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The Zionist reality: A euphoric, frustrating day at NYC’s Tel Aviv beach party (UPDATED WITH VIDEO)

By Ami Eden · June 22, 2009

So I decided to take the kids Sunday to the Tel Aviv beach party in Central Park.

Let's just say it was a typical Israel experience. In fact, I'll go even further: My emotional rollercoaster of a day was a perfect metaphor for the Jewish people's Zionist experience as a whole.

Like the early Zionist pioneers (though I'm not sure how many of the Halutzim wore skimpy bikinis), we found a bunch of sand and helped bring it to life.

Next came the equivalent of the partition plan: the announcement that five "vacations to Israel" were being given out to those who did the best boogying to the Israeli pop music bellowing from the speakers (live bands would come later). Yes, it was a tough road to climb, but the door had been opened, if only we had the will to turn a dream into a reality.

Then the euphoria of 1948 and 1967 all wrapped into one: the MCs declared that the Edens were the first winners!

And finally, the letdown: I opened the envelope only to discover that our prize was two free nights in a Prima Hotel.

We Jews hoped/believed that a Jewish state and the victory of 1967 would mean a change in the Jewish condition, an end to anti-Semitism, an end to anti-Jewish violence. We Edens thought a "free vacation to Israel" meant, well, a free vacation to Israel. As in, say, plane tickets.

Then again, who needs to actually go to Israel when you can just wander over to Central Park to experience that I-can't-believe-these-Israelis-think-I'm-the-crazy-one feeling. As in: When I tried to figure out why they were billing this as a free vacation but not covering the travel, several organizers didn't see the problem. Hey, these are very nice hotels, they said.

And, in the middle of it all, someone stole one of my kids' Crocs.

Of course, sometimes you need to take a step back from all the debates, fights, wars, terrorism, aggravations and say: If I had told the early Zionists a century ago that there would be a Jewish state in the Holy Land and this would be it, they would have considered it a miracle and a blessing. Similary, had my kids woke me up Sunday morning and said that for Father's Day they had won me a free two-night stay at a decent hotel in Israel, I would have been quite thrilled.

So ... I still say we should be looking at some free plane tickets (and we could have done without running to the shoe store for some replacement Crocs) but, all in all, a net plus.

UPDATE: Here's some video from the day (taken long after the Edens had departed the scene).