Chava Achot Seminar: "Possibly the best seminar of workshop!"

Friday and Saturday, the Workshoppers participated in Chava Achot Seminar. There were 160 chanichim on Kibbutz Ravid, half made up of Workshoppers and their Australian counterparts, and half made up of Israelis from Hanoar Haoved (our sister youth movement). The Israelis are spending a year of national service before entering the army, living in communes and running kennim (youth movement activites) all over the country. Each workshop kvutza was paired with a chava close-ish to them, so they are hopefully able to continue the relationships they started. The seminar began with conversations about Jewish identity, and the differing experiences of being Jewish in the Diaspora and Israel. After dinner, the Australian chanichim led Shabbat shira (singing), before everyone split off for fun evening activities. On Saturday, the groups returned to peulot about Zionism, and the shared experiences of growing up in a youth movement. Through discussing what the relationship between Habonim Dror and Hanoar Haoved, they also dealt with the relationship between the Diaspora and Israel as one facet of Zionism. Aside from an educational discussion about Judaism and Zionism, the seminar was also a very important cultural meeting for the Workshoppers. It gave them a chance to deepen their understanding of Israelis, and of themselves as part of the wider Jewish world.

Starting off the seminar with some team building games.

The Rishon kvutza getting to know their new friends a little better. The question: what is the most difficult part about communal living?

Trying to guess the size of the Jewish communities around the world. 

Try the quiz yourself here.

Putting different actions in order of most to least Zionist. Options included: teaching Hebrew in Moscow, donating to the JNF, settling the West Bank, working in high tech in Herzliyah, serving in the IDF on the border with Syria. Guess which ones engendered the most heated debate? (Spoiler: settling the west bank. If it isn't your vision of Zionism, is it still Zionism?)

Jasper, Celia, Jacob H and Zoe: discussing during a break how the seminar has given them a different perspective on Israeli society. Specifically, how knowing you have to serve in the army changes your  relationship to your country and the way you see the security issues in Israel. 

Everyone gathered together for the closing tekkes.