Etgar 36: Summer 2008

By Aaron Wasser

We woke up to our first Washington DC morning. After a quick breakfast and sleep-filled bus ride, we found ourselves knocking on the door of the non-profit organization, Jubilee USA. Named after the Torah concept of the Jubilee year, this organization is focused on relieving the debt of poor developing countries.

Next we walked by the Supreme Court and Library of Congress on our way to the Cannon Building, where many Congressional leaders have their offices, and went to meet with Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta. Congressman Lewis recalled with vivid detail his role in both the Civil Rights movement and politics today. We had followed in his footsteps during the first few days of our trip in the South. He talked about the march in Selma that he helped organize. Perhaps what was most impressive was his calm disposition as he reflected upon the beatings he took on that day which is known as Bloody Sunday. He answered all of our questions about current issues and the lessons we had learned from the Civil Rights era.

outside the Capitol building

meeting with Congressman John Lewis in his office

Billy then took us out for the quality Chinese food that Washington DC is known for.

Our next stop after lunch was my favorite of the day which was with the environmental group, Greenpeace. As I walked in I found myself overwhelmed by solar panels, daylight sensors, compressed straw furniture and other progressive eco-friendly appliances. We met with Deputy Executive Director, Bill Richardson, who told us about Greenpeace’s inspiring origin of a single ship that gained global support as it set sail to stop nuclear testing. Greenpeace gave us a refreshing and progressive view that promoted action over advocacy. Their devotion and dedication is inspiring.

We ended our meetings that day by coming full circle on a debate that had opened nearly a month ago. The issue of this debate is abortion. We met with NARAL Pro Choice America. As I walked into their offices I recalled my fierce Pro Choice view I had when meeting with the Pro Life group in Dallas. I listened to the facts and points that Adam and Kim, the NARAL Pro Choice staff members who met with us, made, and I realized that I would have followed it blindly before coming on Etgar 36 but now I found myself a skeptic. I realized that if I have learned but one thing on Etgar 36 it is to question everything including one’s strongest convictions.

speaking with the NARAL staff

the NARAL Executive Director stopped by to chat with us

outside the White House

talking with protesters in Lafayette Park by the White House

By Hannah Goldstein

We started the day with one of the best breakfasts of the trip. We had heard about it from the lady at the front desk but, in the morning, when Billy told us to hurry up and not miss it we took it seriously.

Our first stop of the day was the Constitution Museum. After being greeted by someone who is clearly a morning person, we went into the theater to see what Billy called a “mind boggling” experience. His passion touched me. I could see how much this play means to him. It was cheesy as we had anticipated but still pretty phenomenal. They walked us through America’s history starting with colonization and ending with current events. It was interesting to see the development of checks and balances as well as their modern applications.

When we exited the theater, Billy introduced our theme for the final days. The preamble of the Constitution was on the wall and Billy pointed out the words, “a more perfect union.” The point of these words is that while the United States can’t ever be perfect, we should always strive for perfection. He then let us go through the museum.

The museum is very high tech. It is a circular exhibit with the history on the outside and interactive political activities on the inside. There were such things as voting for president and passing a bill, so everyone was entertained. The exhibit concludes with a collection of bronze statues of all the signers of the Constitution. We all “signed the Constitution” and then went to the gift shop.

From there we walked to the Liberty Bell. Ezra taught us about its origins. It was originally rung to announce big occasions and it’s last usage was in 1846 on George Washington’s birthday. It was an important symbol during the Civil War because of the quote from Leviticus, “proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all its inhabitants.”

We then had a speedy version of the other Philadelphia landmarks such as Independence Hall, Ben Franklin’s house which was not the high tech museum Billy said it would be but, rather, a museum built in the 70s that has not been updated since.

meeting “Ben Franklin” outside his house

We then passed by some Jewish landmarks such as Mikveh Israel Synagogue. This was one of the first Sephardic synagogues in America. They had a memorial dedicated to Jonathan Netanyahu. He went to school in Philadelphia and then moved to Israel. On July 4^th, 1976, when hijackers attacked a commercial jet, they landed it in Uganda and separated the Jewish and Israeli passengers from the others. Israel put together a rescue mission in which only one Israeli soldier, Jonathan Netanyahu, and one hostage was killed.

At the Jonathan Netanyahu memorial

We also visited a sign explaining Haym Salomon, a Jewish person who helped fund the Revolutionary War. Our final stop was at Ben Franklin’s grave.

Carlton drove us to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch. It is full of stalls with just about every food you can imagine.

On the way out of Philadelphia, Billy gave us a driving tour of the rest of the city. Naturally we couldn’t leave without racing up the steps at the Art Museum famous from the “Rocky” movies. Adam Nesenoff won the race and then we were on our way to Baltimore.

As soon as we landed in Baltimore to the tune of “Good Morning Baltimore,” we headed to a meeting with Neil Rubin, editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times. He began by introducing journalistic dilemmas that we debated. He introduced the idea of self censorship, which led into a discussion about which stories are newsworthy. In the true life case presented, an inspirational Holocaust survivor’s story was exposed as a fabrication, so we argued about whether or not it was necessary to expose such an inspiring figure. Neil believes that all good newspapers create debate. He also acknowledged the need to change with the times, meaning he knows most print will become electronic. He believes it is important to read multiple sources on every topic so as to better understand the situation.

After this riveting debate, which continued outside of the conference room, we went to the Baltimore Inner Harbor. There we were able to walk around and have dinner. Afterwards, we drove to our hotel in Washington DC to rest up for some upcoming packed days. Overall, today was a nice combination of meetings, free time, and good food.

By Kenny Miller

We began the day by heading back to Harvard Square. We went to Revolution Books which is a Communist bookstore. There we met with George who is a member of the Communist Revolution Party USA. Even though I believe in Socialism, I believe that Communism doesn’t work. Two Communist leaders, Stalin and Mao, killed more people than Hitler. While I may have disagreed with George, I respect the fact that he stood up for what he believes in while living in a country that is afraid of Communism.

After our meeting with George we walked to lunch at Crazy Doughs pizza which was very good. Then we had a long ride to Philadelphia. Once we got to Philadelphia we walked to South Street where we had free time to walk around and get dinner. Many of us went to Jim’s Steaks for the Philadelphia tradition of cheese steaks. It was a great dinner! We finished the day by having our wrap up in a near by park.