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Adam Winer – 2^nd blog entry

On Thursday we traveled from Jerusalem all the way down to Israel’s southernmost tip, where the scenic and resilient city of Eilat is located. The first thing that struck me about the city, upon looking out of my hotel room balcony, is how close it is in proximity to other nations – I could see an oversized Jordanian flag flapping in the breeze to my left in Aqaba, with Egypt just across the bay to the right, and Saudi Arabia’s shores a short swim away.

In addition to being located far, far away from Israel’s political, geographic and demographic centers (so much so that it merits 2 of its own airports), Eilat faces multiple internal challenges. Firstly, as the relatively small size of the city’s population (about 50,000 residents) shows, it is not the easiest place to move to, or the most accessible.

As well, the city’s economy is based almost entirely on tourism-something that UJA Federation and the Eilat - Elot area, UJA Federation’s partnership region, are in the midst of changing. Many parents (some of them single) must work long hours at minimum wage jobs. This leaves kids with nothing to do, especially at night and during the summer, when many start getting into trouble. A final problem (for some, at least) is the often-oppressive summer heat one must face when venturing outside. The temperature routinely climbs into the high 40’s.

However, Eilat’s citizens and students are working hard to make their desert outpost a blooming oasis. One such group of people is the Commando Friends, a UJA Federation-supported organization of students who walk the city’s streets and parks at night, attempting to connect with at-risk local kids on an informal basis. They try to build trust and personal relationships with the kids, and offer them guidance, advice and support.

Another group we met with was the Gulf Rangers. They are local teenagers who spend time learning about the environment, helping the community, and scuba diving in the bay to clean up garbage underwater. Apart from my unexpected encounter with a temperamental sea urchin, seeing the Gulf Rangers in action was a great experience.

By far the most eye-opening experience we had, in my opinion, was our Shabbat spent with the local religious community, which developed from nothing over the past few decades. Ari and Maya and their family were kind enough to host us. We were fortunate to learn a great deal at their table, and at the 3 synagogues we visited (one in the local Yeshiva, Ayelet HaShachar). This community is unique for several reasons. Although it is a very dedicated and visible religious community, it does not attempt to preach to others or “convert” them to Orthodox Judaism. Rather, they are accepting of everyone, and work together in mutual respect with the rest of Eilat to build a better city. They offer a more optimistic view- change is possible, as change has already happened with the growth of this community. The open and accepting manner in which the community coexists with the rest of Eilat seems to be an effective and sensible approach. I left the religious community after Shabbat in very high spirits, confident of Eilat’s ability to be a great city.