On 18 July 2009, twenty young Israeli soldiers - both male and female - who had been injured during the last Gaza conflict met with members of the Hans Rosenthal Lodge at the restaurant Estrella.

The meeting had been initiated by both the organisation Disraeli (disabled Israelis) and the Hans Rosenthal Lodge. Throughout the entire evening the Israeli visitors spoke with the locals about their experience in the IDF, about the life in Israel and about yiddishkeit in general.

The locals showed to the visitors what life in the Diaspora is like and how people in a small Jewish community live and act. The young Israelis were surprised to learn that people in the Diaspora place much greater value on yiddishkeit than those in Israel, since it is something absolutely normal there. However, many beautiful parallels and commonalities among the different people could also be found and new contacts were established.

The evening was concluded in the discotheque Maxxim where all were received as one group of VIP guests. They danced and celebrated until the early morning. Special thanks go both to Ilan Brunner of Disraeli and to the Board of the Hans Rosenthal Lodge.
 
Those who are interested in more information about DISRAELI should visit:
http://www.disraelis.org.il/html/deutsch.html

Report by Michael Osipow