[NIZHNIK, ISRAEL: EVERY TRIP, CONTACT, GAINED EXPERIENCE IS PRICELESS!] Gennady Nizhnik, Israel, Kingdom of Jerusalem club Concerning international cooperation and club events in Israel... Although we are Israelis and we have our own realities, in fact, we are in the information field of the East European reenactment. We maintain close ties with foreign clubs from Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine. Kalin Iordanov from Bulgarian club “Modus Vivendi” is also a member of our club. Together with the Moscow “Militia Angelika” we are members of a club association dealing with the 12th century reenactment. We exchange sources, attend joint activities with Stevan and Gabrielle. We are helped a lot by Vasily Bayanov who reenacts a Templar of the twelfth century. It’s a rare and interesting topic. We are also members of the Western alliance together with “Flemings” club. The guys welcome us in their camp at Military Business in Samara and we have already become good friends. And they come to our events as well. We have some friends in Cyprus. I cannot enumerate all our friends at once. There were times when the Kingdom of Jerusalem was also called “Outremer” (from French outremer – overseas), which meant one had to overcome the sea to get to the land. Exactly the same situation is with us, to get to the outside world we have only one option, namely an airplane. It’s difficult for us to travel, get materials and equipment, gain experience. Therefore, every trip, contact, gained experience is priceless! I would like to mention our Samara trips to the festival of historical reenactment called Military Business, organized by Legend club. This year was our second time there, we attend the event to learn the right living-history war, visit master classes, gain experience, meet friends. The event became for us a window into the world of living history, for which we want to thank Maxim Sokolov, Alexei Romanov, Igor Mayorov and many others. Undoubtedly, our main event in Israel is the reenactment of the Battle of Hattin. The event is held annually in early July, on the day of its anniversary. This year’s event was bigger than previous ones. Almost all the clubs of Israel participate in the march. There are people who do not consider themselves reenactors, but who come with a historical set of clothing and equipment not for the first year. The event has been an international one for two years. This year we were visited by fifteen Russians, and it was a huge step forward not only in quantity, but also in quality. In addition to all the above-mentionrd clubs, representatives of New Castle, Suzdal Squad and amazing individual reenactors attended our event. It is difficult to overestimate the expertise and support of foreign visitors. We hope to see guests from other countries next year. We hope that the project will attract more foreign participants, and well see an army marching through Galilee. Israel is not a cheap country, but we try to make the event less expensive. Commercialization of such projects is a rather dangerous step. It can spoil the spirit and meaning of the event. Here we try to use the positive experience of the organizers of the Samara Military Business. We are looking for sponsors. Finally, we’ve attracted attention of our authorities. I hope, it’ll be useful for us. The first people who understood the potential and benefits from our reenactment for locals were Regional Council of Lower Galilee. This year, they even gave us a bus, which was nice. We attracted private sponsors. Battle at the Horns of Hattin is still our only project. It is the only living-history project in Israel. We have neither time nor strengths for any other projects, but we have some plans. We are sometimes invited to various festivals. We are always glad to show people what living history is. We also attend events of other clubs, Yule celebrations by Northmen or Knight Amusements by Armada. We participate in joint projects. This year, we are planning to devote a traditional winter event to the First Crusade. We will follow the path of of pilgrims from Ayalon valley across the mountains to Jerusalem. It’ll be a very interesting and new experience. Next year, we would like to attend abroad events more often. Perhaps, we will go to the Samara Military Business again and somewhere in Europe. The place hasn’t been decided yet. We hope to take not only fighters, but also civilians there. For example, our craftswoman Lena. We live in a small country, almost on an island, and a small number of people means projects and participants intersection. For example, the reenactment of the Battle of Hattin is attended by buhurt fighters and people far from the twelfth century in general and reenactment in particular. But they are interested in the project and they come. At the same time, I have a set of equipment of the fourteenth century, and two years ago I was a member of Team Israel at Battle of the Nations. Perhaps, I’ll go there to support our National Team next year. Of course, increasing level of specialization and skills requires greater efficiency and focus on a specific topic, but the experience of our friends from other countries shows it’s possible to deal with several subject areas. You can, if you want, be not lazy and respect the requirements of the event. No pains no gains! Interview by Nina Valeyeva, HMBIA News
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 10:03:00 +0000
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