After my gracious sister, Sumner, drove me to the airport, I made my way through the BNA to board my sixth individual plane flight in the last two weeks. Bound for Newark, Israel, and the most anticipated trip of my life, I found myself fairly mellow and laid back. I navigated travel with one arm in a sling yet again and found myself in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Newark New Jersey among a group of 37 students that I had (for the most part) never met.
Our group quickly adopted a family atmosphere. Briefly telling our stories of how we became involved with CUFI, we all began to feel a unity around a common love for Israel and the Jewish People. Once introductions were made, the Executive Director of CUFI, David Brog, addressed our group and spoke of the importance and exceptional privilege of our trip. He then went on to explain the more practical side of modern day foreign policy as it relates to Israel…
Israel Fact #1: Since 1937, Israel has made 5 offers for a 2 state solution with the Palestinians. All 5 times they offered land which they had rightfully either purchased over the course of history or won in battles initiated by the Arabs themselves. Fact: all 5 times, the Palestinian Arabs (different than the Israeli Arabs, who have Israeli citizenship and rights) rejected the offers for peace.
Irving Roth, a Holocaust survivor, who endured the atrocities of both Auschwitz and Buchenwald, narrated his story to us in beautifully and painfully vivid terms. As I listened to this history, which he lived and still breathes- as you can see it in his eyes, I found myself enthralled and also horrified at the pace with which a tinge of prejudice spawned into wicked Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Lies are most often crafty and subtle. If we don’t know Truth, as humans, we fall prey to them so easily. As Mr. Roth concluded his story and offered us signed copies, I found myself profoundly effected by the authenticity of a history which I have never before connected with personally and particulary excited to visit Yad Vachem (Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem) later this week.
A crew of students and I then hopped on a train and headed to check out the bright lights of NYC- a failing effort to outwit jetlag on the front end (by not sleeping much the night before the overseas flight). I was overjoyed to get to meet up with my dear friend Lucie Rhoads, who has been living in NYC for the summer while helping to start a charter school for KIPP Academy. Lucie guided us through Greenwich village and then over to Time Square where we hung out and chowed down on some late-night Carnegie Deli cheesecake. After snapping out of the daze inflicted by the intoxicating lights of American Advertising, I said ‘see ya soon’ to Lucie, and the crew and I headed back to the hotel.
3 hours of sleep. Final Breakfast in Newark (sitting with Irving Roth). Intense check-in and basic interrogation with El Al (Israeli Airline) employees….And we were headed to Israel.
So glad you are there safe... be careful!
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