ice cream shes ever eaten...and she could be right, especially with that farm fresh pineapple topping. Worth every bit of the train ride.

Song: Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole - White Sandy Beach of Hawaii

Quote: “I once heard a grouty northern invalid say that a coconut tree might be poetical, possibly it was; but it looked like a feather-duster struck by lightning.” ― Mark Twain, Mark Twain in Hawaii: Roughing It in the Sandwich Islands: Hawaii in the 1860s

[byfaithmedia]

#WalktheBible #Israel #CableCar #travelpics #sightseeing #scenery #outdoors #visitIsrael #bucketlist #historicalplace #Nature #landscape #Heritage #culture #amazingview #worldheritagesite #discover #adventure #beautifuldestinations #archaeology #wanderlust #explore #Travel #History #southernIsrael #DeadSea #JudeanDesert #fortress #KingHerod #ancientruins

[frances-baby-houseman]

This was fascinating. Flying into Israel is always an intense experience even in times of relative peace. There are no trash cans in Israel, only bags attached to rings, bc of bombs. Everywhere you go there are armed guards-- with every tour group, at the entrance to McDonalds, walking along the beach. Everywhere. Guns everywhere, all the time. The guns aren't usually loaded, but on my trip, our guard (who obviously hooked up with my friend, he was a hot 22yo sabra, good for him) was like, having to load the gun won't slow me down. Cool dude!

My brother was living in Israel during the Israel-Hamas fighting in 2014, and spent many nights in the bomb shelter in his building. In his building! A bomb shelter! Everywhere you go in Israel you see directions to the nearest shelter. He is really struggling right now, as you might imagine.

I also love that Biden was just like, fuck it, I'm going, I don't know what's going to happen. There isn't time to make sure we know what will happen. That's a thing I like about Biden. Being bold about going WAS the message.

Anyway this is a good and interesting read.

[hannahz-scstudyabroad]

Day in the life: Classes in Prague 2/15/2023

Normally, I would love to share my travels through this blog but today I wanted to share a day in my life with classes.

There are some academic differences when coming to Europe, the main thing for me was that classes meet once a week but for three hours (with one 15 minute break). When applying for classes I decided the best thing for me and what I wanted to get out of studying abroad was to try to fit my classes so that I could have extended weekends to travel. Thus, I decided to take three classes on Tuesday and one on Thursday.

Once I got here though, I realized even though I love having one day dedicated to classes, it is a really tough day to get through. 

My first alarm is set for 6:45am, then I snooze until my second alarm comes at 7am. Today my first class is at Anglo American University (AAU) at 815 am. I get ready, do my ablutions, and make a cup of coffee to bring with me. I am out of the apartment by 740 am. The public transport is amazing with options of both a tram and a metro. To get to AAU, it is a 10 minute walk to the green line of the metro, then ride 4 stops, then you are right there on campus! The crazy thing about the metro here though is how deep the metro actually is, the escalator going down is super freaky. Honestly, the closest comparison in the USA is the Washington DC Metro, but Prague is even deeper. 

Once I got to AAU, I had my first class of the day, European History II. The class is an introductory class that has the exact credit translation for my Non-US History requirement which is perfect, except the only time the class is offered is 8:15am. Additionally, I am the only student that is on a semester exchange in this class, the rest are full-time AAU students from all over the world. I ended up sitting next to a girl from Israel! The class was a lecture for the first hour, where we discussed the Renaissance and then we took a 15 minute break, where students could grab a coffee at the cafe below, which was exactly what I did (only way to survive a 10 hour class day). The discussion is super interesting as we all since all students got to express their opinions. 

The class got out early so I had an hour to get to my class, which was my Food and Brewing Class at the CEA Center. The walk is so beautiful between my two classes, with my passing over the bridge and walking through Old Town Square. 

Since I had extra time, I decided to sit on a bench in Old Town Square and journal for a little bit. I am trying to write daily in my journal to my boyfriend, Jack, to make it seem that the 4,810 miles between us is not as far as it actually is.  

My next two classes are with Ashley which is awesome. Both of my CEA classes are not general education classes, rather they are both culturally based classes. Today in our Food and Brewing class we went to a local Czech restaurant to try the food and drink some beer (yes, I said that right, I drank beer in class). 

I got the Pork Schnitzel and a Pilsner, which is a Czech beer. It was interesting to see the cultural differences between both cultures. Coasters need to be already set out by the customer for drinks and tipping culture is not a thing at all here, at most 10% tip for exceptional service. The food was absolutely delicious. To compare, the schnitzel was like a chicken fried steak and it was served with mashed potatoes and pickles (my favorite). 

After my Food and Brewing Class, I had my Golden City of Prague class, which is very interesting because it is an architecture and art history class that is specific with Prague and the Czech Culture. Honestly, I learned so much in this class. We go to the classroom for an hour and then go on a field trip for the rest of the class to different places in Prague that we discussed in class.

 Today, we toured Prague Castle, specifically the Cathedral.

The whole complex was insane. Prague was considered the center of Europe during part of the Medieval Era and seeing different mosaics on the cathedral from that era was so insane to me. 

The other thing that interested me was how little crowds there were. It is just so insane how a city like Prague has not gotten as much international attention when it comes to tourism and history. It is one of those cities where everyday there is something new to learn and discover. Honestly, Prague is the exact picture of a European city that I have always thought growing up and not only am I fortunate to be able to experience this city and live here for 4 months, I am fortunate to be able to learn and gain a different perspective on the educational aspect as well. 

This blog post took a detour through a “love letter to Prague” but after the Prague Castle, it was time to take the tram back to my apartment in Prague 2, around a 15 minute ride and I got home around 6pm. Even though the day was long, it speeds by every week because of all the new, interesting information that I am learning in all of my classes. 

I am loving it here, studying and indulging in all aspects of the city. It is amazing. 

Also, I know I am a little bit late with this blog post but don’t worry… There is one based on my travels coming by the end of the weekend! I went to two different countries the past two weekends and can’t wait to share those adventures with you all!

#travel #travelblogger #prague #classes #university #studyabroad #europe #czech republic

[bree-t]

2022 was an eventful and challenging year in many ways:

-B and I struggled to find our groove as a married couple and committed to breaking our negative cycles and patterns together.

-We celebrated my dad’s 70th birthday (69 but 70 according to the Chinese calendar)

-I went roller skating with my nieces

-We hosted and celebrated LNY with yummy food and roasted marshmallows in the backyard.

-We went to an immersive art exhibit.

-I hung with my sister friends: painted with Lily and Catherine, visited Leslie, Nicole and Maya.

-Brent took me to see Justin Bieber and Jaden Smith for my belated birthday.

-celebrated Lily’s birthday with an escape room and brunch

-took my parents to the Ruth Bancroft Botanical Garden

-hosted my parents for lots of visits and meals

-picnicked by Lake Merritt with coworker friends

-had a board game day with the Lambs

-hosted Megan’s baby shower in SD with Diana

-volunteered to pack meals for Ukraine

-traveled to Cancun to celebrate Michael and Edison’s wedding and love with the UCSD fam

-road-tripped to visit Jordan and Nicole (and Maya and the pets!) in Sac

-celebrated Andrew and Bryce’s wedding in LA

-caught up with LA friends/fam: Andrew and Kyle and Garrett

-had a bbq girls date with my sister and nieces

-went to the AAPI Community Festival with Catherine and met the directors of Turning Red

-hosted the first in-person orientation and social events since the pandemic

-supported Aunt Carole’s garden club plant sale

-saw Mount Westmore (and probably caught covid there!)

-saw Oh Wonder with Lily

-met Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul!

-traveled to Bergen, Norway with Catherine and saw the fjords! (Also learned what a fjord is lol)

-traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to launch a Global Internships program and finally meet Sabrina and faculty I had been working with for years for the first time!

-reconnected with Gerald in Stockholm of all places!

-Brent got in a car accident but got a new suv (bigger for more cargo!)

-We saw and met Earth, Wind, and Fire and Santana.. from the 3rd row!!

-celebrated Jiten and Preeti’s wedding with UCSD residents and friends

-celebrated Fourth of July with Andrew, Kyle, Adrienne, Chris, and Brent - lots of wine and kbbq of course

-traveled to the Middle East for the first time, and explored Jordan and Israel (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa)

-explored Wadi Rum and Petra

-launched a new program in Haifa, Israel - a project that I started years ago

-celebrated Bobby and Perry’s colorful Toshiba themed wedding in Monterey

-celebrated our one year wedding anniversary!

-celebrated Brent’s birthday in SF with the stranger things experience and a seafood dinner

-danced the night away at the Backstreet Boys concert

-relived my youth at a throwback concert with Nelly, Ja Rule, Ashanti, and Lloyd

-went to a Giants game for Victor’s 70th birthday

-volunteered to host Comedy Night for Cal freshman - for the first time since the pandemic

-caught up with Global Glimpse Brent over Indian food

-hosted Madison and Leah for a sleepover: and played lots of animal crossing and games

-saw Jazz is Dead in SF

-saw Kendrick Lamar!

-spent Labor Day in Mendocino: eating bomb seafood, picnicking at the winery, and walking to see the seals

-celebrated Catherine’s birthday at Rupaul’s Werk the World Tour

-celebrated Maya’s 6th birthday

-drag brunch with coworkers and friends

-family trip to Groveland and Yosemite to hike, eat, and drink

-taught a freshman seminar class - in-person!

-hiked Muir Woods with Alyssa, Clark, and Brent and had bomb Puerto Rican food after

-saw Lupe Fiasco in SF

-presented at the Diversity Abroad Conference in SF

-presented at FORUM CIGL in Milan, Italy

-traveled to Lake Como, Bellagio, and Verona in Italy and Lugano, Switzerland with Lily.

-celebrated Scott and Kristen’s wedding

-celebrated Kenzie’s 3rd birthday

-celebrated my 34th birthday with Jose in Arnold

-finally took my parents to HOPR!

-hosted the fam for thanksgiving hot pot

-celebrated thanksgiving dinner with the Costas

-saw Clue at the Lescher Center for Performance Arts with Brent’s parents

-saw Bow Wow, Lloyd, and other throw back artists

-went to Disneyland and California Adventure, and got to stay at the Grand Californian Hotel!

-took a day trip to Petaluma to reset and reinvest in our relationship

-ate and drank our way through a cheese advent calendar with Adrienne and Josephine

-watched my nieces perform in their annual Hoike

-celebrated a quiet Christmas with our little family

-visited my parents in LA for a couple days, managed cancelled flights and rented a car to get home

-celebrated a belated Christmas with Brent’s parents, Sharon, and aunt Carole

-and ended the year with a flood garage!

[yhwhrulz]

Worthy Brief - February 9, 2023

Follow in the footsteps of Messiah!

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Continuing this study of Mashiach Ben Yosef (Messiah "Son of Joseph"), I want to focus on another aspect of the rabbis' understanding; that Mashiach ben Yosef will come first, and prepare the world for the Kingdom of the Lord. According to their teaching he will do this by fighting God’s wars against "Edom", which is collectively understood as the enemies of Israel in the time preceding the restoration of the Messianic Kingdom by Mashiach "Ben David" . This preparation is known as Ikvot Mashiach – the Footsteps of Messiah. Their expectation was that the entire world would be thus readied for the arrival of Mashiach Ben David, the glorious King.

Messianic and Christian believers understand that Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus) fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of Mashiach Ben Yosef in His first coming, and we anxiously await His return to fulfill the role of Mashiach Ben David. During this long interval, we who know Mashiach "Ben Yosef", the Suffering Servant, Yeshua, (Jesus) also "walk in His footsteps", preparing the world for His return.

This "walk" also engages us in a war. "Edom" represents the earthly man, the man of flesh, an enemy against whom we struggle daily, facing many battles and obstacles as we prepare ourselves and our brethren in holy living for our expected Bridegroom's arrival. Walking in His Footsteps means living a life of expectant preparation, and calling others to this walk as we preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom to all the nations.

Let us follow faithfully in His footsteps, fighting in the spirit, the battle with "Edom", our sinful nature, and winning souls through holy living and sharing the gospel of salvation at every opportunity.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Going to Christian College in Dallas, Texas) Daytona Beach, Florida

Registration is closing soon! Join us on an epic, life changing journey through Israel, https://worthynews.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b94ae97bb66e693a4850359ec&id=4866802e92&e=3d3c649f0e - through the eyes of those who are well acquainted with the culture, the people and the Land. This is not your average Israel tour— bring your family, bring your friends, and experience the REAL ISRAEL with George and Baht Rivka as your personal hosts.