Arrival
What a difference three years makes.
Three years ago, Sinai Temple visited Israel during the height of the latest Palestinian war. The Passover massacre at the Park Hotel in Netanya had occurred two months before. The re-taking of Judea and Samaria — yielded during the Oslo negotiations in the hope that trading land for promises (the ever-receding “peace of the brave”) would produce peace, and producing instead only a new war — had begun.
The streets of Jerusalem were empty at night. There was not a single guest in the lobby of the King David Hotel the evening we arrived, and very few besides us at our own hotel. As we toured Israel on that trip, moving from one hospital to another to visit those struggling with the consequences of evil, a bus was bombed. We attended the one-year memorial service for 19 young Israelis, mostly girls, murdered in a discotheque in the first of what subsequently became an unending series of barbaric acts, committed by individuals, but supported by a culture of death and hate.
This week Sinai Temple is back — this time on a mission of thanks rather than solidarity (more about that later). And the difference in the country is palpable.
Stepping off the plane, we entered the new Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion International Airport, opened six months ago. It is a stunning combination of glass and steel and Jerusalem stone — a mixture of beauty and permanence — with breathtaking open spaces and soaring structures. (It is also a technological marvel, as Yael has noted).
We traveled the 45-minute trip to Jerusalem (how many countries can one traverse from one side to the other in 45 minutes?) and came to the David Citadel Hotel — another beautiful structure of glass and Jerusalem stone and open space.
It is the same hotel we stayed in last time, but this time it is full. There are three other missions here at the same time — one from Montreal, another from Hartford, a third from Connecticut — as well as a six-day meeting of the International and Multi-Generation Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and Their Families. There are a lot of people here.
We walked to the Ben Yehuda mall — a short distance from the hotel, deemed too dangerous last time we were here — and found people of all kinds out on the street, young and old, soldiers and ultra-Orthodox, black and white, and watched an emotional parade of World War II veterans march down Jaffa Street to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the military victory over Nazi Germany — nearly 1000 vets and spectators participated in a ceremony at Safra Square. Young girls handed out roses in the large open square to men in their 80s wearing their uniforms and medals from 60 years ago. Benjamin Netanyahu and Natan Sharansky spoke at the ceremony (afterwards Netanyahu graciously posed for a picture with an American blogger, who would post the picture here if he were more technologically adept).
We ended the evening with the panoramic views of Jerusalem from Mount Scopus and the beautiful balcony of the Regency Hotel, as the sun went down and lights went on. Simply stunning.
The people and structures of Israel reflect an openness and optimism that is making its way back from the nadir of three years ago. Baruch HaShem.
