Ten intrepid Beth Elohim soccer fans schlepped to Bloomfield Stadium after the Sabbath ended to watch home team Hapoel Tel Aviv take on Ra'anana in a critical Israeli Premier League match. One taxi driver was a Hapoel fan, and he lamented that his team was not doing so well this year. The match started at 8pm before nearly 15,000 screaming shouting fans, after the usual hand-shake ceremony by the teams. Most of the home fans were clad in the red of their team's uniforms, some in scarves, others in red shirts or jackets. The field was well-maintained natural turf with no bare spots.

Ra'anana scored first near the end of the first half, after some not so brilliant plays by the home side, even though Hapoel dominated the play. Fans whistled derisively whenever the referee decided against their team.

Early in the match, it became clear that numerous players had had lessons from Stanislavsky or one of his disciples, as players flopped all over the field in agony at the slightest contact from a player on the other team.

The second half was all Hapoel, as their coach doubtless had some encouraging words to say in the locker room. They changed their attacking tactics, scoring twice, and holding to a 2-1 lead for the last 15 minutes. The fans cheered their heroes when the match ended, and everyone went home happy.

This was soccer as it is played in the rest of the world. Despite the meager salaries paid to the players, many of whom toil anonymously, either of these teams would compete favorably against teams in the US so-called Major League Soccer, loaded with aging stars from other countries.

Submitted by Ben Myers

Reflections on the Day
by Ellen Krueger

After a night of struggling with various stages of jet lag and exhaustion from the plane ride we were ready to face our first full day of touring in and around Tel Aviv.  Happily we all rallied enough to have our first Israeli breakfast. It was a bounteous spread of eggs, cheeses, smoked fish, fruits, fresh salads, cereal, yogurt, laban, breads, sweets, and even some dim sum (!). Truly, it was a breakfast for the ages. And it fortified us for a day of seeing special sights and learning about Israel  as Innovation Nation. Israel from it's start as an independent state, to today, where itshines as a leader in research and technical innovation.

First stop was Independence Hall, former home of Tel Aviv Mayor Myer Dizengoff, where we heard of the complex plots, plans and preparations for Israeli Independence, going back to Theodore Hertzel's dream for a Jewish state, to the actual declaration, and the reading of portions of Israel's Declaration of Independence, and the stirring recording of Hatikva. Before we went inside, our intrepid guide, Peter Abelow gave us insight into the beautiful and symbolic mural outside the hall. It depicts the history of Tel Aviv, from its days of being sand dunes to the its role as Israel's largest and most modern city. Impressive how this was accomplished in a brief period of time.

From there, we went to Ayalon Institute, and the secret bullet factory, built underground below a kibbutz training facility, during the War For Independence to keep the Haganah activists supplied with ammunition. We learned of the intricate plans to keep the secret of the staff of 45 brave workers going in and out of the bakery and laundry, deep below the ground to manufacture the bullets on machinery smuggled into Israel from Poland after World War I. The 45 had planned on becoming kibbutzniks. But they diverted their plans for three years, to make this plan work.  No one, outside of the workers, and their leaders, knew Ayalon Institute existed.  It was fascinating how clever and detailed the plot, how dangerous the undertaking, and how vital it was to Israel's fight for independence.

After a picnic lunch in the park on the Ayalon Institute grounds, it was off to a tour of the Weitzman Institute of Science Welcome Center. The Institute is named for Chiam Weitzmant, a brilliant chemist who became Israel's first President. The magnificent campus is home to a place where the brightest scientists, technicians, and research students (Graduate level) are able to seek out places where the human mind has yet to go. They are there to create and discover things that will be of benefit to humankind. We were able to play with various interactive games that showed some of the innovative projects created by those at the Institute. In a huge room with a clear glass floor, we manipulated beams of light with out hands, revealing images that morphed into fascinating stories as we raised and lowered the length of the beams. It's hard to describe. You had to be there. Actually, you should go! It is very impressive to see imagination harnessed like that.

Following all of these stimulating activities, we came back to the hotel for a brief rest, followed by a dynamic hour with 31 year old Assaf Luxembourg, who showed us how and why Israel is at the top of the heap as a Innovation Nation. He explained that it is in Israel's heat, soul and DNA, to be creative and find new ways to approach problems and find solutions. We were all impressed, not only with his topic, but with this young man who is a great representation of what he described. He is CEO of Crowdmii, a start up that funds products that will benefit specific project for the good of its recipients, and also shows "that the Isrealite mind burns brighter than ever." I am way too tired to do this man justice. Check out Crowdmii for yourself at http://crowdmii.com. And consider helping them help a village in South Sudan get the solar panels they need to bring electricity to their lives.

What a great overview it all was!

Day 1!!!!

REFLECTIONS ON DAY 1 by Dan Klein Thoughts on אחד יום שָׁלוֹם from the CBE Israel 2016 trip. We opened our experience with our welcome dinner at a fabulous Yemenite restaurant.  This one is traditional for CBE Israel trips.  If you think your אִמָא went nuts with making sure you got enough to eat, she  would be deliriously happy with the menu here.  We had at least seven kinds of appetizers, any one of which would, would have been a meal for a family. Two eggplant dishes, humus, baba g’nush, falafel, meat “cigars”, outstanding pita, and more.   Then we had Yemenite kabobs with french fries.  One kabab was chicken and the other was a beef and lamb sausage-like affair (not like the Greek kabobs we’re used to).  Baklava for desert and house wine throughout. But the most important serving was being able to coalesce as a group which we did at this Yemenite dinner.            After a good night’s sleep and a traditionally abundant Israeli breakfast (everything from pickled herring to eggs to pastries to lox to fruit to more and more) we began our program in earnest. Today was dedicated to Israel’s stellar position in innovation, starting with a moving visit to Independence Hall where we learned about the declaration of independence read by David Ben-Gurion (through a recording).  I was unaware that the actual war had begun quite a while before the declaration.  That event served to establish our homeland and to escalate the war to its broadest proportions.  It was, in fact, the end of the British mandate that sparked the conflict.   Our second stop was at the Ayalon Institute.  This is on the site of a kibbutz under which a clandestine bullet manufacturing facility was operated during the mandate and war period quite literally under the feet, if not the noses of the unsuspecting British army.  The story of how a small number of people risked imprisonment or execution while  manufacturing 2.25 million rounds in frighteningly dangerous conditions with no one, including the other kibbutzniks, knowing, was a moving part of our history that made me particularly proud to be a member of the Jewish community.  Indeed, it is very likely that, had this operation not existed, there would not have been enough ammunition and we would have lost the war. After a boxed lunch we headed off to the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot to learn about Israel’s stunning leadership in scientific research.  Rather than me trying to describe, it take a look at their web sitehttp://www.weizmann.ac.il.  This visit was a perfect background the final element of today’s program, a talk by Assaf Luxembourg an entrepreneur and self-described industrial ambassador. Mr. Luxembourg delivered a dynamic and animated talk that was at once exciting and informative.  He demonstrated the uniqueness of the Israeli culture and how well suited it is to innovation:  a mature, inquisitive, exhaustive, bottom line orientation focused on finding the right ideas, executing to perfection and doing so with passion.  He ended with a description of the company he leads and what it is doing to help make innovation and entrepreneurship a  dramatic and compelling ambassador for the land of Israel.  Take a look at the website for his company http://crowdmii.com/.  I think you will be as impressed as I am. Some personal thoughts on being here: The most obvious one is that from the moment I stepped off the plane I felt home.  This has been the case in each of the three times we’ve come here and I’m sure it is no coincidence. When at home the only Hebrew we generally see is in prayer books, the torah, and other ritual contexts.  But when I see Hebrew on store fronts, newspapers, billboards advertising for Mc Donalds, or –dare I say– ads for less than family appropriate services (I’m told this is legal here), it really brings home that Israel is a real place and Hebrew is the language of real place.  And we are part of that real place. This feeling was particularly reinforced here in Tel Aviv.  Places like Jerusalem or S’fat evoke a sense of awe and ancient, biblical and Talmudic history first; and modernity and day to day life second.  Tel Aviv evokes a sense of vibrant, present, contemporary daily life with all its joys and warts.  Except for the proliferation of cell phones, cigarettes, differently shaped license plates, this city could be any modern metropolis. To me this brings home the concept of Israel as a HOME land, a place where real people live real and contemporary lives. That was אחד יום of our 2016 trip.  And now it’s off to bed, even though it is only 4:30 (your time). Best Regards, Dan Klein Click here to Reply or Forward 4.97 GB (33%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 1 minute ago Open in 1 other location  Details