Congress 2019!

Reflections from Congress 2019 
By: Sam, Molly, Ethan and Jeremy

July 14, 2019
By: Sam Sidle 

“Today” we traveled from Ashkelon to congress with our Israeli matches. It was a very fun bus ride (except for the pee related close calls) and we became much closer as a group. Arriving at congress was overwhelming for many but it was still a great time because of the opportunity to see our friends from the international Shabbaton and meet new people. 

July 15, 2019
By: Molly Silverman

Today was our first full day of Congress! When we arrived at the Tel Hai Campus, we were given a tour of the college. Then, with all of the different cohorts, we attended a morning ceremony where different Diller directors spoke about being one big family! After the morning ceremony, we broke into our learning groups. These groups consist of 25 kids from different cohorts. This was very difficult on our Baltimore cohort because we didn’t want to be separated, but after a few hugs and high fives, we dispersed into the diverse group of Diller fellows. We got to know our learning group through a lesson discussing our family tree and recognizing the similarity and differences between us! We also had a lesson furthering our understanding of peoplehood, one of Diller's core values! Here we shared our Jewish identity and related our Jewish experiences with each other! At lunch, we were able to reconnect with our Baltimore siblings and also meet other people from all over the world. Our last lesson of the day was about pluralism. We discussed how we would approach different scenarios in the world as a teen and a Jew! Before we left Tel Hai, we met with our group for the Leadership Challenge to create a team name and chant for the following day! After this, we headed to our accommodation sites where we had activities with the cohorts that we are living with for the week! At the end of the day, we had Maagal Laila (a night circle) expressing our feelings about comfortable and uncomfortable situations, creating a closer bond between each other! Before bed, we had a mix and meet with the other cohorts living with us where we created new friendships!

July 16, 2019
By: Ethan Silverstein

Today is Tuesday, July 16. We woke up and made our way to the Tel Hai Campus where we had our morning ceremony led by the JC’s. We then went off into our learning groups to learn more about Israel with fellows all over the world. We ate lunch and then began one of the best activities at congress which was the Diller Leadership Challenge. We were split into 60 teams and had to work together to complete each challenge like the Amazing Race. Some challenges were getting out of an escape room, learning how to play rugby, answering riddles, and much more that taught us a lot about teamwork and leadership. It was a tiring day but definitely one to remember!

July 17, 2019:
By: Jeremy Stein

July 17 was our final full day of Congress :(. We started the day off with a morning ceremony to get everyone excited for the action-packed day. We then went to separate speakers with very interesting stories. The speaker I went to spoke about his business that is striving to create a more positive image of Israel by removing false anti-Semitic and anti-Israel posts on social media. We then learned about the different opportunities available to us once we become Diller alumni. After the closing ceremony, we participated in the global Diller fair where each partnership had a different table with activities that pertained to their cities. The Ashkelon-Baltimore table featured Old Bay chips which were a big hit throughout the night. Then, we sadly had to say goodbye to all of our best friends around the world. We will for sure never forget the bonds we made with our fellow Fellows.

Shabbat Shalom!

Free Day in Ashkelon! 
By: Zach Pearlstone 

Today was our free day and we could do anything with our matches. Some people went to the beach and others went shopping and some even went to visit and meet their matches families. This is my experience with Haim; we slept in and enjoyed a relaxed morning with a nice homemade breakfast.  Following that, we went to Ashdod with Haim’s mom where we went to the arcade and then shopped. I bought a nice pair of Adidas shorts and Haim’s family, against my wishes, bought me three new T-shirts. After we went to lunch at Moses where we ate ginormous delicious burgers. Then we returned home and went swimming with Dor and Zach and played NBA 2K and FIFA. Later that evening we had a nice family Shabbat dinner where I enjoyed many kinds of ethnic Ethiopian dishes. Following the satisfying dinner, Haim and I went to Ziv’s house where we talked with his friends from school for a couple hours. Overall it was a great day

-Zach Pearlstone

Community Week Day 4:

July 11, 2019

By: Ellie Hoch

Today is Thursday. Many of the Israelis are taking their math bagrut test today, so they did not join us at the volunteer center this morning. The people who were there boarded a bus and drove to Nativ Haasara, a city on the border with Gaza. We went to a woman’s house who started a project called “Path to Peace”. She told us about her life living next to Gaza. Her program decorates one of the inside border walls in order to give hope to the people living in her community. We visited the wall and each added a tile to decorate it. Then we had lunch at the volunteer center. Then a motivational speaker came and inspired us to be our bests. We all went to our respective homes to rest for a couple of hours before closing ceremonies at one of the fellows’ homes. Seeing the border wall was inspiring and seeing Gaza made us grateful for what we have.

Community Week Day 3!

July 10, 2019

By: Julia Herman

Throughout the week the Baltimore-Ashkelon cohorts took part in very many active, outdoor activities. Today was different. The cohorts had a restful and insightful day. The first activity was with learning more about Israel with Baltimore’s shin-shinyms, young Israelis who work in Baltimore educating our community about Israel and the Israeli community. After this, we had the chance to listen to a soldiers’ panel where we learned about life in the IDF. Continuing our day, we went to a farm and learned about sustainability in Israel and ate a fresh lunch made from the farm’s own crops. We then learned about the values of the IDF and were able to connect a soldier’s values to everyday life. Following this, the two cohorts split and both reflected on community week. During this reflection, we were able to discuss concerns, ideas, or things we enjoyed. Both cohorts then came back together to participate in krav maga. These self-defense tactics were both fun to learn and taught the fellows how to defend themselves in the chance of a dangerous situation. For the final activity of the day, the fellows made soldier packages. We included items such as toothpaste, chips, and even makeup in these baskets. This was a very meaningful activity for all of us because it allowed us to give back to the soldiers in the IDF who do so much for Israel.

Community Week Day 2!

July 9, 2019

By: Kaitlyn Goldstein

Today we started off our day by playing lacrosse with the Israeli national team. We learned some information about the team and the upcoming competitions that they have in Canada. After, we were all able to actually play lacrosse: passing around a ball and participating in games. Many people enjoyed playing lacrosse as it is something that many people in Baltimore have played, but it was interesting to see that not many of the Israelis have played before. Following lacrosse, we volunteered at a school that is for children with special needs. It was a rewarding opportunity to help out with the children but it definitely came with its challenges. It was difficult to communicate with the children because the children had trouble expressing their emotions but on top of that the language barrier made it hard to talk to the kids in the class. We learned the importance of volunteering and how meaningful it is. Something that was very interesting is that our host families packed us lunches which was very different than the packed lunches that we have back home. After the packed lunches we got back on the bus for the last activity of the day: an activity center. We did obstacle courses like the ones in America Ninja Warrior and jumped on trampolines; some people even took a nap in the ball pit. Overall, we had a very good day and continued to learn more about what it is like to live in Ashkelon, which is very eye opening.

Community Week Day 1

July 8, 2019
By: Max Goldman

Picture the scene: A 17-year-old boy hastily wakes up at 7:45 after finally achieving a full nights sleep without the intervention of the ruthless peacocks that lived at the Bedouin tents. The day begins at the volunteer center with a check in of our first time with our host families. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed my first night, as Omer’s family is both gracious and extremely sweet. Then, we went to the Baltimore Park, which was built by both Israelis from Ashkelon and Americans, such as the Getz’s. The mosaics there were stunning and we enjoyed a nice game of catch as well. After returning, we learned a mandatory Diller lesson and ate some Israeli Pizza Hut. But then, it happened. Man met his greatest foe yet: the jellyfish. As we learned how to surf in the sea, we smiled as we hilariously failed over and over. However, the jellyfish had different plans. As I, once again, struggled to stand up, I fell off my surfboard into the water where a whole jelly was waiting to cover my whole forearm. Pain rushed through my arm, and I realized that jellyfish were not as wonderful as Spongebob portrayed them. They were officially added to my list of least favorite things, right in front of peacocks. Thankfully, a woman had a cream that apparently did something, but I was too busy screaming expletives to express my complex feelings. At least it’s an awesome story. We then returned home and relaxed for a fun night. What a day.

Welcome to Community Week!

July 7, 2019

By: Sophie Getz

Today we spent our last morning in the desert. Right after breakfast in the Bedouin tents, we took the bus to the Dead Sea. It was a lot of fun in the water itself and also in the pool. We saw lots of fellows that we had just met over the weekend and spent some time with them. Then we got on the bus to head to Ashkelon and we had lunch on the way. Next, we had an opening ceremony with the Israelis and were able to reunite with them. We then spent the rest of the night getting to know our host families.

International Shabbaton!

Shabbat Shalom: July 6, 2019

By: Eli Getz

Today was Saturday, July 6. We spent Shabbat at the Bedouin tent. We woke up to peacocks squawking and the smell of camel poop bright and early. We ate breakfast and chose our own morning services to attend. After a short break, we learned about the 10 commandments and other interesting Jewish topics followed by lunch. Then, we learned about Jewish women and had a magnificent break. During the break, we socialized with other cohorts and napped in the air-conditioned synagogue. We had dinner, a Havdalah service, and said goodbye to our new friends. Lastly, we stargazed, spent time at the bonfire, and watched Aladdin. What a great day!

Day 4: July 4,2019

Fourth of July in Israel! By: Sophie Garonzik

Happy July 4th! Today we spent our morning touring the devastating yet informative Yad Vashem. There we learned about the hardships and challenges that our Jewish ancestors experienced. We then visited the YMCA, where we were able to spend quality time getting to know preschoolers of all different affiliations and origins. This Arabic- Israeli run school teaches children in both Hebrew and Arabic. Next, we returned to the hotel to engage in an Acro- balance class. During this lesson, we were taught how to use our balance and communication skills in order to create complex torsions with our bodies. Finally, we concluded with a delicious food tour around the streets of Jerusalem. The food was absolutely mouthwatering and I encourage you all to try it someday! Again happy 4th!

Day 3: July 3, 2019

Day 3 In Israel, By Gaya Friedman

We first went to Temple Mount and we got really lucky because there was no line to get in and it was not crowded. After that, we went to the Kotel. For lunch, we had Pizur (everyone gets money and is able to choose their own lunch) in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem. After lunch, we walked around Meah Shearim, an ultra-orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem, and met a rabbi who lives there and got to ask him questions. Then we went to a lady’s house who has a challah-making business and learned how to make different kinds of challahs. The lady was so welcoming and even made babka for us while we waited for our challahs to bake. Lastly, we met with the director of Women of the Wall, a group of women who fight for equal rights at the Kotel. We learned about diversity in Jerusalem and got to hear many different people explain their views and opinions to us.

Day 2: July 2, 2019

Day 2 in Israel!

By: Teddy Cohen

Today we started off by talking to a panel of 6 individuals with different backgrounds/perspectives on life, politics, and Israel. We were divided up into groups and each individual was assigned to each group. In the groups, we heard their stories and asked questions. The main take away from the discussions was seeing different perspectives on life. Towards the end of the activity, we regrouped and could go back with one of the 6 individuals and ask more questions. At the end, we debriefed with just the Diller group. After we were done we went to the shuk in Tel-Aviv and got lunch. Once the shuk was over, we took the bus to a hike and learned about respecting the environment and early civilizations. After the hike, we went to Jerusalem and ate dinner and explored Ben Yehuda Street. Once we were done at Ben Yehuda we all went back to the Hostel for bed.

Day 1: July 1, 2019

Day 1 in Israel, by Zach Aldouby

     After a long flight, we arrived in Israel at 6:15 AM, ready to face a full day of programming. We held a small opening ceremony at a park in Tel Aviv, and then headed to our first activity: Mayumana. Mayumana is a combination of rhythmic dance and music and proved to be a challenge for most the group. However, through dedication and teamwork, we persevered and managed to stay on beat for a while (minus a few fellows). Of course, all of that dancing made us hungry, so we headed to Jaffa for some lunch and shopping. After some incredible falafel, we all went to the blind museum (Dialogue in the Dark), a place meant to simulate the lives of the visually impaired. It turned out to be a great learning experience for everyone, as we got the chance to “see” the world from a different perspective.

Akko and Bubble Balls, July 22

We started off our day going to Kibbutz Chanaton. This Kibbutz was unique because it has almost all sects of Judaism represented in it but only has one synagogue so Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews pray together. There, we learned and discussed the differences and similarities between all of those sects. Next we drove about 30 minutes to the old city of Akko. There, we took a tour of the Templar tunnels from the time of the crusaders. We learned about the crusaders as well as archaeological tels or cities under cities, under cities. Next, we had free time in the Arab market in Akko which was quite different from the markets we had previously been in. After that, we went back to the hostile and had rest time until dinner. After dinner, we had an activity with bubble balls which was a great way to end the trip and then we had free time afterwards and then we went to sleep.

Written by: Zach Zaiman 

Shabbat Shalom, July 21

This past Shabbat came just as expected. This week provided us with lots of meaningful and interesting experiences awaiting to be analyzed and reflected upon. Shabbat is the time of week when we choose to focus on the mysteries of creation rather than creation itself. So often we let the trials, tribulations, and chores of the week rule our lives; however, it is Shabbat that allows us to realize why we endure all of this. Shabbat is the day that we can really see what motivates us: friendship, beauty in nature, family, pursuit of knowledge, self reflection, etc. There is an image beauty in shabbat that forces us to put down our devices and not focus on taking pictures. When we leave these desires behind we can focus on making memories themselves, rather than making the pictures the memories we remember. We ought to learn from this and remember that pictures are not a replacement for enjoying beautiful views; being present in the moment offers so much more than one million pictures. Providing us with ample opportunity to reflect on our thoughts, the staff organized and led many thought provoking activities for the fellows. We, as fellows, spent time admiring the beauty that G-d places around us, discussed what Shabbat meant, and reflected on our experience in Israel as a whole. Shabbat came to us as a gust of holy wind that carried away our impurities and left behind the main structures of ourselves, leaving us bare and ready to begin the next week.

Written by: Jason Straus 

Welcoming Shabbat, July 20

Friday July 20th 2018
Today we were up bright and early. We loaded our luggage into the bus and said goodbye to what was hands down the nicest place we had stayed at so far. The bus took us to an Arab village in Israel. There, we talked to Ofer who explained the Arab-Jewish conflict in Israel. We then spoke to kids our age who lived in the village, and after we spoke we played basketball with them. After that, we hopped back on the bus to go to Rosh HaNikrah, a grotto right near the border of Lebanon. The grotto was very cool, and when we finished our tour of it, our tour guide, Yossi, explained how to conflict between Israel and Lebanon began, and why it is so hard to come to a peaceful solution. After he spoke to us, we ate lunch right by the sea. After lunch we went to our new place of residence and checked into our rooms. We were given free time to relax or explore our new accommodations before Shabbat. We then enjoyed Kaballat Shabbat, Shabbat dinner and time with each other.

Written by: Zach Sirody

Our final few days, July 19

Hello parents,

This morning we said goodbye to the new friends we made at Congress and soon reunited with our beloved tour guide, Yossi. After that we went to the city of Tzfat and had a pizor lunch (many of us enjoyed the Israeli delicassy of pizza sandwiches). Following lunch, we went to a scribe and played trivia & watched an interactive movie prior to learning how to write our own hebrew letters. After the scribe, we went to Buza, an ice cream factory founded by a Jew and an Arab together and tasted 5 different flavors. To end the day, we arrived at a new kibbutz to rooms with two floors, a TV & phenomenal air conditioning. To say the least we were far from upset.

Written by: Sophie Rubenfeld

Closing day of Congress! July 18

Today we said goodbye to friends from across the world as Congress came to a close. We started the morning with a fun and engaging activity on Tikkun Olam, where we discussed our roles in making a change in the world. Next, we listened to Diller alumni, as they explained the positive impact Diller has made on their lives. Their stories of carrying on the leadership skills they gained in Diller truly inspired many of us in the cohort. Next, we attended the Global partnership fair, where each partnership set up a station that represented their cohorts. Filled with food, fun, and learning, all of us had the opportunity to get to know a little bit about the Jewish communities across the world. Finally, we ended our night with a closing ceremony, where Baltimore and Ashkelon won the “most friendly and social partnership award”. After the closing ceremony, we sadly said goodbye to our friends and headed back to our kibbutzim for the night.

Written by: Shira Pomerantz

Leadership Challenge, July 17

Diller had a fun filled day planned for us! The busses took us to Tel Hai campus, a small college in Northern Israel. We made our way to our learning classrooms and did an activity in which statements were made about Israel and its relationship to the diaspora; we were told to change our altitude in order to show our level of agreement. After our Israel discussion, we went to our assigned “inspirational speakers”, these ranged from the Mayor of Sohan, the Director of Hillel Israel, the Director of Diller Teen Initiative and many more. From there, we were given lunch made up of assorted sandwich options and sides. After this, we convened in our leadership challenge teams and begun the day’s main activity: the leadership challenge. We were shown a video on with the first task. Once completed we headed to our bus to take us to our next challenge. We went to a field to complete different tasks such as the army crawl, blowing up a bubble over a person, climbing over an “electric wire” (it was really just flags). We got super dirty but had a lot of fun. After the obstacle courses we went to the Rugby Field, here we had to create a “haka maka” chant. After this, we went to a local mall where we had to complete different tasks while not annoying the people in the mall. Our next task was at the Canada Center. Here we had to bowl as a team and gain 70 points after this we moved up to the trampoline park. At the trampoline park we took a picture while making a Star of David while jumping. This was a lot harder than you’d expect. The Canada House was our last stop off campus. Once we returned to Tel Hai, we ate dinner and completed our final task. This was to build a bench for an organization in Upper Galilee. Our group picked a specific organization to donate the bench to. It was an extremely busy and exciting day. 

Written by: Aaron Ness

Our first full day of Congress! July 16

 Monday morning after a hectic weekend and I’m once again sitting in a classroom. I thought that during summer vacation I would have a respite from the slog of the classroom. Today, however, is different. In the places of classmates sit teenaged Jewish leaders from over 30 different regions throughout the world. Instead of monotonous lessons on math, engaging and vibrant discussions and dialogues are taking place between this pluralistic group of people.

    Next to me sits a girl from Herzeliya named Nicole. Although a native of Israel, Nicole is fluent in both Hungarian and English as well of her mother tongue of Hebrew. Her aptness with Hungarian ignites a flicker of interest in me as I had just been to Hungary earlier in the year. Consequently we strike up a conversation and I learn that Nicole’s father was born in the U.S. while her mother was born in Budapest. As young adults  they had both participated in Jewish programs like Diller and decided to make a new life for themselves on a kibbutz in Israel. While content in her beautiful coastal city of Herzeliya, Nicole and her family frequent their ancestral homes in Hungary and the U.S.

    Throughout the rest of my first day at International Congress I meet droves of people with life stories that are both similar and different to Nicole’s and my own. It amazes me to see the seemingly endless stream of Jewish teens who are both proud of their heritage and proactive about their future. As I go back to my kibbutz for the night, I’m both inspired and eager to explore my own unique Jewish heritage and forge a path for myself as proud Jew.

Written by: Eitan Murinson

Congress has officially started! July 15

Sunday July 15

This morning we woke up as the only partnership on the kibbutz and enjoyed a nice quiet breakfast and some programming just with the Baltimore group. Then, other groups started to arrive and we began to get to know the three other partnerships in our “cluster” who we will be staying with for the next four days. We had plenty of mingling, and then we got ready for the opening ceremony and dinner. It was at a wedding venue so there were plenty of nice views and really good food. We met kids from all over the world and began to get a sense of just how large the Diller community is, and the (loud) impact 600 people can have when cheering! We then headed back to our kibbutz to spend more time getting to know our “cluster”.  Today left us more excited than ever to get to know the 600 other Diller Teen Fellows we will be spending the next few days with at Congress!

Written by: Rachel Miller