austraLasia #2136

Kangaroo Kibbutz leaps and bounds ahead of Sachne

JERUSALEM: 1st May 2008 -- Camels, yes, but 'Gan Garoos' (the semitised version), did not seem quite kosher.  Nevertheless, there they were - two large metal ones and an Australian flag, pointing the way to The Sachne Gan Hashlosha National Park in Galilee, the venue for some 40 Salesians from Ratisbonne on Ascension Day.  To see the bouncing variety, and the odd wombat, one would have needed to shell out 35 shekels or scale a high fence (obviously).* Both options were given a miss.
    The other point of interest was the nearby Nir David Kibbutz, formerly owners of The Sachne, but now involved in a much broader agro-tourism venture.  And there, in the Kibbutz, lives Prof. Rami Degany, a much respected figure in Israel, not only in education circles and the Kibbutz where he runs just about everything, but as founder of Eshed, an extraordinary movement of peace, intercultural and interreligious dialogue which aims particularly to help form teachers, lecturers in this philosophy.  When Eshed sought some kind of support and patronage for their work in the wider world, it was the Salesian University in Rome which came to their aid.  Every several years Rami leads a multicultural group to Rome where they take up residence at the University (but only after also spending time together in Jerusalem itself where they benefit from courses run by Salesians out of Ratisbonne and others), and they continue their studies and formation in Italy for a brief period. Eshed stands out for its capacity to bring together Jew, Moslem and Christian from Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
    This was the first visit of a small group of Salesians to Rami's Kibbutz and he was clearly delighted and proud.  If the national park is well appointed - and it is - Nir David is leaps and bounds ahead.  Other than being a home for 700 men, women and children, it contains an extensive sports centre and half kilometre of deep water from the same spring that feeds Sachne. Just a few kilometres up is the biblical Spring of Gideon. The Nir David 'river' has well-manicured lawns; ducks, fish and people in kayaks populate it!  The guest-houses or 'zimmers' in the Kibbutz are fitted with jacuzzis.  Nir David harks back to the time of the Palestinian Mandate, and was the first such tower and stockade kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley. It survived the long difficult years of shelling from across the border, just 7 kms away, and the fortified shelter at its heart is witness to that.
    Rami wants the Salesian community to forgo The Sachne next time they come - he is ready to offer hospitality at Nir David.  A man much steeped in culture, he loves music and would welcome a local public performance of 'Jonah', the drama recently written and performed by Salesian students in Jerusalem.
Click here to comment on this item. You will need to enter 20eao02 when asked for a password.

* THE CAMEL AND THE KANGAROO AT THE SACHNE:  a little Jewish humour.
After building the world’s most secure zoo, the architect and contractor from Nir David Kibbutz are astonished to discover that the kangaroo is able to get out of his enclosure every night.  To stop the kangaroo from hopping out they redesign and build a new 6 metre fence. However, next morning they still find him hopping about the grounds.
And so, a 10 metre fence is put up, followed by a 20, and even a 30 metre fence, all to no avail.
A bystander camel in the next enclosure turns to the kangaroo, and asks, “Hey Joey, how high do you think they will go? “
 “Uh, I’d guess about 100 metres … or until they remember to lock the gate at night!”
  _________________
 AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific.  It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome.  For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2008 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there.  Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at at http://sdl.sdb.org

Title: australasia 2136
Subject and key words: SDB General Salesians, Israel, Italy
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2136