Chapter 1 - Jeff and Fay Berry's 1993 visit to Israel - Fay Berry

Jeff and Fay Berry’s 1993 visit to Israel at the invitation of Keren Hayesod/United Israel Appeal/ and Jewish Agency.

Ever since the beginning of the Second World War, Christadelphians have raised money for Youth Aliyah to assist Jewish children escape from countries where they were being persecuted. Lindsay Colquhoun was the main organizer of Chistadelphian fund-raising in the years 1939 – 1966 and then Jeff Berry took over the organization of education and fund-raising among the CD ecclesias. In 1992, Isador Magid and Saul Same, Jewish friend of Jeff’s from Melbourne and Board members of Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal arranged for Jeff and I to go to Israel as their guests for a week in Jerusalem. After Xmas1992 Jeff attended a month’s course at the Hebrew University and Yad Vashem, Israel’s holocaust museum and then research at other institutions. I joined him in early February and we toured around Israel for seven weeks. When I returned home at end of March, Jeff continued with studies and site visits, coming home at end of June 1993. This is the story of our time together in Israel as guests for a week of Isador Magid and Saul Same and Keren Hayesod- United Israel Appeal.

ADELAIDE – MELBOURNE – BANKOK – ROME

19930206 – Saturday – Melbourne Airport, boarding gate 32 – Destination Rome via Bankok. -I left Adelaide Domestic Airport for Melbourne at 7.45 pm. A number of my friends came to see me off. They were Phil Flint, Kate Samwell, Barbara Jones, EstherJones, John McColl, Christie Quirk, Richard Dwyer and my daughter Jesia Berry. When I arrived at Melbourne airport I was met by my daughter and son-in-law, Helen and Layne Stretton. We sat in Melbourne Airport lounge and spent the next 3 1/2 hours together before the Alitalia plane left for Rome via Bankok.

Melbourne Airport -Boarding at Gate 32 – Destinantion Rome (via Bankok). A large group of Jewish youth were on the plane and these are all their parents seeing them off.

Alitalia Plane Flight AZ 1743

Somewhere in the world! But which country, not sure.

The Alitalia plane, Flight AZ 1743, left Melbourne at 5.00 pm and arrived in Rome at 13.05 hrs next day.The plane stopped at Bankok for a couple of hours where I purchased some film and paid an exorbitant amount and was not pleased.

Alitalia Plane service was average – not bad, not good.

Mt Everest!

Bro. Woodward had organized my whole trip and he had given me detailed instructions of what to do and where to go from the moment the plane landed. I met a woman, Geraldine Carson (23 Mendis Road, St Ives, NSW ) on the Intermezzo bus that took me to the Quirinale Hotel where I was to stay and to the Delta Hotel where she was to stay and we arranged to meet the next day for sight-seeing together. I took some photos from the Intermezzo bus on the way to our hotels.

Temple of Venus – Rome

We saw the Temple of Venus and then the Coliseum.

In the Coliseum there is a complex of passageways underneath the tiers of seats that directed people to the exit arches all around the building.

THE COLLISEUM

The present ruins are of the stage the building had reached by AD 217 when the wooden uppermost story was replaced by stone, but it was begun after AD 70 by the emperors Vespasian and Titus using all the wealth looted from the destroyed Second Temple in Jerusalem. Many spectacles were staged there, ranging from the gladiatorial contests to the reenactment of naval battles in the flooded arena. It could seat 100,000.

The Streets of Rome

FOUNTAIN OF THE NAIADES

The Fountain of the Naiades which was not far from the Quirinale Hotel where I stayed in Rome.

THE FOUNTAIN OF THE NAIADES

My friend Geraldine Carson and I had dinner in a little cafe near here and as we sat and drank our wine, we watched the pale blue evening sky gradually darkening into night. We both agreed that we loved being in Rome.

AN ITALIAN FESTIVAL

There was an Italian Festival in progress in the evening and all the children came out dressed in colorful and elaborate costumes. It was very beautiful.

SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BUILDING

This was a beautiful building, also within walking distance of the Quirinale Hotel.

A Beautiful facade to this building

A CONCERT OR OPERA IN THIS BUILDING.

There was a concert, or an opera or such in this building and crowds of people were going up and down the stairs to the entrance. There seemed to me to be a predominance of single men on the streets. There were lots of couples and family groups, but still a predominance of single men. I wondered why this was?

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II looked so dramatic against the sky line. It had been a glorious day and now it was a beautiful clear evening with a pale blue sky.

The Forum of Trajan

The Forum of Trajan by Architect Apolladore of Damas. I couldn’t believe I was really in Rome. It all had an unreal feeling as though I was looking at pictures in a book, not at actual real places and buildings and people.

Another towering monument

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II designed by Saccoroni, erected to celebrate Italy’s independence after the revolution by Garabaldi and the Red Shirts of 1866 to 1870. The Guards are all dressed in Ancient Roman costume and were conducting a “Changing of the Guard” ceremony while I was walking by. It was so impressive, all set against the beautiful pale blue Italian sky.

The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

The Streets of Rome

Children’s costumes were everywhere

A grandmother, mother and children in costume for the festival

19930208 – 1993, I left Rome after a couple of idyllic days and once again found myself in the air and on my way to Israel. (Rome to Israel to Hoffim to follow).