Canadian March of the Living Students Visit Israel Students encounter Israelis, Arabs and Australians on trip by Eli Rubenstein, National Director, March of the Living Canada April 27, 2001 Jerusalem, Israel "It was like a dream," Stephanie Ross observed. The Toronto high school student was among 250 Canadian participants in the 2001 March of the Living who were taking part in Israel's 53rd anniversary celebrations on Yom Ha'atsmaut. They had spent the week before in Poland and were now in Israel for a week of intense travel, exploration, and learning. "Yom Ha'atsmaut, it was magical," she continued. "You had a sense of something that you will find no-where else in the world but Israel. The flags, the fireworks, the dancing." Her fellow Canadian student participants echoed Stephanie's enthusiasm. "It was wonderful to see Jews from around the world come together in Israel on Yom Ha'atsmaut," noted Sam Schnurbach of Toronto. Montreal student Jay Kaplan exclaimed: "Last night was a celebration of our identity. It was the ecstatic expression of the general population to be who they are - proud to be Jews. "It proved to us the power of people!" Lindsay Kantor of Montreal pronounced. "Israel has so much passion, so much life, so much love for this place, it fills you with pride just to be here!", agreed fellow Montrealer Julie Schneider. However, the trip to Israel was not without it's more somber moments. The Canadian group also attended Yom Hazikaron ceremonies the day earlier in various locations in Israel. The Montreal contingent attended a moving Yom Hazikaron ceremony at a Beersheva High School. At the ceremony each of the names of those who attended the high school and died in defense of the state was read out to the crowd of relatives and friends in attendance. Following the event students from Israel and Canada met to discuss their feelings about Israel and the Jewish people "As hard as Poland was, in some ways Israel is even harder. The conflict in Poland ended over 50 years ago, but the hard times in Israel still goes on today and that really hurts, "one Montreal student noted. "I feel for the parents who had to light a memorial candle for their sons in tonight's ceremony, and for others, who lit candles for their brothers. I can never know what it would be like for a father to lose his son. I can't imagine losing my own brother," she continued. "I am so sorry for all this." Her friend agreed: "I have so much respect for you. I can't imagine losing someone I know and love. And there were so many names read out during the ceremony for people from this high school who died," the Montreal student stated. "We feel a certain amount of guilt because we don't live in Israel and we don't serve in the army," another Montreal student added. The Beersheva students were gracious in their responses. "The main thing is that we came together tonight. I didn't choose to live in Israel that is where I was born. And that is why I serve in the army. We are not heroes. If you fulfill your responsibilities, and we fulfill ours, and if we keep on watching out for each other, everything will be all right, one Beersheva student responded. Another Beersheva student agreed with his peer: " When we live in Israel and serve in the army, we are fulfilling the Zionist part of our Jewish identity. But when you go on your own Jewish path, yet you still support Israel, and you visit Israel, you are also doing an important thing", he noted. "I hope you know that you can choose how to express your Judaism and your Zionism," he added. Participants in the Toronto contingent also found Yom Hazikaron especially moving. "Being in Israel on Yom Hazikaron and hearing the sirens go off instilled an instant feeling of sadness in me. I never knew the people who died, but I realized all those people were somebody's son or daughter, sister or brother. It made me appreciate how lucky I am to be healthy and alive, commented Janice Bacher of Toronto. "The most amazing experience of being in Israel on Yom Hazikaron is the siren that sounds for a solitary minute. One nation puts aside all conflict for once, orthodox and secular stand together as one unit, one people, one entity," added Rachel Bernstein. "As we commemorated Yom Hazikaron last night, and heard the siren today, I felt amazed to be in a land where people have such love for their country a country they would die for. Observed Sarah Regos of Australia. "I love Israel, " she concluded. The young student from Australia was among a group of approximately 30 Australian students who joined the Toronto 2001 March of the Living delegation. "This was our first March of the Living program in Australia, so we wanted to join an experienced group. We were able to benefit from their knowledge and expertise, so much so that we can now run our own program in the future. We are also thrilled by the friendships that developed between the children." noted Sue Hampel, one of the leaders of the Australian delegation. "They were so friendly. We found that we had so many things in common. It was instant friendship!" an enthused Rachel Koffman of Toronto noted. "It was an awesome experience. The Canadians welcomed us and made us feel that we were a part of their group," agreed Kim Shakenovsky of Sydney, Australia. "Great friendships have been born!" exclaimed Jackie Cohen of Melbourne. "We had an open mike policy on our bus. On day one, the first Canadian student to speak took the mike and talked about how nice it was to be joined by our Ozzie brothers and sisters, how great it was to be with other young Jews from around the world. From that point on, the kids got along extremely well, and learned how similar they were to each other," observed Avi Ben-Hur one of the Israeli guides on the trip. A different kind interaction was experienced by the Montreal group, who attended a panel discussion on the Middle East conflict featuring an Israeli Arab citizen, a left wing Israeli and a right wing Israeli. "It was incredibly interesting to hear for the first time a Palestinian defend his views. I came out with a much greater understanding of the complexity of the political situation in Israel," noted Leslie Suss a student at Herzeliya Snowdon in Montreal. The dialogue generated heated exchanges on the Montreal buses following the program, with students arguing over the legitimacy over competing claims to the land of Israel, and the future of the peace process. "To be in Israel and not to address this issue is to have blinders on," Sharon Morgenstern, an Israeli guide, told her bus after the program. "People don't understand how hard it is to talk to each other in this country. Both Israelis and Palestinians have lost loved ones in the conflict, and find it difficult to even hear each other speak." "It made me realize that we are dealing with two totally different ways of thinking, two totally different worlds. Understanding this is very difficult to come to terms with," observed Marcelo Ciechianoviecki, a student at Herzeliya Snowdon in Montreal.