David Yates
November 05 Israel Seminar
A Melton Israel Seminar experience - I couldn’t go back to sleep
At home my habit is to wake up at first light, get out of bed and go to the computer. I look at my e-mail, check the weather forecast and review that day’s schedule. Then I go back to bed. I sleep to the very last minute before I must get up for work. During the November 2005 Melton Israel seminar I still woke at first light when the sun light 
streamed into our Jerusalem hotel room. Through the window the orange ball rose over the old city. I checked my Melton notebook for the day’s schedule. Is today the day we take a bus to the Judean desert to see Qumran, near where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Masada and the Dead Sea? Or do we walk in the Jewish quarter of the old city to the Kotel? Or do we head west from the hills of Jerusalem to the sea shore of Tel-Aviv to walk its neighborhoods, visit Israeli Independence hall and the site where Rabin was killed? Or is today overnight our trip to a kibbutz on the Galilee with stops along the way in Caesaria, the ancient Roman capital on the Mediterranean, and Beit Shearim where the Sanhedrin sat? Or do we go to the city of Tsfat a center of Jewish thought in the sixteenth century? Every morning I was so excited looking forward to the days activities, I couldn’t go back to sleep.
One of the most rewarding and enjoyable days was something typical tourists never do. Friday morning we heard a brief presentation on the issues facing Israeli society and we were given questionnaires. Our assignment: pair up and each pair take a cab to one of the diverse neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The challenge: Once there, go into a residential area, knock on people’s doors and interview Israelis using the questionnaire as a guide. That evening, at our Shabbat dinner, we will compare notes.
Most Israelis do not work on Friday in order to prepare for Shabbat, so people were at home. Marie Jacobson, who is also from Rochester, and I teamed up. We introduced ourselves as: “… Americans who are taking a seminar through Hebrew University …” We found Israelis friendly, hospitable, intelligent, thoughtful and talkative. They willingly express their opinions. The cab drivers are the most fun.
We met a lovely older couple who were out for a walk. The gentleman is a retired architect and the lady is a therapist. We talked for 45 minutes about their family and their life in Israel. It was a delightful conversation. I could hear the wisdom of age in their answers to our questions. Next we encountered a lawyer in his mid forties (that’s a guess) who was born in Israel and who has a son is in the army. He considers himself part of the right wing and his answers to our questions showed it. He gave us a different perspective than the retired couple but his explanations were thoughtful and well reasoned. Departing from the questionnaire, my favorite question was “What do you think of George Bush?” The answers were as varied and fascinating as the Israelis we met.
