San Diego - Sha'ar HaNegev Teacher Exchange
Pablo Neruda, Book of Questions,
translated by William O'Daly

"To whom does the ragged condor
report after its mission?
"

Special thanks to the United Jewish Federation;
San Diego Agency for Jewish Education;
Mindy Blonder; Sima Greenbaum; and
Larry Acheatel, Director of the
San Diego Jewish Academy


The following slide show, narratives, and sketches
reflect the journey through the lens of artists -
Melissa McKinstry and Doug Kipperman.

Tourists
by Yehuda Amichai from Poems of Jerusalem,
translated by Glenda Abramson and Tudar Parfitt

Visits of condolence is all we get from them.
They squat at the Holocaust Memorial,
They put on grave faces at the Wailing Wall.
And they laugh behind heavy curtains
In their hotels.
They have their pictures taken
Together with our famous dead
At Rachel's Tomb and Herzl's Tomb
And on the top of Ammunition Hill.
They weep over our sweet boys
And lust over our tough girls
And hang up their underwear
To dry quickly
In cool blue bathrooms.

Once I sat on the steps by a gate at David's Tower, I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. A group of tourists was standing around their guide and I became their target marker. "You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there's an arch from the Roman period. Just right of his head." "But he's moving, he's moving! I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them, "You see that arch from the Roman period? It's not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, there sits a man who's bought fruit and vegetables for his family."


The following are links to sketches and personal narratives created during our travels

Collaboration |
David Ben-Gurion's Negev and a Bedouin Camp |
Druze Village | Golan Heights | Jerusalem |
Kiryat Shmona | Misgav-Am | Yad Vashem | Zippori

 


Program Goals | WriteDesign Gallery |
E-Mail Doug at
mrdoug@aznet.net and Melissa at mjmckinstry@earthlink.net