The History of Israel from the Lenses of the Friedman Family

The History of Israel from the Lenses of the Friedman Family

By: Hadas Friedman

As an Israeli citizen and member of society, I recently found out that I know an alarmingly small amount of information about my country’s history and family’s past. I am Jewish and was born in Israel, which means that not knowing anything about my past is unforgivable. My grandfather, who was born in Turkey, had risked his life while serving in the Six Day War, and my mother lived in the time of Israel’s first political assassination in over 2000 years and was influenced by it. I experienced examples of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, the most clear one being the 2014 Operation Protective Edge. I remember going back and forth to and from the safe room for the entirety of summer break, never knowing when will be the next alarm and how long I will need stay inside.

In June 1967, the war which later became known as the Six Day War, changed the map of Israel dramatically. There was immense hostility between Israel and Syria, supported by Egypt and Jordan. Before too much damage could be made, Israel struck back, starting the third Israeli Arab war. Twenty-eight years later, Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s former prime minister, had been assassinated by a fellow Jew due to him negotiating with the Palestinians in order to achieve peace. Fast forward 19 years, and Operation Protective Edge affects every person who lived at that time, including me. My family’s history and experiences are deeply connected with the Israeli Arab Conflict, and as an Israeli citizen, I feel obligated to share and record my family’s influence on my country’s past, present, and future.

In the year 1967, my grandfather, Yom-Tov Appo, experienced and participated in the the Six Day War. Since the war started while he was in the Miluim stage, the part of the serving in the IDF in which the soldier is not officially in the military anymore but still has to come back from time to time. Yom-Tov was immediately drafted to join the war and fought to defend Israel from the surrounding Arab countries which threatened to destroy it. He was proud to serve in the war and help defend his country, and did not regret joining even as close friends of him fell in the line of duty. Yom-Tov was injured in the Six Day War, but even then he was optimistic that the war was to the benefit of Israel, and was even disappointed when he learnt he couldn’t finish what he started. After the war ended, Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin visited my grandfather at the hospital and shook his hand. When Yom-Tov was asked whether he regretted going to war he exclaimed: “No, absolutely not. Infact,I feel extremely proud." (Yom-Tov, May 2018)

The main connection between my family and all three historical events is that they happened in Israel, the country of the Jews- our country. All three historical events greatly influenced the present and future of warfare, security, and awareness of Israel from the third Israeli Arab war, to the first political murder in 2000 years, to the present day conflicts in the Gaza and Palestine. All of those affect who I am today, a proud Israeli citizen who wants to help improve her country’s future. The experiences of my grandfather, and the fact that he did not regret going to the war even as he almost died helps me be more courageous in situations I often feel are hopeless. I know I can’t give up after all of the experiences that my grandfather and the people who came before him went through.

While I don’t believe in the concept of “if there is no past, there is no future”, I do know one thing for sure: I am a proud Israeli citizen, who was taught by the experiences of my family. Although I may not be a orthodox Jew, I still speak the Hebrew language with pride and honor, and now that I know more about my grandfather’s experience in the war, I feel connected to my country and family more than ever.





Works cited
Harris, Nathaniel. Israel and the Arab Nations in Conflict. Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1999.
 "Arab-Israeli wars." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2018. school.eb.co.uk/levels/intermediate/article/Arab-Israeli-wars/275102. Accessed 9 May. 2018.

Dearden, Lizzie. “Israel-Gaza Conflict: 50-Day War by Numbers: 2,139 Palestinians Dead.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 27 Aug. 2014, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-gaza-conflict-50-day-war-by-numbers-9693310.html.

Friedman, Hadas, and Yom-Tov Appo. “Genealogy Interview.” 22 May 2018.

My Learning Style By Hadas Friedman

         There are three common learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. each human being has a slightly different mix of those three styles. I am mainly a visual learner, but I also have some of the elements and aspects of an auditory and kinesthetic learner. Being a visual learner means that the preferred and most effective method of studying for them is by visually organising their notes. An Auditory learning style is when students understand the subject material by only listening to audio. Kinesthetic learners learn best by performing physical activities. According to the data collected by the Self Assessment Survey, I scored six points for visual, and four points for both auditory and kinesthetic. I expected the given result with the auditory score, since I don’t remember most of my subjects if I only listen to them. Despite of what was expected, it seemed that I did have a slight cross- over with with all styles. I can remember learning english when I was very young by only watching youtube videos. I was honestly surprised by the low results of the kinesthetic score, because I will usually need to try doing things by myself in order to fully understand them. I was kind of expecting to have a high score on the visual aspect, because I am very fond of art and I love to draw and make clay works. I need to visually organize my notes and make sure everything is in line whenever I write. When I read, I always imagine the scene as a drawing. Now that I fully know what my learning style is, I can finally learn how study more efficiently and be able to prepare better for tests and studies.

Munir Vafai: A Hidden Diamond By Hadas Friedman

           Like a diamond in the rough, Munir Vafai goes mostly unnoticed by most people, including me, because of his calm and quiet nature. But being quiet does not mean that he is not a lively student that loves his friends and studies. He is from South Carolina, born to a family of native English speakers. His entire childhood was spent there: even his first memory is in South Carolina, playing around in his yard. Munir Vafai is a keen student who favors math and English in school, and succeeds in all of his classes. Despite not having a clear vision on what he wants his future to be and still has no idea of how he wants to pursue his career, Munir already knows for sure that he wants to be remembered as a person who worked toward changing the world and making it better. With the help, nourishment, and education of the most important people in his life, his parents, Munir worked hard to become what he is now. The experiences of his life helps polish him to be the humane and kind hearted human being that he is in the past, present, and future.

semester 1 community service

in this semester of the year, I had participated as a volunteer in various events such as the Haloween Spooktacular, and the WBAIS Artisan Event.
in the Haloween Spooktacular, I helped during the noon decorating session, and helped by tying up baloons and other objects to the pillars, carrying objects from place to place, and preparing the minigames.
I came to the Haloween Spooktacular at the evening and when I saw the decorations I put up and showed them to my sister, I felt proud of what I contributed to the event. I even hang out with my friend, Mookie, who is also a volunteer, at the maze and we had a lot of fun together.

in the Artisan Event I volunteered to make sure that everything goes smoothly while the sale is going on. I was to walk around and be there in case anyone needed my help. since everything went smoothly, no one had called me and I had free time to check out the items that were being sold, and even bought two for myself.
this time around, there was no one that I knew who came a volunteer, so I was mostly alone.

The Medieval Race

one month ago, we started a project in history that included making a game about one of the ancient civilizations in the world. I chose to work with Jami and Talia, and we decided to make our game be about medieval Europe. The title of the game was "The Medieval Race", and it is a board game, based on candyland, another popular board game. the main purpose of the game is to cross to the finish line with as much money and experience points as possible. In order to accomplish that, the players must go from one side of the board to the other, while collecting collecting and losing money and picking up cards that tell them what to do: from going forwards or backwards, gaining or losing money, staying in your place, to gaining/ losing EXP.

when we where creating the game, I was responsible for the money design, the contents of the cards and the prototype of the board, Talia was responsible for the design of the board, and Jami was responsible for the instructions.

My thoughts about the final product are that I think that the game turned out pretty well, despite some trouble we ran into. I think that while the game was a bit rough around the edges and not perfect, it still was fairly enjoyable, and from what I've heard most people who played it enjoyed the game.        

end of the year math blog

1. What was the most challenging experience for you?
2. Explain your goals for next school year (this summer if applicable) and your plan to reach these goals.
3. Describe what are you most proud of in math this year.

In this year in math, I had many challenging experiences, but also moments that I'm proud of and goals for the new year.

One of my many difficulties with math is the fact that I do a lot of small and seemingly insignificant mistakes on my tests, but they take down a big chunk of my grade in the end.

I am very proud of my Honor Roll this year, and the fact that I almost never missed an homework assignment.  

My goals for the next year are to be more organized, and to study more for my tests so I won't get so many small mistakes on my tests.

  

  

my bonding comic

● What did I already know before the experience?
Before the experience I already knew about ionic and covenant bondings.
● What challenges did I encounter, and how did I deal with them? Give specific examples and dealings.
The challenge I encountered was that I didn't know at first how to do a drawing that will accurately represent the scenario, so I just sketched out a  bunch of possibilities.
● Was I successful in completing the activity the way I envisioned it? Why or why not?
yes, I think I was successful, because not only I got to practice on my art skills, I also learned more about covalent and ionic bondings.