Post written by Eric Ratner and Barry Wormser

Breakfast for your humble writers consisted of two omelets, one for each of us respectfully. And while Ratner selected fruit and coffee for his side and drink, Wormser went with enough carbohydrates to open an Amelia’s Bakery outpost in Jerusalem. And coffee, of course. Lots and lots of coffee.

Arab Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh was our first speaker for the day. Mr. Toameh’s conversation with us was substantive, honest, and straight-forward. Sobering, too. We convened in Conference Room A in the lower level of the Mamilla Hotel right in the heart of Jerusalem. The discussion was engaging. Offering a unique perspective into “the conflict”, as they call it here, Mr. Toameh described the tenuous political situation of the Palestinians, arguing that one of the chief issues in the conflict is the lack of a true mandate for PLO leadership to end years of disagreement and strife.

Later that morning, we toured the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. While any person can tour the building and listen to the Knesset in session, we had the unique opportunity to speak with two Knesset members, each offering a different political perspective. The first Knesset member we met was Amir Ohana, the first openly gay member of the Likud Party, the right of center political party that is the lead party of the majority coalition. Mr. Ohana was measured with his words, but made clear that he did not believe a “partner for peace” existed such that the conflict could be resolved. He also spoke of the LGBT issues that were particularly important to him as a gay man. Later that day, multiple bills pertaining to furthering LGBT rights were denied passage in the Knesset, with the Likud party’s majority coalition leading the opposition of those progressive bills. Mr. Ohana abstained from voting on each of those votes. 

No sooner than Mr. Ohana left the room, a second Knesset member, Michal Biran, entered. Ms. Biran, a single woman (she mentioned this multiple times; and has she tried J-Date?) represents the Labor party and is a Social Democrat. Speaking candidly to the group, Ms. Biran explained that she did not believe that the current Likud-majority leadership was, in fact, interested in pursuing a resolution to the conflict, while also acknowledging that no partner for peace exists on the Palestinian side. While Mr. Ohana and Ms. Biran possess opposing viewpoints, they were each passionate about Israel and desired to help protect the country and make it a better place for all Jews to build a life of peace and prosperity. They each made clear that Israel was our home inasmuch as it was their home.

After listening to two Jews speak of their many opposing viewpoints, we moved onto another tradition native to our people—eating. Lunch was a fun adventure, as we strolled through the Mechaneh Yehudah open air market. ​The group had fun criss-crossing the market, as we sampled many varieties of food from Israel and around the world. 

It did not take long for the group, in one voice, whether orthodox or reform, male or female, loudly and proudly proclaim, together, that the chocolate rugelach at the Marzipan bakery was the best we had ever eaten. Seriously, it was outrageously good.

After lunch we had an exclusive tour of the security fence around the West Bank by one of its designers, Col. Danny Tirza. Col. Tirza offered a thorough description of the various considerations in play when designing the security fence and its shape. He described the feeling that there was no great and easy way to design the fence, but rather, what was required was the “least bad” design.

The fence has been instrumental in ensuring safety and security within Israel after many Palestinian attacks throughout Jerusalem and the country, and particularly following the bombings of various busses carrying children and other innocents. The fence and its patrols have been successful in stopping suicide bombers from crossing over from the West Bank, and threatening innocent lives. 

Dinner proved to be a treat, as we enjoyed a discussion with Avraham Infeld, the former President of the Chais Family Foundation and International Hillel. Vocal and enthusiastic, Mr. Infeld spoke with PASSION (as he would loudly say) about the distinction between our mission as Jewish leaders and our respective tasks. Our mission, to paraphrase, is to nurture and foster the growth of the continuing renaissance of the Jewish people.

Our tasks were unique to each organization with which we worked; but, the mission never changes. He was equally entertaining as he was knowledgeable, sharing many stories of his youth, his family life in South Africa, and his Aliyah to Israel.

Our first day in Jerusalem was truly a day to remember.