Israeli Deserts - Woke Up Alive Travel Notes, 2006
A collection of writing from the filmmakers

Last week, our host Dr. Yossi Leshem sent us on a field trip with a
bunch of 10th graders from Kibbutz Dafna. We hiked ten miles a day
through the Judean Desert. The kids were funny and loved the camera.
All they did was swear and talk about WWE wrestling. Are these
America’s greatest cultural exports? The school principal thought he
was the director. Jesse Goldberg, the cinematographer, wasn’t too
happy to be ordered around.

One day in the desert, this old war veteran and Rainbow, a nature
guide, got into an emotional discussion about “land.” The vet fought
for the land in the Army and had some of his buddies die fighting. I
can relate to that being a former Marine. On the other hand though,
Rainbow argued that land is land and nature is nature and people
should love it for its intrinsic beauty and worth, and not just for its
political symbolism. The vet got upset because he didn’t feel the kids
appreciated his sacrifice. It’s one of the first times in my life I felt that
both people on opposite ends of a heated discussion were right and
wrong at the same time. The more I stay out in the desert in Israel,
the more truth becomes rationally blurred but more emotionally
defined. I have to trust my feelings because believe me, this trip is
totally irrational. Just ask Jesse who’s trying to film all this and make
sense of it.

In the Judean Desert, we supposedly went to the hill where the Devil
tempted Jesus. I sat up there for a while myself. Jesse said a large,
black bird landed on the hill and shadowed me. This is just one of the
hundreds of mystical experiences we’ve had after a couple of months
of wandering free around Israel. If we hadn’t seen this stuff with our
own eyes, we would’ve never believed any of it. I know all of this
spiritual stuff is manifesting simply because we are open to it. Right
now, it feels like I’m a part of a universe and not a neighborhood,
country or even planet... I think that thought represents the most
“open” I’ve ever felt.

This week, we went south to the Negev and Arava deserts and met all
kinds of interesting people. Perhaps the most interesting was the
81- year-old Professor Amotz Zahavi, the Godfather of Israeli nature
conservation. Zahavi formed the Society for the Protection of Nature
in Israel (SPNI) in the early 1950’s. I heard about Amotz from my
mentor Jim Brett back in Pennsylvania. Brett’s a legend himself but
Zahavi’s strong personality helped save entire species and ecosystems.

Zahavi lives with Arabian Babbler birds in the middle of the desert at
Hatzeva. He’s lived with them for decades. We were stunned by how
human-like the social structures of the birds are. Close knit family units,
with all of the complex dynamics of a human family. Zahavi believes
that birds can teach us a lot about our own behavior. Amotz usually
doesn’t do interviews and hates the camera but I managed to get him
going.

Right now we are staying near Be’er Sheva with a Bedouin family.
Tomer Kahana, a jew who works as a bedouin activist and head of
the Desert Sights Company, hooked us up with the arrangements.
The kids here are so sweet and we run around and play in the desert
together. All I know in Arabic is, “Yalla, Yalla!”  Loosely translated as,
“Let’s go!”  We can’t speak to each other, but we communicate well
enough. The Bedouins are in tune with the natural world, are really
good musicians and have great senses of humor. “Have you heard the
story of the rich tourist from New York City who went to Be’er Sheva to
rent a camel?” For many reasons, I think the Israeli government
underestimates the value of its Bedouin community.

At this moment, I see the shadows of the camels and hear all kinds of
wild animal calls in the night air. The generator will be shut off soon
and lights will be out by nine, so it’s time to sleep. We’re getting up
early tomorrow to go to Eliat on the Egyptian border. We are supposed
to hang out with a guy named Erez Herrnstadt, who knows the desert
down there pretty well. The stillness of the desert night is unmatched.
The desert has been a play-land for Jesse. He’s filming everything, using
up tape so fast we’re going to need more soon.

-Mark Blacknell
director, executive producer

Photo by Eyal Bartov