And that's a wrap!

I can hardly believe that 6 weeks could go by so quickly. I feel like I started my journey in Jerusalem yesterday! Anyway, this is my last blog, so I'll be reviewing my last two weeks.

Jumping around in Jordanian Desert

After finishing up my time at the Commission for PWD, I went back to the EEOC for one week to finish my report there. It was really nice seeing them again! And I was able to finish the report on time as well. This report was without a doubt the longest report I've ever written in my life. I will be honest to admit that I was concerned when I accepted the challenge to go on this internship, given I'm not a student in ILR as all the previous students have been and the fact that I have had little exposure to writing reports of this sort. But with the support of the EDI staff and of both commissions, I was able to accomplish the task! I truly hope the reports I wrote will be helpful in furthering implementing the rights of PWD in Israel, but at the end of the day I can say that I pushed myself and gave it my best! I definitely grew a lot from this experience.

I almost forgot to mention my weekend adventure in Petra, Jordan! As you've probably noticed from my previous blogs, I like to travel, and though it wasn't cheap to go to Petra, I figured if I didn't do it while I was in Israel, I may never see it. So I went with a tour group and it was pretty amazing. We got to see Petra, sleep in a Bedouin camp, tour the desert, and even spend some time in Eilat at the end. I met some pretty cool people, which sometimes just makes all the difference.

Covered in Dead Sea mud! 

A few days after that adventure, my mom came to Israel to spend a week with me, which of course was awesome. We got to see quite a bit, and though my mom had been here twice before, she said she got a new perspective. Over the weekend went to a prayer tower on the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Dead Sea! Those were places  I hadn't yet made it to, but would have felt really silly if I didn't get to see it. During the week I had work, so we couldn't cover as much ground, but we still did some fun stuff. Naturally, we went to the Old City quite a bit, and it involved some clothes shopping because the airline lost my mom's baggage, so she had to use my clothes and buy some new ones for the week she was there. On her last day, we went to Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum). Boy, it was so intense. I felt the effects until the next morning!

Elwyn! 

My last week was spent at Elwyn, and I really appreciated everything they exposed me to. I mean, they really went all out with planning my schedule. It was really valuable for me to actually meet PWD at their workplace, their homes, their retirement centers, etc etc. I got to see what their daily lives are like and what Elwyn does for them. I also appreciated how everyone at Elwyn was very honest, sharing success stories as well as challenges, not trying to make everything look perfect and simple.

I believe this experience has really made me an advocate for PWD. I hope that someday I'll be in a position where I can be employing PWD myself, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing, so that I can continue the good work that so many have already been doing. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity given to me by EDI and all the host organizations that took such great care of my during my stay in Israel.

Over halfway done? What?!

It's crazy how fast time is going by here. So fast in fact that I totally missed the second week without posting here!
Needless to say, I've been pretty busy. My second week I was at the EEOC, making good progress on the report. I also got to know the people better, which is always a lot of fun, and it's also how you end up learning a place's culture beyond just reading up on it.

Light Festival in the Cave

I also had many adventures outside of work. Rivka and I returned to the Old City to finish up seeing the Light Festival; my favorite part was going into a cave where they had these super cool effects where it looked like drawings were moving because of the light color change. During that week I also found out that some family friends were in Jerusalem for a couple of days, so I met up with them, which was a lot of fun!

Garden Tomb

The week also had an unfortunate event. I was planning on going to Warsaw, Poland for the weekend, but due to the bus driver forgetting and skipping my stop, delaying me over 1.5 hours. I was pretty bummed about it, but I ended up having a really nice weekend in Jerusalem! I met up with the family friends who were in town again, and they took me around the Old City to places I hadn't gotten a chance to see yet. My favorite was the Garden Tomb. You know, there will always be debates about what actually happened where historically, but just seeing a possible setting where Jesus could have died and resurrected was awesome enough! It was actually really powerful; we prayed and sang there, and of course, took some pictures. We couldn't stay long because it was closing, so I hope to return before I finish the internship. Another cool event was that I met up with a fellow Brazilian who is studying medicine here. She's about my age, and we got along really well. It felt nice to make a friend!
The following week I started working at the Commission for Persons with Disabilities. We hit some issues in the beginning with me not being able to access the internet, but we figured out how to make it work. Plus, everyone there is so sweet! I got to have meetings with everyone and learn more about what they do on a daily basis, which is really valuable to me. I get to see what I've been reading about in action! Not many people get the chance to see how governmental offices work, so I feel incredibly privileged to be a part of this.

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow

Judy also came over this week. Rivka planned an outing for us at the Western Wall Tunnels, which was so much fun! She also invited a student from WashU to tag along, so I made another friend! After the tunnels we actually ended up going to dinner and chatting about our experiences. I had an awesome time.
This past weekend I went to Moscow (making sure I did not miss my flight this time) and had an amazing experience! Even though I only had one day, I got to see Moscow's grand and colorful buildings, AND I GOT TO GO TO THE BOLSHOI! They really are such pros, and the ballet was BEAUTIFUL!

Bolshoi Ballet

However, this week also had an unfortunate incident. I went to the doctor in Tel Aviv to get some stuff sorted for getting my visa to Australia (where I'll be studying abroad next semester). Anyway, I had been having really strong pain in my lower back, making it really hard for me to sit and walk (yes, super inconvenient). Since I was already at the doctor, I figured I would get it checked; turns out I got an infection because of a hair (I really wish it were something cooler). This apparently was very common, and the doctor told me it was the number one reason why soldiers were out of the battlefield in World War 2. At least I was like a soldier I guess. That being said, I did have to go through a surgery-like procedure, opening up the area. Everyone loves a surprise surgery when they're alone in a foreign country right? I know I do!
Anyway, it was pretty darn painful, and the painkillers the doctor prescribed were so strong that he had to write the prescription 3 times to convince the pharmacists to actually give me the meds. I'm also on antibiotics. Needless to say, I'm pretty tired and woozy after all that. I'll need a week to recover, but I also have to finish my report for the Commission, so I truly hope I can manage to get it done and get it done well. I am happy I got it all sorted out though, because the doctor said if the infection spread I would have ended up in an emergency room, and as unpleasant as my surprise surgery was, I'm sure an emergency room experience would have been worse.
So long story short, I've been having an amazing time in Israel, including the unfortunate events that will someday make a great story for my grandkids! I can't believe I'm over halfway done with my time here. I already know I'll be upset when my time is over, so I'm going to do my best to take advantage of the time I have left!

Week 1 Over Already!

Today marks the first week since my arrival in Jerusalem, and I can't believe I'm already 1/6 of the way done! The city is absolutely beautiful, and I've hardly scratched the surface of everything I want to see.

I arrived on Saturday, and it was still during Shabbat, which means everything was still closed. Rivka, our student liaison, invited me to have dinner at her house. I had to call for a cab, which came with some language barriers, but thankfully it went smoothly and he took me to the right place. During dinner I met Rivka and her family, who were all absolutely wonderful people. Rivka then told me she would take me around the next day, since I would only begin working on Monday. So we did. She showed me how the train system works and then we went to the Old City. I got to see the Tower of David Museum, which was really really cool. Usually when I go to museum, I have little to no knowledge on the subject of the museum. However, this time I did because so much of it related to the Bible! It's actually very interesting to notice how different the experience becomes when you actually understand many of the references. On Sunday we also did a walking tour of the Old City and I got to see all four quarters.

Monday and Tuesday were my official transition period days. These are the days I get over my jetlag and homesickness. This basically meant that after work I would just go home, talk with my mother on Facetime for a while, and go to sleep. On Wednesday, Rivka took me to see the Light Festival in the Old City. Apparently this is a festival that started a few years ago, and they basically put lights all around the Old City. It was really interesting and I had a really fun time!

Thursday I went to Tel Aviv for work, and I think it's the first time I've ever commuted! It was pretty interesting and Tel Aviv is beautiful as well. I got back in time to go to a Youth Group meeting at King of Kings church that one of the people I met at the bed and breakfast told me about. It took place on a Prayer Tower on Jaffa Road. It was wonderful meeting people my age who had similar interests and values. In fact, I met two girls from Finland who are currently volunteering for Elwyn, which is one of the places I'll be working for while I'm here! I could hardly believe I met them. They were also super sweet, and I hope to meet them again soon.

Friday I was off and Rivka took me exploring again (she really is amazing at her job!). She introduced me to another student who has been here for 7 years. First we went to Ein Karem, which is the place where Mary stayed with Elizabeth for a few months before John the Baptist was born. It was a gorgeous place, and it had absolutely breathtaking views. We also visited a few other places after, including a spring, the Menorah behind the Knesset, and a hiking area with awesome views where we had our picnic style lunch. It was a really fun day.

Today is Saturday once again, and I'm actually heading to the Old City to have lunch with Judge Adler. After that I plan on exploring the Old City some more. I do have only 5 weeks left after all!

And just like that, it's over!

Our internship officially ended this past Thursday. Jordan and I spent our last week in the Commission working endlessly to put together our research into a presentable and detailed report and presentation. We enjoyed our last week speaking to members of the Commission and wrapping up our 6 week project. On Thursday, we had the pleasure to present our findings to members of the Commission and Israel Elwyn, which went great. We were a bit nostalgic to say goodbye but nonetheless grateful of this amazing opportunity. After our presentation, the Commission was kind enough to present us with a few tokens of appreciation for us to remember our contribution in Israel.

A little gift from the Commission and Israel Elwyn

Now that we are down to our last few days, Jordan and I took it upon ourselves to explore the rest of Jerusalem which we have not seen yet. We visited the Israel Museum which was a great and very insightful trip. We also re-visited the Old City a few more times and its many sacred sights, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which holds the tomb of Jesus. 

A recreated Synagogue from the Israel Museum

The tomb of Jesus

We are down to our last two days and are enjoying every second of this trip before we have to part ways. Soon we will be in America retelling our journey. We are excited to go home and look forward to helping out the students for next year's trip!

Israel, it's been great. 

Time Is Flying By!

Our second to last week in Israel has been extremely eventful. Although some of our friends and family have been concerned over recent events happening in the region, Daniel and I feel extremely extremely safe where we are living and working. 

This week we concluded our work at Elwyn in Jerusalem. We had the opportunity to visit the Knesset and Hadassah Hospital to see supported employment programs. I was very impressed with the program at the Knesset because the people with disabilities were considered full employees of the Knesset and most had been there for an extended period of time. At the end of our time at Elwyn, we had the opportunity to learn more about their LAHAV program which works to transition people from sheltered employment to supported employment. We were unable to find many programs like it but thought it was a great program and look forward to see how it develops in the future. On Wednesday, we returned to the Commission. Everyone was excited that we were back and was curious as to what we had been doing for the past week and a half!

This week we also had an opportunity to spend time with Rivka! She took us to see another beautiful overlook of Jerusalem and an old Windmill. We are always finding new places in Jerusalem that we did not know existed. On Friday, Daniel and I visited Mt. Hertzl, a war cemetery and Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. Both of these places are extremely beautiful but extremely sad.

We have a little over one week left and quite a bit of work to accomplish and many sites left to see!

Hertzl's Tomb

Mt. Hertzl Cemetery 

A statue At Yad Vashem

A Great Overlook of Jerusalem! 

Week 4

This week Jordan and I began working with Elwyn, a non-profit organization that promotes the equality and rights of people with disabilities. We visited their main facility in Jerusalem and were introduced to the host of services they provide which include employment rehabilitation, employment placement, supported living arrangements, among others. We had the privilege of witnessing first-hand the employment system that Elwyn uses to eventually help individuals with disabilities enter the competitive labor market. We started off in the main facility in which individuals with disabilities work in a semi-sheltered environment doing manufacturing work. We then traveled to the city of Haifa where we got to see supported employment in action in various settings. Some of the jobs were located in a retirement home, in a nursery, in a vintage shop, in a nature preserve, in a supermarket, among others. In these sites, individuals with disabilities worked in the community with a job coach that helped them on their path to self-sufficiency and eventually competitive employment.

Supported Employment Site: Two individuals with disabilities helped out with several tasks in a nursery. 

Supported Employment Site: Three individuals with disabilities worked around in a nature preserve. 

The staff at Elwyn also shared anecdotes of several individuals with disabilities that started off in sheltered employment and are now working entirely on their own within the community.

In our visit to Haifa, we also got to explore the city's culture. We had lunch with Elwyn staff members at a local family restaurant in a Druze neighborhood. We were able to learn a bit about the Druze religion and even got to wear some traditional Druze clothing!

We learned a lot this past week and are excited to continue working with Elwyn this upcoming week! 

Dead Sea and Masada Pictures!

Daniel and I wanted to share a few pictures from our trip to Masada and the Dead Sea!

Week 3- Research and Dancing!

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to share my final report with Dafna from the Ministry of Economy. My report included incentives and programs that different countries are using to encourage employers to hire people with disabilities. Through this research, I realized that many countries are using similar practices and that there is little innovation.

After I presented my report, Daniel and I started our second project. Our second project is for both Elwyn and the Commission. For this project we are exploring global practices on transitioning out of sheltered employment into supported employment. For the first week of this project we researched transitional programs in Germany, Tennessee, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic. We are excited to compare these programs to those that Elwyn offers.

This past week we also had the opportunity to spend time with Judy! We went to a craft fair and had a delicious dinner! Judy also provided us with support on our projects.

On Tuesday night Rivka took us to see a dance performance done by people in wheelchairs as a part of the Jerusalem Festival for Disabled Artist. It was incredible and unlike anything that we had ever experienced.

Daniel and I will be traveling to Masada and the Dead Sea tomorrow and then Haifa on Sunday to explore sheltered workshops.

And that wraps up Week 2!

Our second week in Israel was off to a great start as we spent the weekend enjoying ourselves in Tel Aviv. We visited the beautiful beaches of Tel Aviv, explored the city of Old Jaffa, and got a nice change of scenery. Despite being a bit warmer up in Tel Aviv, we spent a wonderful weekend with bright lights, tall skyscrapers, cool waters, and busy intersections.

We returned to Jerusalem excited to begin our first complete week of work. Jordan worked on a project researching incentives for companies to employ people with disabilities across different countries while I helped the Commission for Equal Rights for People with Disabilities properly translate lots of disability legislation into proper English. 

Throughout our busy week we were able to attend different events and continue exploring Jerusalem. We attended a music concert at the Israel American Center, we joined Rivka and Judge Adler (the Cornell liaisons) for lunch and dinner, and further explored the Old City during the annual Festival of Lights where most of the city is adorned with beautiful light exhibits. 

We are not gearing up for our third week of work where we will both begin new projects in conjunction with Elwyn, a non-profit organization that advocates disability rights. We are also getting ready to experience warmer temperatures and survive the heat! Our third week of adventures awaits us!

Week 1 In Jerusalem!

Shalom!

         Daniel and I arrived safely in Israel on Saturday afternoon. After settling into Allenby, our home for the next six weeks, we headed over to Ben Yehuda Street to meet up with a Taglit-Birthright group from Cornell! 

Daniel and I met up with Rabbi Scott, Cornell Hillel's Reform Rabbi, and Alyssa Kirsch on Ben Yehuda Street!

Daniel found a "Cornell" Celebrity: Sarah Balik (The President of Student Assembly)

         Daniel and I met Rivka, the Cornell Liaison in Israel on Sunday. Rivka drove us around Jerusalem and showed us a lookout where we could see the city! Afterwards Rivka took us to Old City where we walked around and had an incredible dinner. 

Our first trip to the Wall!

Daniel and I in front of an overlook of Jerusalem! 

         On Monday we had our orientation for our internship at the Commission for Equal Rights For Persons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Economy. Our supervisors Dafna from the Ministry of Economy and Gaby, from the Commission for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities were extremely helpful and welcoming. They introduced us to the projects that we will be working on for the next six weeks. After our orientation, Daniel and I had lunch and began to prepare for Shavout because all of Jerusalem would be closed for the holiday. 

         During Shavout, Daniel and I continued to explore the Old City. While in the Old City, we visited the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock. We also explored many of the shops in the outdoor market, also known as the Souk, before the holiday began. The holiday was an excellent opportunity for us to overcome our jet lag and to prepare for our first day of work!  

 

The Dome of the Rock!

         Daniel and I have started working on our first set of projects at the Commission. We are currently working on researching global approaches to to incentives for employing people with disabilities and Daniel is working on correcting English translations for the Commission’s website! 

My favorite Israeli dish, Shawarma. (I've had it every day since we have been here!)

         We are excited to head to Tel Aviv for Shabbat and then to come back and continue our work at the Commission!

Hi Everyone! 

My name is Jordan Berger and I will be traveling to Israel with Daniel Muniz-Garcia. We are both majoring in Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Daniel and I are getting excited for our upcoming trip to Israel. We will be arriving in Israel on May 31 and beginning our work on June 2 at the Israeli Commission for Equal Rights For Persons with Disabilities, Elwyn, and the Ministry of Trade. We hope that you will follow our blog! 

The Goodbye and the Return to the USA

Our last sunset in Israel

The view from our balcony the morning we left for the airport

Hey Everyone!

Laura and I have been back in the United States for one week now, and it feels so strange to be so far away from the people we met during our time in Israel. We are both very happy to see our families and friends, but there is definitely a sense of longing to spend time with the amazing people we met during our short 6 weeks in Israel.

By visiting as many places as we could where people with disabilities work and live, I believe that I was able to see how people with disabilities in a completely different society go about happy and meaningful lives. The framework of the laws and the opportunities for people with disabilities are not identical to the United States. By taking a 6-week peek into the culture of disability laws and disability services, I feel more appreciative of the power of community. Israel has a strong sense of community--I believe this is a driving force for the disability rights movement for Israeli citizens. By giving individuals as much self-advocacy as possible, the person's needs are more likely to be met.

When Laura and I attended the United Nations on Wednesday to overhear discussions on the rights of people with disabilities, it seemed as if self-advocacy is a huge goal. I remember various speakers from multiple countries mentioning how people with disabilities need to be given the resources to express what they want. Instead of having the government or other authority figures decide what is best for a person with a disability, every effort should be made to give that person the right to make his/her own decisions.

I also recognize that it will take me a long time to fully appreciate all of the experiences I had while in Israel. As time passes, I will learn more and more about people with disabilities in the United States and I will be able to reference my past experiences in Israel. I am so excited that the learning and synthesizing process does not end here!

Before I sign out of this blog for the last time, I would like to leave everyone with a video that the Commission for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities showed at the United Nations. It shows that when a group of people come together to fight for what is fair, the possibilities are inspiring.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE VIDEO IN YOUTUBE (English subtitles)