Note from the Editor: Street Art & My Foreign Passport
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Know Hope. The first time I saw that phrase spray-painted on a wall in Jerusalem I stopped so suddenly an old lady walked right into the back of me. The phrase is brilliant. Nothing I have seen before or since has better captured the sentiment on the streets of this country: a state and a people continuously fluctuating between hope and hopelessness.
Know Hope is actually the pen name of a Tel Aviv underground | street artist who refuses to be identified. He has agreed to occasional interviews, however, and on one such occasion described his work as an ultra-political form of communication. “Part of it is showing people that we all have hands, we all have something to say. I'm not saying that I want everyone to do street art but just to get things moving.”
MASA Acting Marketing Director, Yahel Segev holds a similar view of the art on the streets of Israel. "Israelis are very opinionated, and because of the stress of everyday life, we say what we think."
Ranging from light hearted to distressing, street-art in Israel is part of a national dialogue. If not a native speaker, however, the layers of these messages can be lost in translation.
Born and raised in another country, I am only able to register many of the images I pass daily on a certain level. I can laugh at the bunny-eared Ahmadinejad, but do I really understand the cultural forces behind the creation and application of such an image to the streets of Jerusalem? It takes a certain kind of character, and a certain kind of experience, to be able to mock one of your biggest enemies in such a way. I can appreciate the gesture, but do I really understand the culture behind it?
In an attempt to delve deeper into Israeli culture, beyond the conflict, the dress, the food, and the customs, I have put together a few street-art selections with translations and commentary. Enjoy, and remember to keep your eyes open the next time you are walking around.
Click here for more photos with commentary
Erin,
MAP Particpant Coordinator
To Meet Erin Click Here
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Upcoming MAP Events
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MASA Shabbaton
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Israeli Security Issues
Meet with senior IDF officers, academics, Knesset members and soldiers to discuss and analyze the present security reality in Israel.
Oct 19-20/ 07
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Building Future Leadership Program (B.F.L)
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Oct 25-27/07
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MASA Forum
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Issues in Israeli Democracy
Examine the concept of leadership through through the lense of Yitzhak Rabin and his assassination.
October 22, 2007
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In this Edition
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The Shmita Year
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With the coming of Rosh Hashana Israel has found itself within a year of Shmita, the biblical sabbatical year which demands the land of Israel not be toiled and produce harvested not be sold. Read how this year of rest is causing great angst among many, and why you are paying so much for apples. |
Slichot with the Artists
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Join me as I tour with MASA participants from the Bezalel School of Art and Design and Rimon School of Jazz and Music as they partake in a Slichot tour of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Nachlaot the night before Yom Kippur. |
Searching for that Middle Ground
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HaBonim Dror participants Sophia and Lee have been thoroughly exposed to Zionsim. “It’s sort of been ingrained in my skull that I would have a connection to Israel,” said Lee.But neither can fully digest the right Jewish day school variety | or left HaBonim youth movement ideology. Meet Sohia and Lee as they begin their journey to better understand Zionism by developing their own relationship with Israel.
Hidden Deep
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A recent convert and newly arrived to Israel, JTS participant Arlette Marie Buckley has not only discovered she has Jewish roots, but Israeli ones as well. |
Welcomed Change of Events
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Adam Roffman came to Israel for three weeks. Two weeks later he decided to leave a wonderful job, his loving family and his fun friends to spend a year in Israel at the Conservative Yeshiva. Meet Adam as he struggles to define his own |
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Judaism, understand the complexity of Israel's, and explore the possibility of Rabbinical school. |
Examining the Past for the Sake of the Future
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The Links in the Chain Holocaust Seminar series, explicitly designed for MASA participants, examines the role of leadership through the lens of the Holocaust.
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Next Month: Make sure to check out
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Inside MASA: GRANT & SCHOLARSHIPS An inside look into the grant and scholarship process of MASA, an explanation of why there have been delays in grant distribution, and a sneak peak of the improvements to come. | |
Israel Corner: The space dedicated to your experiences
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Picture of the Month
source: The Jewish Daily Forward
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Kapparot, a practice generally performed during the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a live chicken is swung over one’s head in a gesture of transferring one’s sins of the past year onto the animal. |
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Moment of the Month
by Joey LeMaire
Walking along the beach in Tel Aviv, Joey LeMaire (MASA's Cultural Events Liason) and his friend discovered a huge Green Sea Turtle washed up on shore.
Photo by: Yaniv Levy Israel Nature and Parks Authority"
Missing a fin, the turtle looked badly injured, causing Joey to call animal control. It turns out that the turtle, who Joey affectionately named Yonah, is one of only 400 Green Sea Turtles left in the Mediterranean.
To read more click here. |
News and Events
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Show your support to end the abuse of over 30,000 child soldiers in Uganda. | To escape captivity children in Uganda flee to urban centers. To avoid abuction they must only walk at night.
Such children are known as "night walkers."
The 'GuluWalk', an 8 km night walk, was inspired by their stories .
Last year, the GuluWalk included 30,000 participants in 82 cities, raising over $500,000. This year GuluWalk has come to Israel.
Saturday October 20th 2007 8pm
Meet outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem. Walk will end in Kirkat Tzion.
click here for more information
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Interested in staying in Israel after your program?
Israeli
Job Fair
& Aliyah
Expo
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Merkaz Hamagshimim-Hadassah
7a Dor Dor VeDorshav St.,
German Colony,
Jerusalem
October 18th
6 - 9 pm
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Ofra Zucker
ofra@themerkaz.org / 052-603-9148
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Seen them around?
the MASA workshop crew
In order to receive your MASA "gift bag" make sure your program has submitted your information card to MASA.
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Korczak's Children: A Production
Januzs Korczak ran an orphanage during the Holocaust. Despite the monstrous outside reality, Korczak was able to instilled within "his children" joy, life, love, beauty, justice, and humor until the end.
Come see the play that commemorates his life
and the children under his care.
for more information click here
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International Oud Festival
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Takes place from November 8-24 through in select theaters in Jerusalem. Includes such performers as David Broza, Barry Sakharov, and a diversity of Israeli and Arab artists.
Show times and ticket information at Bimot, 8 Shamai St in Jerusalem.
Call 02-623-7000 or visit the website
https://www.tickets-online.co.il/bimot/default.asp | |
Footprints Highlights
