Today we woke up and went to what might have been the best museum yet. We went to the National Holocaust Museum. Even though a lot of us have been there before, it was still very moving. One thing that stuck out to me was a line that said something to the effect that that Nazis believed that the Jews lived parasitically off of other religions. I wouldn’t have normally noticed this except that we were called parasites yesterday by the woman in front of the White House. It was weird to see the same word used.

After the Holocaust Museum, we had lunch and then a choice of Smithsonian Museums to go to. I chose the Air & Space Museum. Many others chose the Art Museum where the art was good but the gelato was amazing!

The next stop was the Newseum. We started by watching a 4D movie about the history of the news. It was so cool. It was in 3D but you could also feel the movie as your chairs moved and you could get sprayed by air or mist. It was a very interactive museum. Outside the museum many of us ran to the next building which is the Canadian embassy so we could say we have been to Canada.

view of the Capitol from the rooftop		we're in Canada!

After the Newseum we went to the FDR Memorial and heard about his life and presidency. This was followed by dinner.

Billy told us we were going to see a documentary on voting but, it turns out he was joking with us and we went to see the new Harry Potter movie at a classic movie theater. There is only one screen and it is huge. The movie theater also has a balcony. It was very different from the regular movies you go to in the mall. The group was split over the movie. Some hated it and some loved it.

We arrived at the hotel and celebrated our staff member Sally’s birthday. She is 22 and is now old. The cake was really good.

Today, as we were driving into DC for our first meeting, Billy got all of us ready for the concert tonight by playing many Paul McCartney and Beatles songs on the bus.

We began the day by meeting with the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). NCH has people who are currently experiencing homelessness meet with groups like us to share their stories. We had 3 speakers – Maurice, Mary and Allan. Each had their own story to tell. Maurice was a victim of bad luck, Mary had her identity stolen, and Allan suffered from severe depression. Many people form their opinions on how the homeless look. I think we all need to get beyond the first impressions and give of our time to go and give them sandwiches, socks, and most importantly, a smile and a simple hello. They are humans and every human, in my opinion, should be treated with respect no matter who they are.

listening to homeless speakers at NCH

After lunch, we went to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. It was so cool to see the original documents written by our founding fathers. They helped make the history that is still impacting us today.

Magna Carta

Declaration of Independence

After this we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I saw the original flag from 1812 and it took my breath away to see one major part of history staring me right in the face.

Later that day we went to Lafayette Park which is in front of the White House. We met with David Smith of Moblize.org. He told us the story of how when he was a student at University of California Berkeley, he organized 150 students to go to the State Capitol building and lobby against the rising costs of tuition and housing. Because of their efforts a bill of over $130 million was passed to curb rising tuition and build more dorms. He started this organization to empower and help other students get involved.

speaking with David Smith

After our meeting with David Smith, we had free time in the park and exercised our right to free speech and protest. There was a woman who has spent over 20 years of her life living in a tent in front of the White House protesting nuclear bombs and Israel. Once she found out that we were Jewish she waved an Israeli flag at us that had a swastika in the middle of it. She feels that Israel is the aggressor and oppressor in the Middle East. When she was tired of debating with us she blew a very loud airhorn in our faces. She also called us all “parasites that drink the blood of Palestinians.”

After a quick dinner at Potbelly’s (which is much better than Subway), we went to the most amazing concert. We saw Sir Paul McCartney. I was in awe and the crowd was going wild from the first song, which was “Drive My Car.” During “Live and Let Die,” there was one thing I did not expect – every time he got to the chorus there were fireworks. What I loved the most from the concert were the songs “Hey Jude” and “Let It Be.” It was so great to be able to see and hear the songs performed by the living legend who wrote them. Our whole row was arm in arm, swaying and singing along and just having fun together. I just felt so much more connected to my friends and we shared a special bond. Today was ultimately my favorite day of the trip.

	look for the rainbow...

Paul McCartney setlist:

Drive My Car
Jet
Only Mama Knows
Flaming Pie
Got To Get You Into My Life
Let Me Roll It / Foxy Lady
Highway
The Long and Winding Road
My Love
Blackbird
Here Today
Dance Tonight
Calico Skies
Michelle
Mrs Vanderbilt
Eleanor Rigby
Sing the Changes
Band on the Run
Back in the U.S.S.R.
I’m Down
Something
I’ve Got a Feeling
Paperback Writer
A Day in the Life / Give Peace A Chance
Let It Be
Live and Let Die
Hey Jude

Encore:
Day Tripper
Lady Madonna
I Saw Her Standing There

Encore 2:
Yesterday
Helter Skelter
Get Back
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
The End

Today was our second full day in Washington DC and it was just as packed as yesterday. We were on the bus by 8:45 AM. We first met with NARAL Pro-Choice America, which is an organization that is a Pro-choice lobby. We met with the Pro-life group in Dallas a month ago, so this was interesting to hear the other side. Today we heard how this organization feels the government should not be involved in a choice that should be made by a woman, her family and her doctor. They also believe in comprehensive sex education. The head of the organization, Nancy Keenan, basically the main voice of the Pro-Choice movement, came into the meeting to meet with us. It was really great to hear from such a prominent person.

NARAL Pro-Choice

Our next meeting was with Amnesty International. The head of the Mid-Atlantic region met with us. They believe in fighting for human rights, they are opposed to the death penalty, and against the arrest of people for protesting non-violently. We also spoke about Guantanamo Bay and what is happening to the prisoners there. He also spoke to us about how we should get involved in whatever issue feels right to us. He made me realize that in our country we can say what we want and not get put in jail. I felt privileged to be a citizen of this country. He also challenged us to realize that to whom much is given (us), much is expected.

Amnesty International

After lunch, we went to our third meeting with J Street. They are a Pro-Israel lobby that believes in a two state solution to the situation in Israel, West Bank, and Gaza. This was very interesting as I always wondered what could be done to bring peace to our holy land. We also spoke about their ideas on the splitting up of Jerusalem. I am looking forward to our meeting with AIPAC on Monday to see their views on what J Street had to say.

J Street

After a quick coffee break, we went to our last meeting with NORML – the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws. We met the Executive Director, Allen St. Pierre. He seemed very intelligent on this issue. He spoke first about the history of the organization, then the history of marijuana in this country. We then spoke about medicinal uses for marijuana and then why he supports the responsible use of marijuana for recreational purposes. He supports the legalization based on what he views as the over-jailing of pot users, and that the police would be better able to use their time. He also says that if alcohol and tobacco are legal, we should readjust how we view marijuana and put the same standards we use for regulating tobacco and alcohol.

NORML

After dinner, we went to an Orthodox Synagogue for Friday night services. At the temple, I saw people praying differently than I have seen before. I am a Reform Jew and have never been to an Orthodox temple. It was amazing to see how religious the congregants were. It makes me want to study the Torah and learn more about the Jewish religion.

Throughout this trip I realized how that for each issue, there is always another side, whether it is abortion or marijuana use.

Dinner was our choice tonight as we were let loose to roam Georgetown. We scowled the streets in a West Side Story-esque fashion minus the choreographed finger snapping. After free time, we returned to the center of our nation’s capital for a nighttime tour of the monuments. We saw amazing sites such as the Washington Monument and the memorials dedicated to World War II, Korean War, Abraham Lincoln and the Vietnam War. We heard the stories behind the monuments and the history of the events they memorialize. We ended at an oversized statue of Albert Einstein.

World War II Memorial	in front of Lincoln	Washington Monument in background
		Vietnam Wall
climbing all over Einstein

Despite the hectic day, everyone learned valuable lessons from both sides of the political spectrum. I guess I could end this by saying it was just another day in the life, but maybe that had better wait until the Paul McCartney concert in two nights.

As Etgar 36 nears its end, it seems that the days become more packed with intense and enlightening meetings. We got on the bus for our first meeting at the Heritage Foundation. They are a lobbying group dedicated to preserving the conservative values of this nation and ensuring the continuing conservative aspects in modern legislation. They spoke primarily on trickle-down economics and a smarter, more comprehensive welfare system. On the former issue, they believe the bailout was a tremendous waste of government funds. Concerning the latter, they try and encourage those on welfare to get jobs, and they claim to have reduced welfare dependency from 5 million people to 1.5 million.

Next on the list of important people to meet was my local Congressman, an immensely respected leader from the Civil Rights movement, Representative John Lewis. Unfortunately, the meeting was cut short due to security procedures – the Prime Minister of China’s motorcade arrived at the Capitol when we were supposed to meet on the capitol steps. Despite this setback, he discussed his role in the Civil Rights movement, its impact on today, and his thoughts on President Barack Obama.

in front of the Supreme Court	at the Capitol	talking with Congressman John Lewis

After a quick lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, a meeting with Greenpeace was in order. As a staunch environmentalist and Democrat, I found myself agreeing with most of the goals of the organization, but on several occasions I found their approach too liberal. The main issues of their concern were global warming, deforestation, and protection of the oceans. The organization works with many global businesses, such as Coca-Cola, to help introduce ideas that help the world ecologically.

at Greenpeace

Our final formal meeting of the day was with the advocacy group founded by the lead singer of U2, Bono. This group, the One Campaign, is committed to improving the lives of people living in the poorest places on the planet, particularly in Africa. They discussed ways all of us can get involved to help the world in ways that involve our time and who we are, not just our wallets.

with the One Campaign

continue to part 2

Today we began our day in Philadelphia by going to the Constitution Museum. It was a very interesting museum as it was extremely interactive. We watched a live performance about the way our country was formed, and specifically what the first three words of the Constitution, “We The People,” really mean. The museum had many interactive computers with which we could see if we would have been able to vote in certain decades, view information about our states, and take quizzes to see how much we know about our country.

Next, we went to the Liberty Bell. This was very anti-climactic for me as we did not listen to a speaker and learn anything very important. We just saw a historical artifact. This was unlike anything else we have done on Etgar 36.

in front of the Liberty Bell

Our next historic visit was to, as Billy told us, a very high tech museum. It turns out he was joking with us and took us to a museum that was high tech to him about 25 years ago. It was at the site of Ben Franklin’s house and told us about him and how his life affected the country.

looking into the remnants of Ben Franklin's house

We had lunch at the historic Bourse and then were off to Baltimore. On the way out of Philadelphia, we stopped at the Art Museum to run up the Rocky steps! We had fun and some exercise.

In Baltimore we met with Neil Rubin, Editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times, who spoke to us about the First Amendment and issues of Freedom of the Press. We spoke about whether we should write articles that affect people negatively. For example, if a story is news but it also ruins a person’s reputation, and on a larger scale hurts the Jewish People’s image, should a Jewish paper run the story? Although some of our opinions differed, most of us were strongly in favor of freedom of the press in all cases.

Neil Rubin of the Baltimore Jewish Times

We then went to dinner at the Inner Harbor and made our way to Washington DC. During this drive, we watched a special episode of “The West Wing” which spoke about the way our government works. The show was very good.

When we arrived in DC, we ate cake to celebrate Brian’s birthday. Finally, we went to sleep so we could get ready for the final city on our journey.

We had a good day today. We had a meeting in the morning with a member of Save Darfur. He taught us about the genocide in Sudan and how we can get involved to help bring it to an end. One of the ways he suggested, was to work on getting companies to divest their money from investments that support the people and countries that support the genocide.

We then got on the bus and started our drive to Philadelphia. We stopped for lunch at Friendly’s. In the evening we arrived in Philadelphia and went to South Street. We had time to walk around South Street to shop and have dinner. It was a really cool and hip place to be. Then we walked to a park that was nearby and had our wrap up about our visit to Boston and spoke about our day tomorrow in Philadelphia.

We began our second day in Boston with a meeting about the economic impact of poverty in America. The organization, United for a Fair Economy, is a non-profit organization that raises awareness of economic issues affecting poverty today. Our speaker informed us of the unequal distribution of wealth in America. The wealthiest 10% of Americans shockingly control 70% of the money in America. He used 10 chairs to represent the wealth in America and 10 people to represent the population of America. He showed us that today one person occupies 7 chairs, 2 people share the 8th chair and everyone else would be fitting on the last two chairs. We learned that 50 years ago, the middle and working class’s overall wealth was prospering while the top 20% hardly grew. That statistic has changed so dramatically in recent years. The middle class has barely moved while the top 20% has skyrocketed. The sudden change in monetary distribution caused a significant increase in the number of people living under the poverty line. The meeting was a definite success!

seeing a live example of how much wealth the top 10% of America owns and how much the rest of us have by use of chairs instead of cash

After the meeting, we went to Harvard Square for lunch and free time. I met my family there and took a few other Etgarians to a restaurant called Legal Seafood. It was really nice to see my family.

We then drove to the Kennedy Presidential Library, a place I have not been to before. I am personally fascinated by JFK, and especially the Cuban Missile Crisis, which made the library even more captivating for me. At the library we watched two short films about his life before the Presidency, and the other about the 13 days of conflict concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Library gave me a deeper understanding of Kennedy’s politics, his presidency and his life.

The group then went to Walden Pond, the part time home of Henry David Thoreau. Walden Pond is a beautiful, serene setting away from city stress and noise. Many people, including Thoreau, used this place to escape and reflect on themselves. We also decided to do just that. Billy found a spot where we sat in a circle and read Thoreau’s famous quotes. The messages embedded in these sayings were so powerful. They focused on individuality and the power to impact others by first changing yourself for the better; that other’s righteousness will follow once one discovers it for himself and takes action, as we have seen with each influential figure in history. For example, if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had not acted on his morals, others would not have agreed and followed him, and the Civil Rights movement would have been very different. Thoreau’s morals and teachings influenced great leaders such as Ghandi, MLK, and also succeeded in inspiring the members of Etgar 36.

reading Thoreau quotes at Walden Pond

To start off our last day in New York, we woke up nice and early. We headed towards the subway and made our way to the famous H&H bagel shop. Just standing outside you could smell the intoxicating aroma of authentic New York bagels. It was hard for most of us not to eat them immediately.

In the morning, Jonah walked us around some streets and spoke about how zoning laws work and the thought that goes into creating a neighborhood of buildings. He also pointed out different types of architecture. We ended in Central Park and heard how that was designed. After eating our bagels, Billy gave us two options. One was to stay on the Great Lawn in the park and just hang out, or we could walk with him to Strawberry Fields. Being a Beatles fan, I went with Billy and 3 other kids. Strawberry Fields, the park dedicated to John Lennon, was very interesting. On the ground was a mosaic with the word “Imagine” in it. We walked over to the Dakota apartments where he was killed in 1980. We then went back to the hotel and met up with everyone else, collected our bags, got on our bus and headed to Boston.

Our first stop in Boston was to walk the Freedom Trail and see the sights associated with the beginnings of our country and the Revolutionary War. Billy spoke at each stop about how revolutionary ideas are created and “sold” to the people. Sites we saw included the spot where the Boston Massacre occurred, graveyards, Ben Franklin’s school, the Boston Commons, and others.

beginning the Freedom Trail

After the Freedom Trail, we stopped at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market to get dinner and shop. After dinner we visited the outdoor Holocaust Memorial right next to Faneuil Hall, and discussed how and why it was designed and placed in such a touristy area. We then walked into the North End, which is the Italian neighborhood, for some amazing desserts at Mike’s Pastries. We also saw the Old North Church where Paul Revere began his famous ride. We ended the day by going back to the hotel.

reading the plaque at the Holocaust memorial

walking through the memorial

at the Paul Revere statue

Today, after a long subway ride, the group arrived in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Out of all the areas of the city we have visited in the past couple of days, Crown Heights was by far the most “segregated”. The community is comprised of many minorities, the most obvious being Hasidic Jews (which make up 30% of the population) and blacks. On a Saturday morning, one block is filled with Jewish men and boys making their way to synagogue, while the next block over is occupied by the black community, strolling down the sidewalk in jeans and t-shirts. Although the visual differences were startling at first, the presence of religion was constant (one shop had a poster marked “God’s Property” across the top). Interaction is minimal, consisting of sitting in the same subway car or using the same Laundromat. We met with a worker from the Crown Heights Mediation Center, whose job is to bring the communities together through events such as a family picnic, and she explained to us that the root of the tension between the communities today began in a 1991 auto accident, when a car following the Rebbe hit two children from the black community. The Jewish funded ambulance tended to the Jews in the car first, while the children (who were far more injured, one of them died) had to wait on the government-funded ambulance. Predictably, the incident was followed by riots, one of which resulted in the murder of a young Jewish man.

riding the NYC subway	at the Crown Heights Mediation Center
walking around Crown Heights	on the walking tour

After walking around the city, we stopped for a very quick slice of New York Pizza (the plain cheese was by far the best) and then headed to CBS Studios to meet with Elliot’s mom and some of the men and women who worked there. They gave us a tour of the control room and the newsroom, and many of us got a chance to sit in the anchor chair. We spoke with the Director and Anchor of the CBS National News about the process of selecting the stories they cover.

NEW YORK PIZZA!

We then ventured to the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Little Italy (which had unbelievable Gelato!). We heard about the way our ancestors lived in the Lower East Side and saw the Italian and Chinese communities living side by side. We also saw how the housing changed from tenements to what we have today. We then had an hour and a half of free time on Canal Street, where many of us bought something for ourselves, our family, or our friends, all while learning how to bargain. Following a brief meeting with our old friend Scott Fried, we sat together in a park for a wrap up session. That night we were able to explore the West Village as we had free time and dinner. All in all, another great day.

reuniting with Scott Fried