“Venues and Values” - Zichron Yaakov---ICT style

Gentrified Zichron Yaakov today

Zichron Yaakov is located 35 km south of Haifa at the end of the Carmel Mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean Sea , near the coastal highway. Literally the name means: "in memory of Yaakov” or Edmond James (Yaakov) de Rothschild (a member of the famous banking family) who helped establish this village for Romanian Jews who chose to return to Israel at the end of the 19th century. This return to the land is known as the 1st “Aliyah” and refers to the attempt by eastern European Jews of this time to redeem themselves in the Land of Israel. They no longer saw a future for themselves in their lands of dispersion. They heard the call of the Zionist movement and decided to act upon it.

There were three other villages that emerged as well in this time: Petach Tikva, Rishon Le Tzion, and Rosh Pina. All of these settlements were populated with Jews who wanted to redeem themselves in the land.

Zichron Yaakov today is a reconstructed, gentrified and lovely town in which one can get a sense of Israel's recent past and present. You will be able to visit the shops of local artists and craftsmen. Unique and one-of-a-kind items can be found here. It is here in this village your ICT guide will have the opportunity to introduce you to the early "chalutzim" or pioneers, and on the values that motivated them in making this life decision to change not only themselves but to change and try to affect the destiny of their nation.

What kind of person takes on this kind of responsibility? Why? What are the forces that bring this about? Is it really possible for an individual or a small group of individuals to change destiny or history or a nation?

Some historians say that the first “Aliyah” did not succeed in achieving its goals. However there is no doubt that what they began paved the way for those who followed. Given the times and their challenges, they achieved immeasurably more than they are accredited with.

One such person who paved the way for those to follow wasSarah Aaronson. She and the N.I.L.I. . (נצח ישראל לא ישקר) which was a Jewish espionage network that assisted Great Britain in its fight against the Ottoman Empire in Palestine during World War I. Its headquarters were located here in Zichron Yaakov. Your ICT guide will take you to Sarah’s home and lead the discussion about individuals who take on the cause of their people and who dedicate their lives to it at all cost. Sarah became a model for all time of a woman dedicated to changing the destiny of the Jewish people. She left an indelible mark on the course of modern Jewish History. She was truly a woman of valor.

Eliezer ben Yehuda—the father of Modern Hebrew

The focus of our values discussion in “Zichron” centers on what the first “Aliyah” did achieve and not on its failures. Perhaps the greatest of all achievements is the re-establishing of the Hebrew language by Eliezer ben Yehuda as the spoken language of the new Jew. The rebuilding of our national language in this time is a value that is crucial for our ICT guide to relate to in the context of such a visit. This value discussion leads to the ongoing discussion that is part of any and all ICT Israel experiences, namely our own willingness to change our own world and our own Jewish destiny.

No less important on this day is a visit to the Carmel Winery located in “Zichron”! Here Baron Edward De Rothschild otherwise known as the “Nadiv” (the generous one) supported the Jews of the first “Aliyah” by helping them establish grape vineyards and a winery to provide a productive industry for the fledgling community. As we know today the wine industry in Israel is a most successful one with roots in the caring of the “benefactor” and the hard work of those who planted the roots of our newly emerging nation.