Out of the Desert

IDF Soldiers
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Setting out from Mitzpe Ramon right after breakfast we headed to Nahal Bahad 1 IDF (Israel Defense Forces) Base aka Haim Laskov Officer Candidate School.  This is the West Point of Israel, where the best and brightest are trained to lead their fellow soldiers.  Upon our arrival we were ushered into a conference room where we were introduced to 6 female Officer Candidates and Gabriel, their Commanding Officer.

All Israelis, with few exceptions, serve in the IDF directly upon graduation from high school.  Men serve 3 years and women serve 2.  If a person opts to serve following college and/or graduate studies, they may serve up to 6 years.  One of the women we met had elected to do her medical school training prior and was now a bit older than her fellow officer candidates.  To become an officer in the IDF these women are adding 1+ years to their service.  Woman may serve in many divisions of the IDF and in many jobs.  For example, we met a female officer candidate who worked in the canine unit, traditionally considered a man's job.  Another officer told us her job was to supervise recruits during basic training.  Only the Tank Units are prohibit woman from serving due to physical restrictions.

CO at Nahal Base
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In their last year of high school Israeli students are visited by representatives of the IDF who discuss the different areas they might considering serving in.  University is attended following service and by this time they are 21 years old and anxious to get through their studies and into their careers.  The average age for Israelis to marry is 24, exceptions would be in the ultra-orthodox community where they are encouraged to marry in their late teens.  Getting married and having a family is as central to an Israeli's life as their army service.  In addition to training officers, Nahal has proved itself the largest matchmaker in the country, not unexpected when you have young men and women working closely together day in and day out.

Officer in charge of discipline at Nahal
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At the base it was immediately apparent that there was a lack of formality that one would find on a U.S. army base.  This was commented upon by Gabriel during our conversation following a tour of the base.  Israel is a much smaller country and people do not stand on ceremony as much as they do in the U.S. and in Europe.  This attitude is brought with them when they serve in the IDF.  Of course this in no way affects their training and discipline.

For an American it is odd to hear that a soldier often return home in the evening following his/her days activities.  This may stem from fact that Israel is about the size of New Jersey.  I also think that there is not a big fear among the upper ranks that soldiers will desert their posts or units.  There is a strong sense of "we are all in this together".

View from square at Sde Boker Kibbutz
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We were shown the parade ground, a site so revered that the only time a soldier was permitted to cross it is at graduation.  As you might expect this parade ground has been the sight of practical jokes, such as when the officers woke one morning to find a coke can dead center in the parade ground and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how it got there.

We were introduced to the oldest officer on the base.  This man has served 60 years in the IDF and is in charge of discipline at Nahal.  When asked if this had been his career goal, he proferred that he never planned for it and seemed as astounded as his guests at the longevity of his service.

Ben Gurion Institute at Sde Boker
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Our next stop was Sde Boker Kibbutz with its magnificent views of the Negev.  This is the Kibbutz where Prime Minister David Ben Gurion & his wife, Paula spent their final days.  Ben Gurion's dream was to make the Negev blossom.  It is only fitting that Ben Gurion & Paula are buried in a square that overlooks the grandeur of the desert mountains on two sides, a little clearing of trees and the Institute bearing his name on the other.  I kissed two stones and placed one on each grave and thought of George Washington and my grandfather.  Like old George, BG was the father of his country.  When I placed that stone on his grave I felt an affection similar to that I felt for my own grandfather.

Lunch at the winery
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Lunch found us at a micro-winery owned and operated by one man, his family and occasional hired labor from a nearby kibbutz.  Attached to the winery was a rustic restaurant, where the food was made entirely by the man's wife.  He also ran a small B&B where guests of hearty stock slept in teepees.  He had a number of large dogs of undetermined pedigree who seemed barely to have the strength to lift their heads or wander far from the shade of the cuppola.  To add to the hippie flavour an abandoned car was painted in a bright floral pattern and turned into a giant flower pot.

Resting in the shade, Winery in Negev
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Moshe (the bus driver) like his namesake finally led this band of Jewish women out of the desert, and we came upon the city of Beer Sheva.  Upon entering Beer Sheva the heat of the day was oppressive and we were all grateful that our next appointment would be in the air conditioned city hall where we would meet Avishag Avituvi, CEO of the Beer Sheva Municipality and Itai Freeman the Director of the Beer Sheva River Project.  Upon arriving at City Hall we were again greeted with drinks and cookies, as we have had at every stop thus far.

Welcome to Givot Bar
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Avishag explained that the municipality of Beer Sheva was striving to not only build a thriving city to attract new residents and businesses, but to keep children from leaving Beer Sheva after they graduated school.  Itai spoke to us about the exciting River Front Park project.  He showed us diagrams and sketches of plans for the park, and then he took us on a bus tour of the proposed site.  Beer Sheva Municipality is partnering with JNF to create the new river park.  I hope the next time I come to Israel, I can take a tour of the completed project.

JNF Rep at Givot Bar Visitor Reception
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After viewing the park project Itai left us, and we proceeded north out of Beer Sheva passing Ben Gurion University.  Our next stop would be Givot Bar another new community, JNF helped to build in partnership with the OR Movement.  Givot Bar is the brainchild of a group of IDF soldiers who wanted to get together following their service and build a community.

Arriving at Givot Bar we had a brief guided tour of the community which was currently under construction.  A few houses have been completed, but many of the would-be residents are living in caravans (trailers) while they await there new home.  This is quite a challenge for young families with infants, toddlers and preschool children.

Pre-school class sings for visitors at Givot Bar
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We were led to a patio behind the community center and next to the newly built synagogue.  There we were greeted by an older gentlemen, who represented the JNF in Israel.  This man had made aliyah from the U.S. many decades ago but still retained his Brooklyn accent.  Later the nursery school children sang us songs and handed out flowers.  A young mother spoke about the challenges of life in this new community.  We were then broken up into smaller groups and invited to tour some homes.  The home I visited was lovely by any standards.  It reminded me very much of my brother's home in Florida.  The appliances and furniture were new and modern; and the home was very spacious.  Little children flitted in and out.

Apparently not everyone has to live in a caravan prior to building their home as we had been told.  The young mother whose house we toured said she and her husband built their house and moved in right away avoiding the caravan stage.  Like everything else it is a matter of money and if you can build right away than you can avoid some hardships.

As we were waiting for the ceremony to begin a couple of dogs ran up to us looking for attention and scraps.  I began petting one dog and a little boy came up and began petting him too.  We couldn't really talk and when his Dad came over I asked him how old the boy was.  He said he was 4.  He then went on to tell me that the little boy wanted to know who were all these people coming to Givot Bar.  His Dad told him these are the people that help build our town.  The little boy thought about this for a moment and then he asked his Dad "Do they bring the cement?"  I thought he was a very clever little fellow.

Leaving Givot Bar we had a very long drive to Tel Aviv.  The traffic was awful and it took forever to get to the hotel.  Another factor in slowing us down was that an Israeli woman had joined us at Givot Bar and had to be dropped off on the outskirts of Tel Aviv where her husband was to meet her.  Unfortunately he wasn't where he said he would be and we couldn't leave a pregnant woman off on a highway.  Eventually he showed up, but then she remembered she left her cell phone on the bus.

By the time we got to the Carlton Hotel, checked-in and looked at the internet I was in a real mood.  I was close to a temper tantrum by the time we sat down to dinner on the beach at almost 11 pm.  Fortunately sandwiches arrived swiftly and after stuffing my face, I became a little more civilized.  Finally my strength left me entirely and all I wanted was to climb into that queen size bed at the Carlton and pass out.  And I did.