Not quite 'political' but the best nonetheless!

I started this blog in 2009 when I graduated college and was feeling worthless as a waitress. I've since neglected the best blog and chose to use it to write about my trip to Israel (starting tomorrow). When I came back to it I found that over 2,000 people had viewed it and 51 this past month from the US, Russia, Spain, and Australia. I suppose that's what a good title gets you since I have not written a post in 2 years!

That being said, 2013 is upon us as I sit in the airport awaiting my flight to Newark. There I get to spend 7 wonderful hours with my boyfriend Barak (get it, Barak and Michelle- feel free to laugh out loud :) and then it is off  to Israel with my classmates for 14 days, then back to Jersey for New Years and our 1 year anniversary : D THEN to Sacramento (Rockville to be specific) to see my sister Kim and my 10 month nephew, this is my idea of a perfect break!!

Today is also the day I finished my last final from my first semester of graduate school. For those who don't know, in June I began a duel masters program at Hebrew Union College's School of Jewish  Nonprofit Management and USC's Price School of Public Policy (Masters in Jewish Nonprofit Management and a Masters in Public Administation). It's a mouthful and as you can imagine a lot of work! However wonderful my experience has been, this is not the topic I wish to discuss here. I'm going to Israel- what does that mean to me as an American Jew? Lets explore!

I've found it weird to tell non-Jews that I am going to Israel. Not that it's a bad thing, I get the normal 'oh, great' reaction but regardless I'm left feeling as if I'm a religious weirdo. When I tell Jews they get excited for me and concerned for my safety. A few weeks ago as rockets flew toward Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, I sat on the phone with my mom and FaceTime (apple's Skype) with Barak and cried because I did not want to go, I was truley concerned about my saftey. Alas, the fighting stopped and the trip was not canceled, so here I am... going to Israel...

I like Los Angeles, I like being a Jew in Los Angeles! No rockets here :) The weather is beautiful, there is a huge tight-knit Jewish community, you can be any kind of Jew you want to be and you'll be fully accepted, you don't have to know another language, I don't have to serve in an army, and for the most part we enjoy a relative courtesy like lines and saying your sorry when you bump into someone. This is my dilemma as an American Jew. I love that there is a place where Hebrew is a spoken language, Jews are looked at as strong, and you can visit historical sites that you feel a connection to. But beyond that I'm pissed... there are so many elements of the way Israel operates that do not in any way reflect my Judaism and I think the founders would roll in their graves if they knew how Israel was being run. Women being arrested at the Wall?? Reform Rabbis are not considered Rabbis nor are the marrages they perform?? Reform congregations can only get state support under the 'recreation' budget line?? Israelis growing up in Israel with no religious Jewish identity?? Sending refugees back to their genocidal country to die?? These elements keep my heart in the west, in Los Angeles.

All that being said, I look forward to exploring all these things and more on my trip. I hope my perspective can be changed and when I write my last blog post I will be able to articulate a different, more educated point of view (I'm not sure if I'll ever change my feelings about LA though). Here are the topics we will be covering:

*Issues in Modern Israeli Society: Responses from the Nonprofit Sector
*The Peoplehood Paradim: The Changing Agenda in Israel Diaspora Relations
*Challenges to the Social Fabric in Israel: Social Justice
*Diverse Populations
*Religious-Sector Diversity Focusing on Hareidi (Orthodox Jews) and Secular
*Israeli Political System and Current Realties
*Shabbat: Jewish Public Space
*Socail Entrepreneurship in the Arena of Israeli Nonprofits
*Training Leaders of the Next Generation
*Enhancing Jewish Peoplehood
*The Emerging Peoplehood Agenda: Changing the Relationship Between Israel and the Diaspora

Lastly, I have to give a shout out to Richard Siegel, the Director of the School of Jewish Nonprofit Mangement, Mandi Richardson, Associate Director of SJNM, Mikaela Bender, SJNM Administrative Assistant, other HUC staff and the JCC staff in Israel for their tireless hard work in making this trip possible. I feel so very blessed to not only be able to go on this trip but to be able to study at HUC with a group of amazing people. Thank you! :)

I will be posting as often as I can throughout my trip, wifi allowing, and if all goes well posting more about politics when I return. That being said I close this blog with tears welling up in my eyes at the thought of the tragedy that bestowed our nation today as 30 people senselessly lost their lives. I pray that the memory of those lost will live on in the hearts and minds of their loved ones and that our nation can eventually figure out how to stop these things from happening (on what seems like) a monthly basis.

Shabbat Shalom! Have a wonderful reflective weekend and hug your loved ones tight!

**PLEASE excuse any misspellings or typos, I will do my best to edit my posts but I am typing from an iPad into a Google application, which as we all know is far from perfect :)