Friday, April 16, about 130
members of the clan assembled at Shefayim, people of about 10 countries and
4 continents. I haven’t got an "official" statistic, but that is I think it
was. Congratulations to the organizers to chose the place: after travelling
in the country for two weeks trying to show a newcomer what Eretz Israel is
like - an undertaking close to the attempt of squaring the circle - and
after two and a half days in beautiful but hectic Jerusalem Shefayim was an
oasis of peace, enjoyed by all participants.
Shefayim is a rather large Kibbutz-Hotel, but there were
LQR’s everywhere, and the first hours were occupied with greetings. At the
venue sandwiches and juice were served and everybody was busy renewing old
acquaintances and making new ones, while latecomers were still arriving and
registering. The official opening was followed by a showing of two videos,
one about the first LQR-meeting at Givat Haim in 1994 and one about the
importance of gathering family data and tracing your roots. Did we really
need to be told that? The gathering was the living proof of what can come
out of genealogical research. In a lecture David Lisbona informed us about
the Family-Tree-Maker computer system.
Highlight of the meeting was the Friday evening, the
traditional welcoming of Shabat followed by an absolutely marvelous dinner.
The buffet of most delicious cold dishes was so enormous, that I did not
manage to try some of the hot dishes as well. After dinner we were
entertained with songs and dances by the Modi’in ensemble. The planned
bonfire by the beach later that evening had to be cancelled, it was replaced
by a gathering of some of the participants on the lawn, chatting until late.
Saturday morning two busses collected us for an excursion.
We traveled northward, heading first for Caesarea, where we visited the
ancient amphitheater as well as the most impressive crusaders fortress. Next
stop was at Atlit, where recently the British internment camp for
clandestine immigrants has been partly reconstructed and opened as a
memorial site. It was very moving to visit this place in the company of
people who had been held captive they’re themselves and who shared their
memories with us.
Finally the busses took us up Mount Carmel, to Bet Oren,
where a beautiful lunch was awaiting us, again a huge buffet with an
enormous selection of delicious cold and warm dishes. This was the end of
this wonderful LQR IV, some participants left us here to return to their
homes, others left Shefayim that evening or the next morning, and so much of
the Saturday evening and Sunday morning was bidding farewell.
I am one of the lucky few, who have been able to attend all
the so far four LQR-meetings, and I have enjoyed every second of each of
them. Each one in its character was different, so I can not compare them or
give a ranking. This year organizing committee did an absolutely marvelous
job, thank you, toda raba and Shalom.
See you all in two years in the USA!
Hans-Peter Laqueur