The Rabin Center

One word pretty much sums up our first day in Tel Aviv...Rabin. It is funny how you look back on history growing up and I would say most of my generation who grew up middle to upper middle class will remember a few key names from current events, but would be unsure why such as...Anwar Sadat, Menacham Begin, King Hussein of Jordan, Yhitzak Rabin, maybe even Shimon Perez and Golda Meir (thought those might be doubtful). They definitely remember names like John Wilkes Booth, JFK, Nixon, Margaret Thatcher, Michel Gorbachev and Yeltsin, Sadam Hussein and George HW Bush. Today I felt like I experienced the first set of names in the way the Israeli's experienced them, which is much like how most of you reading this blog would have experienced the second set of names.

We have been learning much about Israel's history throughout our trip and today we got to learn even more about the declaration of the state of Israel in 1947 by David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel. More amazing than that story, for my generations memory anyway was visiting Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, seeing the last steps walked by Yhitzak Rabin, and seeing the markers in the pavement that indicated just how close his assassin stood to him to shoot him. It was nothing like Lincoln or JFK (our two assassinated leaders), the murderer of Rabin stood less than 2 feet from him and the guard who was suppose to protect him probably 3 feet from both Rabin and the assassin. There was no sniper on a hill and no mad man in the theater wings for this one, we was close enough to touch Rabin with the gun that shot him. To me as an American, living in the lifetime that I have that is inconceivable, even with the assassination attempt that I lived through of Regan, he wasn't that close and it wasn't on the heels of a peace movement rally.

From there we went to the Rabin Center where we were able to learn a great deal about the political history of Israel overlaid by the history of Rabin as a leader all within the context of other things going on in the world arena. Though not as touching or as sensitive for most of us as Yad Vashem, this museum was amazingly well done and laid out, thought the most amazing part was meeting and talking with Dalhia Rabin, Yhitzak's daughter, after lunch. She was a women who carried herself in such a confident, self-assured fashion and one that was noteworthy in her own right, regardless of who her father was. She was engaging and has truly experienced many different positions of political and military power within her career as a lawyer and member of the Knesset. She is an advocate for women's rights and empowerment, and stands firm to her beliefs and wasn't afraid to step away from high political positions (like Deputy Minister of Defense) when she didn't like the political agenda that was being pushed. She said that without the assassination of her father she never would have intended to go into the political arena, but after that happened she felt that this was the only right thing to do. She was also unsure how many leaders are following her father's peace mission. She now directs the Rabin Center and makes sure that her father's life is memorialized as he lived, with conviction and respect.

So what changed today? Well I think the best way I can describe it is that you have to know what is important to you in all aspects of your life, and be open to certain events really shaping who you become and the path that you take because often it is not what you would have expected but is the one that you are being called to do for reasons you do not understand (and the Christian in me in the holy land says that this is one way that God can work in your life).

Oh and another amazing site today...The Mediterranean Sea!!! We got our first up close glimpse of it and tomorrow my goal is to touch it during our lunch and "shopportunity" as Yael calls it. Which by the way is the best guide ever and if you are ever thinking of a trip to Israel I highly recommend IsraelExperts, but mainly Yael Manashe (soon to be Zelcer). She is amazing and I wish I could be her friend but the 12 hour flight could be a difficult one to manage!

Tomorrow a bit back to walking, to tour old Jaffa and then African Refugee Center and a new market, Carmel Market! Tomorrow is our last day in Tel Aviv and the last night we will sleep in Israel. We end our trip at the Masada and the Dead Sea on Saturday, before our red eye home just past midnight. The time as gone so quick, but a few days left to enjoy!

I'll try to do better and remember to take the iPad to the bus tomorrow to upload...our hotel is still crappy though the food is better our room still smells and the bed is unbelievable uncomfortable-I am sort of looking forward to sleeping on the plane...