ShnUpdate - Savyon 22.03.18
Shalom faithful readers,
This last week has been a change of pace from the usual Etgar schedule. This started with an excellent peula on Friday about base assumptions and the affects of this on how people perceive the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The weekend saw most Shnatties doing their own thing, and those who stayed in Jerusalem enjoyed a wonderful Navah Tehila service. Sunday was a practical exercise in our Hebrew skills when the Ulpan took us for coffee and art. We had a chilled and kef evening filled with awful but hilarious acting as the shnatties tried to play charades. On Monday their was an attempt to make sense of the human child. Wednesday we had the opportunity to listen to Likkud party member's take on the Palestinian- Israeli conflict. Yehuda Glick may have had views on this that we did not agree with but it was refreshing to listen to a politician who actually spoke their mind.
This weeks truly altering element was the beginning of Viedah Olami. This is the annual decision making conference of Nezter Olami when delegates from sniffs all over the world come together to discuss the next year. Tuesday was the opening day and in the evening all of the shnatties got to participate in the opening ceremony. The ceremonial procedures included an MK keynote speaker talking about this years concept: Tikkun. This was followed by food, like any Jewish celebration, and much dancing. There was also candle lighting from the six participating continents and a song session. Viedah continues until next week. It has been fantastic to see all of the delegates from around the world, especially those from our home sniffs.
Shavua Tov,
Nathan, Alyssa and all the Shanttiees
Netzer Veida Olamit Update \ Harley & Jess Mindel, Ljy-Netzer Bogeret
(The Veida Olamit (World Congress) is the moment where representatives from Netzer Snifim from all around the world gather in Israel to discuss ideological and practical matters related to the World Movement)
It’s only the second day of veida and we’ve already done so much! From GTKY individuals and Sniffim to an opening ceremony filled with classic Netzer dancing, veida 5778 is officially in full swing! The theme of veida this year is Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and we’ve had many sessions already on how important Tikkun Olam is to our ideology and how we love our lives and reform Zionist Jews. Our opening tekkes was also great with the keynote speaker being MK Yoseph (Yossi) Yonah who engaged us in a conversation about change and how we can impact the world.
We woke up the next day with our first ma'amad (alternative service) lead by Netzer Holland, who shared some native tunes they sing in their home country. We had time today to visit 3 NGOs (non governmental organisations). We saw The Open House, the LGBTQ+ center in Jerusalem that was started to support and build a community, Shabus, an organisation trying to run buses on shabbat, and Hillel, an organisation who helps ultra orthodox Jews convert to secular Judaism and helps them integrate into modern society. It was super interesting learning about different communities in the Holy City. Later that evening, things got a little more serious, as we had our first asefah (decision making discussion), where we discussed how our movement works and how we can improve it. Now here we are, bonding with our new friends from around the world, exploring the city together. W don't think there's a better way to end the day.
Best,
Jess & Harley
