Shalom my friends! It has been months since my last check-in, but I am happy to say that The Flink is back! So much has happened since my last post. Steve Jobs has passed, Wall Street has been occupied, LeBron James proposed to his girlfriend (she has more rings than him!), and somehow, Eli Manning is being called the best quarterback in the Manning family. Today, I would like to share about an amazing experience I had this past January. But first, some context...
As many of you know, Flink was raised in a Jewish household. He went to Hebrew school (where he perfected his card playing skills in the bathroom), he had a Bar-Mitzvah (it was awesome), and he celebrates Jewish holidays with his family. Several years ago, Flink's older sister Wibbitz traveled to Israel with one of her friends on Birthright. Despite spending a day in the hospital (that's kind of her style), Wibbitz had the time of her life and highly reccommended that Flink should take advantage of the experience. Like Wibbitz, I wanted to travel with a friend. Last year, I applied with my friend Mensch. I was lucky enough to have been accepted to the trip through GW, however Mensch was not as lucky. I decided not to accept and re-apply next year. The next year when I saw GW was hosting another trip, I decided to ask about bringing Mensch and our other good friend, Humpty Dumpty. The trip leaders were kind enough to accept both me and my friends. Looks like we are going to Israel!
January had come, the wait was over. Humpty Dumpty, Mensch, and myself drove from my house in New York first to Jim's Steaks for cheesesteaks (a great, kosher, pre-Israel trip snack) and then to the Philadelphia Airport where we met the rest of our group. On the plane, I had a middle seat next to a junior from UPenn going on another Birthright trip, and an Aretha Franklin clone. Turns out Aretha works in the US Embassy in Tel-Aviv. She told me if I lost my passport, she would "hook me up." Thanks Aretha. I then slept like a baby for the next 11 hours.
Before I continue, I would like to note that throughout my 12 days in Israel, I did not tell a single lie (except that I had 12 big brothers, but that doesn't count). No, it wasn't because I was afraid that I should be on my best behavior in "The Holy Land." It was because I traveled with mostly GW students. This means I will most likely see these people again. Flinkey's golden rule: Always lie when you travel if you know you will most likely never see these people again. No lying for the Flink here. I regress...
Once we got off the plane, I finally met our entire group. Our group was unbelievable. I have never been in an environment where so many people got along so well with each other. There are so many stories that I can tell about the next 12 days. I can share a story about a man named Avraham we met in Svat who a few years ago was a man named Robert in Michigan. I can tell stories of raves in Beduin tents. I can tell you the courageous story about a camel named Moose who knew he didn't belong. I can tell tales of 8 Israeli soldiers who had no idea what they got themselves into. I can tell of moving moments at the Western Wall. There is one story that I would like to share, and that is the story of our tour guide.
In keeping with the anonymous theme of the blog, I shall refer to our tour guide as James Bond, but that name does not really do him justice. We met Bond, James Bond, at the airport and he stayed with us until the very end of our trip. When he introduced himself to us, he called himself a farmer. He worked in the olive oil industry for many years, and even introduced us to some of his olive oil friends during our trip. Bond was born in modern day Israeli and considers himself very religious. He walks around with a prayer book in his pocket, and although sometimes it is with a Charlotte Hornets hat, he always keeps his head covered. Whether we were hiking through the woods, at a historic site, or driving through geological wonders, Bond knew all the facts. I have never met a more knowledgable person. He really knew it all. One day he told us about the life cycle of an almond tree, then explained the multiple layers of Jerusalem, and finally ended with explaining how electromagnetic waves travel a greater distance from the sun to the dead sea, so attenuation is lower. I had to test my theory that he knew everything. One day on the trip, I went up to Bond and asked him about something pretty normal in my life, biophysics. I asked him one of the questions on my biophysics practice final: why is the sky blue? He explained the phenomenon in physical terms exactly how I had learned it in class. He spoke about wavelength thresholds and bending of visible light. He even went on to use this idea to explain the Northern Lights. This guy really does know it all. It wasn't until we went to Mount Herzl, the Arlington Cemetery of Israel, that I learned how truly amazing Bond was.
James Bond, with the help of our AMAZING eight Israeli soliders (I miss you!), toured us around Mount Herzl telling us stories as we would pass gravestones. When we passed the gravestone of Yoni Netanyahu, older brother of current Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bond told us about how Yoni was a good friend of his. I then learned the amazing story of Operation Entebbe.
In 1976, an Air France plane flying from Tel-Aviv was hijacked and brought to Entebbe, Uganda. For a week, over 200 passengers were held hostage by terrorists. A week after the hijacking, the IDF sent a group of 100 Special Forces agents to rescue to hostages. Our guide, a mere oliver farmer who traveled with us for 12 days, James Bond, was one of those agents. The operation is widely considered one of the greatest and most daring special forces operations in history. All terrorists were killed, along with the death of four hostages, and one member of IDF Special Forces, the Commander of the unit: Yoni Netanyahu.
I want to personally thank James Bond for making this trip as amazing of an experience as possible. Although sometimes I was just tired and wanted to sleep, his never ending knowledge (if you we're on my trip, you know what I mean by never ending) made the trip not only fun, but educational. I learned so much in Israel and can't wait to go back. So thank you, James Bond.
Moral of the story: Go to Israel. You will meet some pretty amazing people.
Keep spreading the jam.
Flinkey out.
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