Yesterday, the group took a trip to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Clearly this was a very serious occasion and there’s not much joking to be done at its expense. Not enough can be said about the Holocaust and how terrible it was and being the grandson of two survivors, I know this as well as anyone. When I informed our tour guide (who insisted she was from New York, which I didn’t agree with until I heard her say “coffee” in such a serious New York accent that it sounded forced) that my grandfather had been involved in a revolt in Treblinka (one of the worst death camps during the Holocaust), she was thrilled. Once I shared the story and actually heard myself say it, I could understand why. It’s fucking awesome. The abridged version goes something like this: my grandfather, along with about ten other people decided to melt down gold in any form (teeth and jewelry, mostly), convert it into a key to the arms shed, and attack. About 300 people took part, 70 lived and escaped (told you it was awesome). It’s really an amazing experience. If you’re ever in Israel, you need to go.
After this a few of us attended a Champions’ League soccer game between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Schalke 04 of the Bundesliga (yeah, after going to the Holocaust Museum we saw an Israeli team play a German one. Fitting.) which was a great time in itself. While I couldn’t really understand the songs and chants, I picked up a few of them:
- Yalah Hapoel means “Let’s go Hapoel” and was sung throughout.
- Anu Yotze La’milchama means “And we all go to the war” (really Israel?) and was also sung. That one was pretty cool as well.
In the end, the game was a 0-0 tie but Hapoel dominated throughout. They won’t advance in the Champions’ League, but no one thought they would. Great time overall. Next sporting event needs to be a Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball game. Can’t wait for that one. Pictures from the game to come.
