Day 8 – Wednesday, April 19th: Yom haZikaron blog and photos
Shalom Chaverim! It’s Ella and Jonah reporting to duty. This morning we woke up bright and early to prepare for a long day. We started our day by visiting a local junior high school. We got to meet eighth graders and became good friends with them. After that, we went with them to their school tekes where we heard meaningful speeches and songs led by their seventh grade. We then parted from them and made our way to the Israeli Independence Hall. We got to see where David Ben-Gurion stood to announce and sign the papers that led to a... Read More
Day 7, Tuesday April 17th – Blog from Tamar and Mattan and more photos!
Hi y’all, it’s Tamar and Mattan. Shalom from Eilat, wow, have we done EI-LAT of things! This morning we woke up, and got on the bus to go on a hike. The red canyon hike in the Negev desert was gorgeous. During the hike, in the middle of the canyons we all stopped and meditated and this was a really nice bonding moment. Then we got on the bus to go to Tel Aviv. On the way to Tel Aviv, we made a stop at Ben Gurion’s kibbutz home in Sde Boker. It was very meaningful to learn about such... Read More
Day 7: Tuesday, April 17th
Today was such a wonderful and busy day, the kids did not have a chance to write a blog, and the teachers weren’t able to upload their photos. You can look for both tomorrow! Here are some pictures from last night’s visit to the Ice Mall in Eilat, and this morning’s hike in Eilat’s red mountains. The 8th graders are now in Tel Aviv. They attended an Erev Yom haZikaron tekes (Memorial Day ceremony) at Gymnasia Herziliya (a middle school in Tel Aviv) this evening. The chaperones report the kids got a lot out of the experience and are wonderful... Read More
Day 6, Monday, 4/16 – blog post from Chaya and Maia
Hello! Today we woke up bright and early at 4:00 a.m. We then hiked up the Roman ramp to Masada and watched the sun rise as we prayed. We also got a very interesting tour of the mountain fortress. After that we took a cable car down the mountain and ate breakfast. Then, we drove all the way to Eilat and went snorkeling and banana boating in the Red Sea. It was really nice to cool off in the water. We just checked into out hotel and showered. We are about to eat dinner and go to the mall which... Read More
Sunday, April 15th and Monday, April 16th: More photos!
Here are a few more photos from the Dead Sea, the Bedouin tent, the morning on Masada (word on the street is that Risa and Ella led an absolutely beautiful Hallel for Rosh Hodesh!), and Eilat!
Day 5: Sunday, April 15th: Photos!
What a day! Here are great photos from Sunday of the 8th grade visiting Susan’s House (programs for at-risk teens); hiking to Ein Gedi; swimming in Yam haMelach/the Dead Sea; camel riding; having a Bedouin feast; and roasting s’mores around a bonfire!
Video: Shavua tov!
Here’s a great video Andreea made of Saturday evening and Sunday morning: Shavua Tov:)
Day 3: Friday, April 13th: blog from Laurel and Sara
We started our day at 6:30 to pray, then soon after we got on the bus. The bus ride was one hour to get to an archaeological dig site. At the dig site we dug up dirt from over 2,000 years ago and found shards of pottery that used to either be plates, cups or bowls. We went into tunnels from thousands of years ago, and one tunnel had candles to light the way. In the tunnels we went into there were holes from where the people used to raise pigeons for sacrifice, food, and fertilizer (We are sure you... Read More
More Photos: Thursday, April 12th – Yom haShoah
Photos from Yad vaShem, Har Herzl, the bus, and Ben Yehuda Street:
Day 2: Thursday, 4/12 – Yom haShoah
Students went to bed early last night and woke up this morning full of energy. They began the day at Yad vaShem (Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Museum), had lunch at Machane Yehuda, and went on to Har Herzl, where they learned about soldiers who died defending Israel, and visited the grave of Hannah Senesh. They are now on Ben Yehuda street, “running around like crazy and having a great time” in Laura’s words. The chaperones report that Senesh students are connecting nicely with the kids from Gottesman and that it’s been a great first two days. I hope to have more... Read More