Day 12: Givat Olga to Zichron Yaakov

I have never seen Bradley so happy in my entire nine months as his roommate. And that’s really saying something, because this man has more energy and passion than anyone I’ve met. Yesterday we finished at Zichron Yaakov junction, racing against the clock to catch a bus down the coast to Givat Olga for Shabbat. Much to our delight and surprise, the very first bus that passed us went directly there.

The Shabbat we had was truly something special, and was a testament to the generosity and kindness of Torah-observant Judaism. Bradley phoned his Rabbi in Tzvat to try and secure a spot for us at a Shabbat table, but on such short notice it proved difficult. This Rabbi in Givat Olga had six children and two friends already at his table and accepted without hesitation and with open arms four sweaty, tired hikers wearing mismatched clothing. He found us a few beds at a nearby yeshiva that was on break and gave us wonderful food and conversation. Bradley was absolutely beside himself with joy the entire time, singing songs and playing with the children the whole evening. It was a very small community of mostly Chabadniks, and Bradley found a way to almost immediately integrate himself with all the lively characters.



After a relaxing Shabbat and a nice dip in the Mediterranean Sea we decided for logistical reasons to hike backwards up the coast from Givat Olga through Caesarea to the junction we finished at the previous day.



We were running a bit low on water and worried we wouldn’t find any later on in the day, so Yonatan and I stopped in a tent of Thai migrant workers taking a break from picking bananas.

But we were a bit confused. Why were they drinking vodka and singing karaoke at one in the afternoon? Why were they watching porn broadcast simultaneously on two screens with surround sound? AHA! It must be Songkran, the massive three-day party celebrating the Thai new year!





Thai workers in Israel are not treated all that well, with middle-men extorting a lot of money that should be going into their pockets. These people come to Israel thinking they will make it rich and not have to work when they go home. It’s incredibly sad that many of these guys have a wife and family back home that they won’t see for 3-5 years. Thankfully new legislation was just passed that will attempt to correct some of these injustices.



Surprisingly enough, Bradley actually speaks fluent Thai, and was able to translate the dialogue for us. They put baby powder on our faces and splashed water around while we sang traditional Thai pop hits. And of course there’s nothing like taking vodka shots at 1 PM on a hot day to get the ol’ legs-a-pumpin’. They gave us gifts of bananas and beer and we left satisfied with the celebration and comfort we could give to these guys on what should be the happiest few days of their year.





-Jeremy