A Sneak Peek and a Meeting with the Defence Minister

I don’t know what I did right in my life to deserve such fortune. It just seems as though everything is working out nicely for me on this hike. Nice=Exact. Now I know I have been a lil lax on my updates, I will fill in the blanks over Passover, but here are some sneak peeks on what has already happened on the trail, but that I don’t have entries for yet. After a grueling week of ups and downs through the Karbolet and down the small machtesh ( don’t be fooled by its name ) up again the next day and through the Judean Desert, I met someone on the trail who’s sister works at one of the Hotels at the Dead Sea. Walla, Shabbat at the Dead Sea. Then, I enter the Arab village of Drejat near Arad. I meet a friend there, we get invited by a family into there home for coffee and tea, after awhile I realize that they have slaughtered a sheep and a planning a feast. Amazing, sheep, hummus, salads, and a nargillah at the end of it all. I hiked through the Yatir forrest ( I am out of the desert ) and finish up in a city called Meitar. I took two days off and went to Tel Aviv for a fund raising event there.

Now here’s the crazy part. I have been planning a trip to Sderot, a city in the south that borders Gaza that is getting rockets shot at it everyday from our Arab cousins. I wanted to be there to show my support for the community but also to be a spectator, to see how the people live with this constant threat. My friend tells me he knows someone there who could show me around. Great! I had no-idea this friend was the son of the former Defence Minister of Israel Amir Perez. His son’s name is Ohad. Ohad and I hit it off great. He shows me all the construction that is going on in the city, both from the municipality and personal. It appears as though the city is going through a beautification process. In every round-about there are wonderful sculptures done by a local artist here named Haviv Ben Abu. The sculptures are of musical instruments as Sderot used to be famous for its music. He takes me to a community center that he runs where kids can play music and record, to a yeshiva that was built recently that is completely bomb proof, so that when the sirens go off telling people they have 15 seconds to run for cover, the students don’t need to worry, to the police station where I view hundreds of Kassams that have landed in this great city ( I took a photo op with one ) to the city hall where his father as a young child would watch the charismatic Yitzchak Tricky who inspired Mr. Perez to be a voice for his community. So much so that Mr. Perez became the mayor of Sderot at the age of 30. We then rolled up to Ohad’s grandfather’s house. His grandfather had passed away many years ago and Ohad is taking over the house. But before he does there are many renovations that need to be done. Who is there doing the construction, none other then his own father, the former Defence Minister here is Israel Amir Perez. We visted the different neighborhoods, talked about the alliyot of the 90’s and the impact it had in the region, and of course we went up to the top of the hill that overlooks Gaza. It was a lil frightening to see how close we were.

Lunch did not fall short. Ohad took me to his family’s home where his mom who’s family is from Iraq ( his father’s family is from Morocco ) cooked up some delicious Iraqi Latkes. As I am leaving she asks if she should set an extra seat at the table for Shabbat. Shocked but delighted I accept the invite. I leave the house to do a lil wondering around the city on my own. I watch the people greet one another, do there shopping, wash there cars, work on the gardens, its appears that Sderot in many ways is just like any other city, even better then your average city, people here really no one another, care for one another and are happy when they see one another. Sderot is a beautiful, energetic, vibrant, thriving city.

Shabbat dinner was delicious. We ate many different Moroccan dishes that sent my taste buds into ecstasy. The conversation was good too. Mrs. Perez explained the early years of the family. Living on a nearby Moshav, farming. They mainly grew garlic and roses. Interesting combo. Mr. Perez spoke a lot with his youngest son Matan who was home for the weekend from the Army. All in all it was an incredible trip to Sderot.

It is great to see a leader of my country living a normal life, with a normal family.