Our Summer in Israel: Palmach museum, Rabin Center, Old Jaffa

Just when I thought I had Tel Aviv pegged as a fun, superficial place to shop and eat, it surprises me with a day of complexity and thoughtfulness. We had an amazing day of touring in Tel Aviv with Harley and Gabrielle.

We had been talking about going to the Palmach Museum today, so we called this morning as soon as it opened to reserve it. They only had 4 spaces left the entire day for the 1 pm tour. So, we decided to grab it and Harley and the big kids could go (and Abe and I could reserve for tomorrow). We made hasty plans for the morning. Harley and Gabrielle headed off to the Jaffa flea market and we walked down to Rothschild Blvd to Independence Hall. We happened to arrive just as a tour in English was beginning (for us and a huge international group of teens). The guide started by showing us a photo of the first house in Tel Aviv. He pointed out a window of the house in the photo and then showed us that very same window in the room we were sitting in. Although they knew this was the same place, they didn't know that facade was still intact -- it had been uncovered in renovations a few months ago. Very cool. We then watched a short film about the declaration of statehood and the building itself. It was originally Mayor Dizengoff's house and then later became the Tel Aviv art museum. When the Jewish leadership knew that the British were getting ready to leave (withdrawal planned for a Saturday), they anticipated that the surrounding Arab countries would attack. They decided that they had nothing to lose by declaring the state of Israel. So, they looked for a place to hold the ceremony on Friday, before the British left. They chose this building because it was respectable, but also safe (e.g., small windows, etc). They sent out 350 invitations telling people the time and place of the event, that they should dress up, and to keep it a secret. When the crowd gathered, they broke into a spontaneous singing of Hatikvah. Then, Ben Gurion read the declaration of statehood, a Rabbi led the Shechekiyanu, and the orchestra played Hatikvah once more (this time no one sang because they were crying or at least too choked up to sing). We went into the actual room where the declaration happened and heard an impassioned speech (maybe a little over the top) by another guide about the importance of Israel, the importance of peace, how hard it is to send kids into the army, and so on.

We then took the bus up to the Ramat Aviv Mall to meet Harley and Gabrielle for lunch at the food court. After a quick, but nice lunch, we headed over to the Palmach museum (the elite fighting corp of the Haganah, the underground military organization of the Jews prior to the establishment of the State of Israel). Since toddlers aren't allowed in and we only had four spots, Harley and the older kids went in to see it. I can't report much since I didn't go, but I will tomorrow, so stay tuned. I can say that they had a terrific time and found it very moving. Meanwhile, Abe, Sylvia and I went to find a cool quiet place to wait. The museum staff directed us to a room with photo books about the Palmach. This was the most incredible collection of photos I have ever seen in one room. There were rows of tables with dozens of huge books on them, with photographs given by the Palmach fighters and their families. There were several books for each of the three main brigades (Har El, HaNegev, & Yiftach), as well as books about a Palmach group that disguised themselves as Arabs, and another that posed as German soldiers during WWII. There was a book for each of the illegal immigrant ships (e.g., the Exodus) with photos of the people on board, the birth announcements of babies born on board, and so on), and much more. We started talking with the woman at the desk and learned that she was 4th generation Israeli (and is herself a great grandmother). She was a teen during the time of the Palmach so I asked her if she had family members who were in the Palmach. She said no, but then said she herself was, and asked if we'd like to see her photos. Of course we did. She pulled out one of the books and flipped through it and there she was on many of the pages, 17 1/2 years old, fighting for the security of the Jewish people. She showed us photos of her husband too, who she met in the Palmach. We also discovered that she has a second cousin who used to live in Toledo, Rhoda Miller (but not the one that we know and love). After looking at the photos and talking to this woman for an hour, we felt we had just as good an experience as the rest of our group, who actually went into the museum.

Directly afterwards, we went to the Yitzhak Rabin Center next door. This museum blew us away - we spent over 2 hours there, but we easily could have spent 2 days. The display is a big spiral following the life of Rabin, parallel to the history of the modern state of Israel, and interwoven with historical events happening elsewhere in the world. We were impressed by what a balanced view of events they presented (as Harley said, it seemed especially balanced if you happen to agree with Rabin). I was very moved by a video of him talking about his time as a young commander in the army, when soldiers under his command went into battle and were killed. He talked about how the experience shaped his beliefs about the importance of peace. The museum raised so many interesting issues, any one of which could be the focus of an entire exhibit - for example, the controversy over the Lebanon war, the controversy over whether Israel should accept reparations from Germany, the controversy over the peace process, and much more. We were all very touched by video of the speech given by Rabin's granddaughter at his funeral (which I still remember hearing her give at that time), and seeing the blood stained copy of the "Song of Peace" that was found in his shirt pocket after he was assassinated. The museum was nuanced, thought provoking, and deeply engrossing. Around 4:30 a guard came around and told us the museum would be closing in half an hour and we were only at the half way point!

Finally, to top off this awesome day of touring, we followed a dinner recommendation that Harley had gotten from a cab driver earlier in the day and took the bus down to Old Jaffa. We walked a short way through a very non-touristy, authentic part of Jaffa. It was interesting to see the Arab families and the older houses after spending so much time in the very modern and very Jewish Tel Aviv. We made our way to The Old Man and the Sea (HaZakan v'HaYam). This was easily the best meal experience we have had in Israel. First, the setting is gorgeous. We sat up on a balcony with a beautiful view of the sun setting over the sea. The minute we sat down, they brought to our table a pitcher of lemonade with mint and 2 dozen small dishes with various appetizers - hummus, tabbouleh, cauliflower, tzatziki, falafel, carrots, purple cabbage, beets, potatoes, and lots more than we didn't recognize, but which were delicious, along with a big basket of pita (druze style). The waiter came along pretty soon after this all came out to take our order and we told him we weren't ready yet. He suggested that we needed to order very soon. We hadn't noticed it, but at most of the tables around us were seated Arab families. Their tables were also full of little appetizer dishes, but unlike us, they weren't eating yet. They were all waiting the last few minutes before the sun set marking the end of another day (one of the last days, actually) of Ramadan. The waiter told us that as soon as the sun sets the kitchen and waiters will be really busy getting the food out fast, so he wanted to get our order in first. We could hardly imagine ordering meals on top of all of the appetizers, but we couldn't very well eat all the free food and then leave! We got various meat and fish dishes, which were also excellent. Sure enough, right at sun set, we heard a call from the surrounding mosques, and the Muslim people around us began to eat (with the waiters rushing like mad to get the food out and a line quickly forming outside the door). The whole dinner was delicious, as well as fascinating!

Having eaten this huge meal, we were all up for a walk. It was about 5 km back to the apartment, so we figured we'd start walking and take a cab whenever we got tired. We walked along the shore and happened upon the fabulous, funky Jaffa port. There was a very cool photography exhibit going on in a big warehouse space, several smaller shops and restaurants (including the Nalaga'at center which houses a blind & deaf theater and a "Black out" restaurant, where the waiters are all blind and the food is served in complete darkness). We kept walking and seeing cool things, and enjoying the night breeze off the water, and before we knew it we were too close to make taking a cab even reasonable. So, very tired, but very satisfied from a terrific day, we walked the rest of the way. We're sad that this marks the end of all of our guests in Tel Aviv - it's been wonderful exploring with everyone!