Scouts do Purim

.
It's time for the happy holiday of Purim this weekend and Meitar will have lots of activities, some put on by the town's youth movements and others by Chabad. 

The first one was today, a Middle Ages-themed carnival dreamed up by our Scouts.

Their poster promised all kinds of fun and sure enough, many kids and parents showed up.

This impressive ride was called the witch hunt.

One Scout swings the "wagon" back and forth.  
You can enlarge the photo to get the idea.

Amazing how these Scouts create things like this out of only wood, rope, and rubber. 
I would never know how to lash those elements together securely enough to hold several people. 

I didn't understand what this one was meant to be.  Oh well. 

"The knights' carousel."

And inside the courtyard of the Scouts' den there were entertainers on stage singing, bouncy castles, snacks, and drinks.  
Many kids and even some grown-ups were dressed up in Purim costumes and everyone was having a good time.
Happy Purim! 
.

Kids make pita

.

More scenes from our Scouts' big "happening."

Visitor kids got to mix a handful of flour with some water, and the Scouts put their dough on the fire to make fresh hot pita.

The new building, almost finished, is a big extension of the Scout troop's den.
.
(Linking to OurWorld Tuesday.)
.

That beady look

.

Making jewelry with beads.
Hmm, why are the letters in English, not Hebrew? 

It was a popular activity at our recent Scouts Happening.

It was a magnet, drawing in the young girls.
.

Scouts pulling together

.

Something I had never seen (not having been part of any of the youth movements when I grew up in the US).

The Scouts lashed together a wooden A-shaped frame, stood a child up on it, had kids keep it balanced by pulling on supporting ropes, and slowly "walked" the frame forward as if on two legs. 
There must be a name for this in Hebrew and English.
Anybody know?
You can click a few times to get the big picture.
It was part of the big Happening our Meitar Scouts put on for the community. 
.

Cotton candy aka grandma's hair

.

For ABC Wednesday,  K is for kosher cotton candy. 

In Hebrew it is called "grandmother's hair."

Our Meitar Scout troop held a happening at the athletic field, with lots of activities and free stuff for the young visitors.
.
UPDATE:  Robert Geiss, a photographer living in Greece, just informed me that also in Greek cotton candy is called grandmother hair!
.

Our Scouts' Chanuka torch parade

.

The Scouts in Meitar had their traditional first-night-of-Chanuka torch parade tonight!

It was freezing cold but the kids walked many blocks through the town.

Sufganiot, jelly donuts, were waiting at the end.

Happy Chanuka!

Painted on the Scounts den, the motto, "BE PREPARED."
.

Frap, wrap, Clove hitch, spar . . .

.

Something new in the eucalyptus grove down in the wadi!

Looks like the Meitar Scout troop has been up a tree, working on their lashing skills.
.

Meitar Scouts do Purim

.

Meitar's Scout troop put on a Purim carnival today.
This activity pictured above, Aladdin--the flying carpet, was popular.
The boy in white shorts was just being dumped onto the mat after his back and forth ride.
All the wooden framework was built by the Scouts.

There was music and dancing and activity booths all around the basketball court.

I think the Little Mermaid was for face painting.

The kids were well guarded.  Even the bearded guy had an impressive rifle.
.
The other event in Meitar today was Chabad's Seudat Purim, the traditional happy meal in the afternoon.
I missed that, but hopefully I'll attend next year.
.
Tomorrow is Shushan Purim, when cities that were circled by a wall in ancient days celebrate the holiday.
See the explanation at http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2009/03/gantze-megilla.html
.
Happy Purim!
. 

Meitar Scouts' extravaganza

.

My grandson Dean is up on that stage, singing and dancing in the skit about Superheroes.

Last night we got to watch the big show put on by the Scouts here in Meitar.

Even the mothers and fathers of the 12th grade Scouts  sang a rousing song.

Toward the end, despite the loud music and flashing stage lights, sweet 3-year-old Libby fell asleep on my lap.
I managed to free one arm and get this selfie of us just before we had to stand to sing the national anthem. 
.

Painting Jerusalem red for May Day

.

"Workers of the world--unite!"

Happy May Day.

This being the Jewish State, Israel had to have the rallies on April 30  because May 1 falls on the Sabbath this year.

This is what I found, quite by accident, at Zion Square yesterday afternoon.

The billboard on the makeshift stage says "WE ARE PAINTING JERUSALEM RED."

From afar I had heard drum rolls, slogan chanting, and cheering  and simply followed my ears.
What a surprise!

The red banner of the Scouts quotes Deuteronomy 16:20:

"JUSTICE, JUSTICE SHALT THOU PURSUE".

The crowd and the drums applauded the speeches. At least one speaker was an Arab Knesset member, probably from the Hadash party.

The signs and speakers and chants all called for equality among the sectors, a two-state solution, an end to privatization, a raise in the minimum wage, equality for women, etc. etc. All the  old Socialist values.

Besides the Scouts I saw other youth movements, like Hashomer Hatzair.

I think the black and red flag belongs to the Anarchists.  And Merez was there, of course.

.

You know, I remember when I moved to Israel in 1968 . . . at my Shomer Hatzair kibbutz (where I had 7 months of Hebrew ulpan) and then at the clinics of the Histadrut Kupat Holim, everyone would still address each other as "chaver" or "chavera" which was then the equivalent of the Soviet "tovarish," meaning Comrade.

.

Final post on our big day with the Pope

.
This whole week has been exciting, both in Jerusalem and for this blog, having Pope Benedict XVI in town.
Tuesday the blog showed him celebrating Mass.
Today we continue showing the mood in the flock who came to the Kidron Valley.

Click on any of the photos to see them full screen.

We had three hours before Mass began.
Meanwhile, the Arab Catholic Scouts marched and played lively music on the bagpipes and drums.

The tradition, hundreds of years old, is that several Muslim men like these in the old Ottoman Turkish garb lead the way for special ceremonial processions of Christian clergy, tapping the ground with their staffs as they walk.
They are called kawassim. 

I'm not sure this man is a monk, at least not yet.
He had no full recognizable habit on. And the tonsure on the head is not done much these days.

These monks are from a monastery not far from Jerusalem.

The Carthusian order lives in silence and solitude. This event was a real field day for them.

Just above the two Carthusian brothers is a surprising sight: someone waving an Israeli flag and a Vatican flag bound together on one pole, with a little Palestinian flag on the top.

More nuns! (The others are in Thursday's post.  And for full coverage of this papal visit see all my posts here.)

Israeli TV televised live to the world every appearance of the Pope.
 (He was at 22 different sites in Israel in only 5 days.)
Two big screens let us see close-ups of the clergy near the altar.

A few viewers sat in olive trees, reminding me of the Zacchaeus story in Luke 19.

This is a freebie I missed. It must have been the Ministry of Tourism that gave the T shirts "I'm with the Pope in Jerusalem."
 For the Papal Mass yesterday the shirts said "I'm with the Pope in Nazareth."
 Whether the Palestinian Authority gave out anything to commemorate Wednesday's Mass in Bethlehem, I cannot know since I am not allowed into Bethlehem.

This cameraman from Pax TV, Lima, Peru, was directing the local kids.
 All were having fun.

Behind the long boom with the TV camera, you can see the Magnificat Choir.

Security personnel were everywhere, but in an unobtrusive manner.
These two men are police sappers.
Thank God that all went perfectly this week.

As the sun got lower and lower, the gold crosses on the Russian Orthodox Convent and Church of St. Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives began glowing with blinding light.
As if saying Shalom to the Catholic Pope below in the valley.
Symbolic of this blessed week of ecumenical  and interfaith dialogue.

.