Tzipori, Safforia - one place, two perspectives and more

By Hazzan Marian Turk

Today, on the seventh day of our Leadership Institute journey in Israel, I have seen beautiful landscapes, toured ancient ruins, met interesting people, seen an organic olive oil factory, and eaten the most delicious lunch I've ever had in my life. That's the snapshot of our day. Looking closer, a more complicated story of our day emerges, one that will have me thinking for quite a while. We spent the bulk of our day in and around the village of Tzippori, in northern Israel. 

Amin Muhammed Ali

We heard the story of a Palestinian who was born in 1935 in the village of Saffouria. In 1948, and in the aftermath of the war, Saffouria was evacuated and destroyed. It was settled by Jews and is now called Tzippori. Amin, the gentleman who shared his story with us, showed us a photograph of what Saffouria looked like before the 1948 war of independence. And we could see for ourselves what remained: nothing. 

No matter how fervently one believes in a Jewish homeland and the right of the Jews to live in Eretz Yisrael, it's impossible not to be moved by a human being standing before you telling his story. To make matters even more complicated, Amin is a close friend of Roberta Bell-Kligler, an American who made aliyah to Israel and who has been leading much of our trip. He even referred to Roberta as his sister. Yet they are both on opposite sides of the story. Amin told us that he wants to live in peace with Jews. Yet he also told us that he does not have a problem with the Jews, only the Zionists. None of us was able to get a direct answer from him about what the distinction is between Jews and Zionists, but in his mind there is one. 

After we heard from Amin, we visited the Tzippori National Park. Tzippori, or Sephoris as it was known in ancient times, was inhabited in the Roman and Byzantine periods. In addition, there was a thriving Jewish community there in ancient times, and the Mishnah, part of the code of Jewish law, was redacted by Yehuda HaNasi in Tzippori. We walked among excavated ancient ruins and saw evidence of the mingling of cultures at that time. We saw, in the villa of Yehuda HaNasi, a Greek-inspired mosaic with scenes of celebrations of the Greek god Dionysus. In the excavated site of one of Tzippori's 18 ancient synagogues, we saw another Greek-inspired mosaic portraying the Zodiac. We were reminded of how Judaism has always been influenced by the surrounding culture where Jews lived. 

By the time we were done exploring Tzippori National Park we were all ready for lunch. I don't think any of us could have imagined the fresh, delicious feast that awaited us at the Resh Lakish Cafe, an organic olive oil manufacturer and cafe named after the third century sage of the Talmud. 

A wonderful lunch
at Resh Lakish!

First we heard the story of one of Resh Lakish's proprietors, how she and her husband came with their 3 children to Israel, had 3 more children, and eventually converted a chicken coop into an olive oil factory. When we went inside to the cafe, we were greeted by tables full of olives, cheeses, fresh salads and tomatoes, and other fresh, delicious food. Everything about the meal was organic, down to the compostable plates, napkins, and flatware. 

After we had our fill of lunch and had purchased olive oil products, we headed to the home of Roberta Bell-Kligler, our teacher and guide in Israel. All 42 of us Leadership Institute fellows were warmly welcomed into Roberta's home on Moshav Tzippori, where we had dessert and admired the collection of ancient jug handles and mosaic pieces that Roberta had found on the moshav's property. 

Roberta told us the story of how she and her husband had come to Israel in the 70s and built a life for themselves in Israel, and how Holocaust survivors had come to Tzippori in 1950, been given 300-square-foot homes, and had farmed the land. Roberta spoke passionately about how she and her husband came to Israel to be in the Jewish homeland, and to build a life in the Jewish state. A one-state solution to the Israel/Palestinian conflict, as Amin had indicated this morning that he wanted, would mean the end of the Jewish state, as Jews would no longer be the numeric majority. 

What we Leadership Institute fellows got today from our travels in Tzippori was a mosaic of narratives. We heard three very different stories and explored the remains of some ancient stories. And we were left with many more questions than answers. Everything in life has a cost, and I came away from this amazing, challenging day wondering what the cost of Jewish survival will be, and what the future holds for our beloved Jewish homeland. 

Shalom u’vracha from the holy land, 

Hazzan Marian Turk