Dear Parents,
I figured it wasn't fair to give the devout blog fans only a security update for reading material in the beginning of their new week, so I am also going to give you all a bit of an update. The past few weeks for the shnatties have been full of excitement and adventure, as well as some new discoveries in their communal lives.
The Kaveret program has been going for about 4 weeks now, and most of the tzevetim (small groups of madrichim) are getting to be well established in their volunteering projects all over the centre of the country. The Shnatties are split up into 3 different volunteering projects, all with their own special rewards, and all with their unique demands.
For the Akko group - they have three tzevetim, of which one works in a school and after-school club in Haifa, one works in a school in Akko, and the third works in the co-existence tzevet, dealing primarily with Israeli Arabs in villages in the surrounds.
The shnatties have one tzevet who works in a school in Holon in the mornings, and an afternoon club for middle-school aged students in the afternoon. Another tzevet works in Tel-Aviv in a few different places, including one morning a week teaching English to Sudanese refugees, two days a week in a vocational school, and also in an afternoon club!
The third tzevet works in Hadera, which is a little further away from their home, but is definitely worth the ride! They are working in an elementary school in the morning, and in an afternoon club for children in years 4-9.
The group spends 3 days a week in the different volunteering projects, of which half a day is committed to a 'yom tzevet,' a time when they can sit down with the guides who are assisting them and partnering them through the experience, for learning and dealing with some of the more difficult questions revolving around their experiences with Israeli youth.
Hebrew has also started up again after the break, and it gives the shnatties another avenue to continue improving and raising their level of hebrew. Now that they are immersed within Israeli society, not just in their projects but also with shopping, travel, and other daily interactions, every bit of Hebrew can only help in their experience of Israeli life.
The group has also been going through an intense hadracha (leadership) theory course on Thursdays, and has delved into questions of what it means to be a leader, personal example, working as a group, as well as many other relevant issues in being a leader within the movement and machane.
The shnatties also had their first Poland preparation seminar a few weeks ago, and began to explore the Shoah and the way that we view and remember it today, both in the movement and within our home communities. They will be doing their second preparation seminar in the 2nd week of February, where the groups will be spending two days at the Ghetto Fighters' Museum near Nahariya, a museum that was built and maintained by survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It will definitely be a big highlight, and will deal with lots of questions and impressions of the Shoah and how we see it today. Of course it won't be long till we will be on a plane and off to Poland ourselves!
So that's where things are at the moment on Shnat. With the Gaza operation over, we are hoping that life will return at a slightly more non-exciting level and pace, but that the steam train that is Shnat 08-09 will continue rolling along at high speed!
I will endeavour to add some photos of the workshoppers in their living environments, both in their houses and in their volunteering projects, in the next blog update.
Until then i would like to wish you all a safe and happy week!
Regards,
Leon.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Security Update Junary 31
Dear Parents,
I hope you have all had a relaxing and peaceful shabbat. I just wanted to update you all on some security changes in regards to the security outlines of the Israel Experience.
The Israel Experience has changed the security outline to what the measures were before the Gaza Operation. In regards to what that means, and how it changes the measures that were last published, the following changes have been made:
- The new 'buffer' zone that cannot be entered into around Gaza is a 7km Radius around the Gaza Strip. That area covers the city of Sderot, as well as a few kibbutzim in that zone.
- Participants are now free to travel to the boardwalk in Tel-Aviv at all time.
- It is free to travel to, and within, the old city of Akko
- Entry and travel to mixed (Jewish/Arab) villages, and Arab villages, is permitted under the new security outlines.
- The warnings that were established around travel to the old city still stand, with entry only allowed to the Jewish Quarter through the Zion Gate, and strong recommendations to not be at the Kotel (Western Wall) between the hours of 11:00 and 14:00 on Fridays.
The past month has not been an easy time for anyone in Israel, or anyone who has loved ones in Israel, but i want to sincerely thank all of you for your patience and understanding through this difficult time in Israel. With the current ceasefire, and with elections in Israel in just over a week, we are all hoping for a future filled with peace, tranquility, and dialogue.
As always, the security department continues to monitor any situations in Israel, and as any updates happen, I will keep you all informed.
Shavua Tov to everyone!
Leon.
I hope you have all had a relaxing and peaceful shabbat. I just wanted to update you all on some security changes in regards to the security outlines of the Israel Experience.
The Israel Experience has changed the security outline to what the measures were before the Gaza Operation. In regards to what that means, and how it changes the measures that were last published, the following changes have been made:
- The new 'buffer' zone that cannot be entered into around Gaza is a 7km Radius around the Gaza Strip. That area covers the city of Sderot, as well as a few kibbutzim in that zone.
- Participants are now free to travel to the boardwalk in Tel-Aviv at all time.
- It is free to travel to, and within, the old city of Akko
- Entry and travel to mixed (Jewish/Arab) villages, and Arab villages, is permitted under the new security outlines.
- The warnings that were established around travel to the old city still stand, with entry only allowed to the Jewish Quarter through the Zion Gate, and strong recommendations to not be at the Kotel (Western Wall) between the hours of 11:00 and 14:00 on Fridays.
The past month has not been an easy time for anyone in Israel, or anyone who has loved ones in Israel, but i want to sincerely thank all of you for your patience and understanding through this difficult time in Israel. With the current ceasefire, and with elections in Israel in just over a week, we are all hoping for a future filled with peace, tranquility, and dialogue.
As always, the security department continues to monitor any situations in Israel, and as any updates happen, I will keep you all informed.
Shavua Tov to everyone!
Leon.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Security Update - January 10
Dear Parents,
Shavuat Tov! I hope that you have all had a relaxing shabbat, and an enjoyable weekend thus far. I just wanted to fill everyone in on a couple of things that have happened in the past couple of days, both in terms of the security, and in terms of the shnatties kaveret house in Holon.
The security situation in regards to the current guidelines, as outlined in the post from last week, have not changed. Two days ago, on Thursday morning, 4 rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon, and landed in and around the northern border town of Nahariya. There were no shnatties in the surrounds of those rockets, as all were in the centre of the country. There were some heightened security guidelines along the northern border during the morning on Thursday, but all of those warnings were eased by 12:30pm on Thursday, and travel is unrestricted in the North of Israel. As of today, that situation hasn't changed, although the security division of the Israel experience is keeping a strong eye on the situation.
In regards to the kaveret house in Holon where the group currently is, they are settling in very nicely to both their house and their new neighbourhood. The internet in the house was set-up on Friday morning, so the group now has an active Internet connection.
The group will begin their educational volunteering projects this week, and are all very excited. On wednesday last week, they went on a tour of the schools that they will be working with, and met up with some of the guides who will be aiding them in their time at the schools. I will post the educational projects during the week, to give all of you a greater insight into the exciting work that the Shnatties will be doing in the coming months.
I wish you all a happy, safe, and healthy week, and will be in touch again soon!
Regards,
Leon.
Shavuat Tov! I hope that you have all had a relaxing shabbat, and an enjoyable weekend thus far. I just wanted to fill everyone in on a couple of things that have happened in the past couple of days, both in terms of the security, and in terms of the shnatties kaveret house in Holon.
The security situation in regards to the current guidelines, as outlined in the post from last week, have not changed. Two days ago, on Thursday morning, 4 rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon, and landed in and around the northern border town of Nahariya. There were no shnatties in the surrounds of those rockets, as all were in the centre of the country. There were some heightened security guidelines along the northern border during the morning on Thursday, but all of those warnings were eased by 12:30pm on Thursday, and travel is unrestricted in the North of Israel. As of today, that situation hasn't changed, although the security division of the Israel experience is keeping a strong eye on the situation.
In regards to the kaveret house in Holon where the group currently is, they are settling in very nicely to both their house and their new neighbourhood. The internet in the house was set-up on Friday morning, so the group now has an active Internet connection.
The group will begin their educational volunteering projects this week, and are all very excited. On wednesday last week, they went on a tour of the schools that they will be working with, and met up with some of the guides who will be aiding them in their time at the schools. I will post the educational projects during the week, to give all of you a greater insight into the exciting work that the Shnatties will be doing in the coming months.
I wish you all a happy, safe, and healthy week, and will be in touch again soon!
Regards,
Leon.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Secutiry Guidelines - January 3
Dear Parents,
As some of you may be aware, the Israeli Defense Forces this evening launched a ground offensive in Gaza. At the present moment, the security stipulations for all of the Israel Experience programs has not changed from the outline which I posted yesterday.
As any and all changes take place, they will be posted at the earliest available possibility on the blog.
I would like to wish everyone a shavua tov, and a happy and healthy week.
Regards,
Leon
As some of you may be aware, the Israeli Defense Forces this evening launched a ground offensive in Gaza. At the present moment, the security stipulations for all of the Israel Experience programs has not changed from the outline which I posted yesterday.
As any and all changes take place, they will be posted at the earliest available possibility on the blog.
I would like to wish everyone a shavua tov, and a happy and healthy week.
Regards,
Leon
Friday, January 2, 2009
Current Security situation in Israel
Dear Parents,
Firstly i would like to wish everyone a happy new year, and i hope that 2009 has thus far been healthy and safe for all of you. I wanted to address some concerns in regards to the current security guidelines of the program, in light of the ongoing operation of the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza.
There are 4 concerns in regards to the new security guidelines that have been issued by the Israel Experience, and the guidelines reflect responses to these general topics:
1 - The firing of rockets from Gaza into the southern region of Israel.
2 - Demonstrations in the Arab sector of Israel, specifically in East Jerusalem and some northern areas.
3 - Warnings from Hamas of terrorist attacks within Israel.
4 - The possibility of a northern attack from the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israel experience has certified a number of newer security warnings, as well as re-iterated a number of pre-existing warnings from the beginning of the program, to ensure that participants comply with those warnings at this time. The current security guidelines, in regards to potential risks, are as follows:
- Chanichim are not allowed within a 40km radius of the Gaza Strip. This area extends from Yavne to the west to Gedera in the east, and curves around south to Beer-Sheva. Travel to the south can be done via Road 6 until Kama Intersection, and then bypassing Beer-Sheva via the Arad road.
- No entrance to Arab villages in the North, including the Old City of Acco. Druze Hospitality is allowed in the Carmel region.
- No travel along Road 90 North (from Almog Junction to Beit Shean) or Road 1 West (Jerusalem to Almog Junction) after nightfall.
This is a guideline which has been in place since the beginning of the program. We do not currently allow any travel on this part of Road 90 or Road 1 West.
- East Jerusalem and the Old City: No travel to the Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, as stipulated in the beginning of the program. Entry to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City is via the Zion Gate only. No visiting to the Kotel on Fridays between 11:00-14:00 (again, this guideline has been in place since the beginning of workshop, due to infrequent examples of tension at the kotel during these times).
- Participants should not go to the malls in the following cities: Netanya, Kfar Saba, Hadera, Raanana, Petach Tikva. There has been no specific warning in regards to attacks, but there is a precautionary warning against malls in these cities.
- Participants should not travel to the Tel-Aviv boardwalk, between the Dolphinarium and 'Sites Square'. after the hours of 10pm.
I also wanted to explain some of the processes that the program is taking to ensure that the participants don't put themselves into a situation that could present possible risk or danger.
- All participants must be in contact with their madrichim (counselors) DAILY, by telephone. The madrichim have outlines of travel plans for all of the participants, so any potential risks need to be changed by the participants, at the discretion of the program co-ordinators in conjunction with the security guidelines. In addition, all changes in the participants' plans must be confirmed with their madrichim.
- The madrichim are contactable 24 hours through the day, and we are also insisting that the participants keep their phones ON for 24 hours, so that they are contactable if situations or security guidelines change.
- In regards to the warning on the Old city of Akko - up to this point there have been no reported incidents of tension or violence in the area, and the warnings are precautionary.
- In the case that the range of rockets extends closer to the centre of the country, specifically closer to the Kaveret house for the British group in Holon, we will assess the situation and move them to a more secure location temporarily. At this point in time, there is no indication that that will eventuate.
I understand any concerns you may have had over the past week in regards to the security situation in Israel, and i hope that these guidelines have given all of you a better understanding as to the extent of our security monitoring of the program through the Israel Experience. I will post any changes to the security situation in Israel as early as i can in the coming days, and as i receive them. I am attaching two maps of the security buffer zone surrounding Gaza at this time, to give you an idea of the 'No Go' Zone at this point in time.
A map from Homefront Command outlining areas which have guidelines
places on them surrounding Gaza
A map roughly outlining the restricted area for program participants
Firstly i would like to wish everyone a happy new year, and i hope that 2009 has thus far been healthy and safe for all of you. I wanted to address some concerns in regards to the current security guidelines of the program, in light of the ongoing operation of the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza.
There are 4 concerns in regards to the new security guidelines that have been issued by the Israel Experience, and the guidelines reflect responses to these general topics:
1 - The firing of rockets from Gaza into the southern region of Israel.
2 - Demonstrations in the Arab sector of Israel, specifically in East Jerusalem and some northern areas.
3 - Warnings from Hamas of terrorist attacks within Israel.
4 - The possibility of a northern attack from the Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israel experience has certified a number of newer security warnings, as well as re-iterated a number of pre-existing warnings from the beginning of the program, to ensure that participants comply with those warnings at this time. The current security guidelines, in regards to potential risks, are as follows:
- Chanichim are not allowed within a 40km radius of the Gaza Strip. This area extends from Yavne to the west to Gedera in the east, and curves around south to Beer-Sheva. Travel to the south can be done via Road 6 until Kama Intersection, and then bypassing Beer-Sheva via the Arad road.
- No entrance to Arab villages in the North, including the Old City of Acco. Druze Hospitality is allowed in the Carmel region.
- No travel along Road 90 North (from Almog Junction to Beit Shean) or Road 1 West (Jerusalem to Almog Junction) after nightfall.
This is a guideline which has been in place since the beginning of the program. We do not currently allow any travel on this part of Road 90 or Road 1 West.
- East Jerusalem and the Old City: No travel to the Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, as stipulated in the beginning of the program. Entry to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City is via the Zion Gate only. No visiting to the Kotel on Fridays between 11:00-14:00 (again, this guideline has been in place since the beginning of workshop, due to infrequent examples of tension at the kotel during these times).
- Participants should not go to the malls in the following cities: Netanya, Kfar Saba, Hadera, Raanana, Petach Tikva. There has been no specific warning in regards to attacks, but there is a precautionary warning against malls in these cities.
- Participants should not travel to the Tel-Aviv boardwalk, between the Dolphinarium and 'Sites Square'. after the hours of 10pm.
I also wanted to explain some of the processes that the program is taking to ensure that the participants don't put themselves into a situation that could present possible risk or danger.
- All participants must be in contact with their madrichim (counselors) DAILY, by telephone. The madrichim have outlines of travel plans for all of the participants, so any potential risks need to be changed by the participants, at the discretion of the program co-ordinators in conjunction with the security guidelines. In addition, all changes in the participants' plans must be confirmed with their madrichim.
- The madrichim are contactable 24 hours through the day, and we are also insisting that the participants keep their phones ON for 24 hours, so that they are contactable if situations or security guidelines change.
- In regards to the warning on the Old city of Akko - up to this point there have been no reported incidents of tension or violence in the area, and the warnings are precautionary.
- In the case that the range of rockets extends closer to the centre of the country, specifically closer to the Kaveret house for the British group in Holon, we will assess the situation and move them to a more secure location temporarily. At this point in time, there is no indication that that will eventuate.
I understand any concerns you may have had over the past week in regards to the security situation in Israel, and i hope that these guidelines have given all of you a better understanding as to the extent of our security monitoring of the program through the Israel Experience. I will post any changes to the security situation in Israel as early as i can in the coming days, and as i receive them. I am attaching two maps of the security buffer zone surrounding Gaza at this time, to give you an idea of the 'No Go' Zone at this point in time.
A map from Homefront Command outlining areas which have guidelines
places on them surrounding Gaza
A map roughly outlining the restricted area for program participants
I hope that these outlines have given you a better idea of what the current situation is in Israel, and the extent of the security guidelines that we are making on the program. If you have any further questions or concerns, be in contact with Ilan Scorah, and he can forward on to me any further queries, which I would be happy to address.
I wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.
Regards,
Leon Schneider
HDUK Shnat Co-ordinator
I wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.
Regards,
Leon Schneider
HDUK Shnat Co-ordinator
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