The Biweekly Update From Ira's Intercontinental March on Justice #1

Good eve one and all, This update is in part to let all you people who I care about know that one, I'm not goofing off bottomlessly for months on end with nothing to show, and two so you know I haven't been murdered. Without further ado, the top three updates to report from the first two weeks of my trip are: <ol> <li>Putting 30 adult American Jews who claim to be into mindfulness and spirituality on a 10 day trip with seven Israelis who are looking to rage is a fine recipe for: a good time, a pile of cheating, one runaway, bottomless analysis and dream interpretation, food babies that don't go away so easily, and groovy moves as far as the eye can see on the Jerusalem market rafters.</li> <li>Highlights from Birthright include rafting on the Jordan River (rip my glasses), acro-yoga, the silent disco in downtown Tel Aviv, relearning how to swim in the Dead Sea, seriously reconnecting with the power of Jewish songs and prayers, and a way strengthened appreciation for having at least one Jewish state in the world.</li> <li>CORRUPTION! As it turns out, you need more credentials than just being a hippie to volunteer on a kibbutz in Israel. You need a letter from a rabbi who knows the family and can testify to Judaism (stamped and signed), your birth certificate, a police report documenting no criminal record, medical forms filled in by a doctor who knows your past and present medical condition, and covid and volunteer visa documentation coming out the wazoo. These all take weeks to process and must go through one organization, the KPC (aka Israeli cartel). This is all in the context that most kibbutzim are now privatized profit-seeking entities that are actually run by rich ashkenazi Jews in Israel who want little to do with folks who do not look like them.</li> </ol> In the last couple of days I've been licking my wounds from the realization that kibbutzim aren't the epic promised land of communal living that I've been dreaming about, but it turns out sometimes you get what you need: tentative job offers are popping up, friends are connecting me with all sorts of people in all sorts of parts of the country, and I've got until October 19th before Israeli customs boots me. Next stop is the West Bank for a two day tour with Palestinian and Israeli guides, talk soon! Ira <a href = "https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1y5Dhxu5s5zLCa4X5P16NTImlZbvwUxPS?usp=drive_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" >Photos</a>