We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but we spent
over two hours there learning about the history of discrimination against the
Jews, their persecution and finally genocide.
It was both graphic and moving…….
Outdoors there were more monuments memorializing the 1.5 million
children who were murdered, and some of the people who cared for and died with
them.
We then got to spend an hour with an 86 year old survivor of
the Holocaust. He was raised in Poland,
lived the ghettos there as an 11 year old, saw his parents sent to camps where
they were killed and his brother captured and sent to the camps. He also was sent to a death camp, but he was
one of several hundred out of 7,000 who were selected for work details instead
of the gas chambers. After the Americans
liberated them, he came to Israel and fought in the War for Liberation.
We had a quick lunch in a cafeteria and then went to the
Hadassah University Medical Center to view the Chagall Windows. They are a set of 12 stained glass art
windows over a Synagogue each dedicated to one of Jacob’s sons and their 12
tribes. No photos were allowed there
either……….
We then went back to the Museum of Israel, where we’d been
yesterday, but this time we toured and Archeological and Jewish Life
sections. We spent 3 hours there.
They also had an outdoor exhibit/artwork called
“Bambu”. 28 rock climbers took 10,000
bamboo poles, 80,000 feet of rope and 7 weeks building the 60’ tall structure
using a ‘design-as-you-go’ plan.
Our last stop of the day was a home-hosted dinner from an
‘ultra-orthodox’ family. They follow the
most rigid rules. Many of the men spend
their lives in religious study while their wives work full time to provide
financial support and also raise an average of 8 children. ‘Match-makers’ arrange dating and marriage. They do live in a culture all their own.
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