Bibi's speech driven by action and resolve, while Tzipi's was more idealistic -- her only concrete suggestion for strengthening the state of Israel was to encourage more people to make aliyah. She noted that since we all share the same traditions, we all need to "share the same tasks and go against extremist ideology." What bothers me about this statement the presence of the diaspora adds fascinating diversity to Jewish life and cuture. I don't necessarily think homogeneity is the answer -- especially given that oftentimes the different denomonations of Judaism make it impossible for us to work together as a cohesive unit. To her credit, Tzipi did note that a Jewish state is NOT one that should be governed by a monopoly of Rabbis. Unfortunately, this seems to be the current state of affairs in Israel: Only Orthodox Rabbis and Orthodox weddings are legally accepted by the Israeli government -- not to mention that one of my classmates is a convert and has to prove his status as a Jew in order to extend his student visa. Israel will NOT grant student visas to non-Jews. Does anyone else see things like this as painfully obvious reasons for why Israel is not always viewed positively by the rest of the world?
Bibi, on the other hand, noted that the Palestinians currently have no economic incentive for working towards peace. Israel needs to desperately update and improve its transportation and infrastructure so that jobs are created for both Israelis AND Palestinians. Bibi also stressed the need for education reform. Currently, there are four different educational systems in Israel: Arab, Orthodox, ultra-Orthodox, and secular -- and there are no unified standards of curriculum that ensure that students are learning what they need to know. "We're the people of the book, but people in the State of Israel are failing international exams," Bibi said. Apparently, even Iranian children are scoring higher than Israelis on some of these exams! I've gotten some personal insight into this from a woman studying at the Conservative Yeshiva with me. She came over here with her thirteen year old daughter with the intent to stay for the entire year. However, after trying two different schools, her daughter found the schools to be sub-par to the point where they decided to go back to the states a few months early. I'm sad to see them go, but if they stayed there's a good chance that her daughter would have had to repeat 8th grade next year!
To improve its educational standards, Bibi suggested increasing teacher salaries in order to encourage the best and brightest of Israeli students to go into educational fields. He noted that the best teachers teach from the head and not from the heart -- ie, those who have the vision and the courage to make and inspire change.
If this wasn't excitement enough, last week I also attended a light show at the Tower of David Museum in the Old City. The entire history of Jerusalem was portrayed through beautiful light projections on the tower walls, such as the ones pictured below. The technology was so incredible that you'd have never known about Israel's economic struggles -- believe it or not, all the pictures you see here were created with light and cinematography!
Next up on the agenda include my first Thanksgiving in a foreign country (not that Israel really counts as a foreign country, since there are so many Americans around...), a retreat this weekend up near Beit Shehan Archeological Park, and, yes, another show! I'm performing in an original operetta called "The Keys to the City," written by the director and conductor of "Yeomen." The show is about the British invasion of Turkish-occupied Jerusalem during Chanukah 1917, and we'll be performing it at the Bible Lands Museum at the end of the month (yes, during Chanukah). I'm especially excited to be combining my passions for music, Judaism, and history all rolled up nicely into one! Stay tuned for more details...Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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