Here is one of our many pictures we have posted from the trip. You can find more with the links below. Enjoy!
Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Birthright Pictures!
Here is one of our many pictures we have posted from the trip. You can find more with the links below. Enjoy!
Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Monday, June 19, 2006
Yad Vashem/Har Hertzl and home :(
Wow, our last day :( I can't believe we have been here for 10 of the most amazing days of our lives. This is a trip unlike any trip any of us has ever taken and one we will never forget. It was fun, educational, and it changed...everything.
Today we woke up and heard from a Holocaust survivor, from there we went on to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Israel. We were toured around there by one of their tour guides and our first stop was the Children's Memorial. As we quietly walked in, grasped to one another it was pitch black and all around us were the reflections of one single candle flame and the names continuously being read of children that were killed in the Holocaust. It was very tough for us to handle. From there we went on to see the sculptures, every sculpture in Israel has meaning to it. Then to the forest of the righteous, trees that were planted for those that helped the Jews during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem was not all about death. We then went into the newest part of the museum where although we were toured through, we were given a headset and we took our time walking through. It was almost as though we were cattle being herded through and you got the sense of what it may have felt like to have to keep going even though you wanted to stop.
It was amazing how many people in our group had stories of Holocaust survivors in their own families and openly shared their stories. From stories of their families to stories of hatred that they have faced, we never felt so close as we did at Yad Vashem. Maybe it was because it was our last day or maybe it was the gloominess that lingers over Yad Vashem, but we were very happy to have one another to lean on. After a quiet and sad lunch, it was time to move on to part two of our sad day. Har Hertzl, the military cemetery. Har Hertzl is where everyone that defends Israel is buried. Soldiers are buried along the mountain and as you go up, the Prime Ministers and at the very top, is the body of Theodore Hertzl. Hertzl was the founder of the Zionist movement and it was just 44 short years after his death that the state of Israel was created. The most moving part of the tour on Har Hertzl was standing around Yoni Netenyahu's grave and doing a memorial service. Yoni was not only the brother of Bibi Netenyahu, a Prime Minister of Israel and from Philadelphia, but he was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service for his conduct in the Yom Kippur War. He was killed in action during Operation Entebbe , by Uganden soldiers, where the Israeli military rescued hostages after an aircraft hijacking.
A lot of us couldn't understand the sadness on our last day but our staff put it very beautiful...although there was death, the Jewish people survived and we are here to tell the story. It is our job to go on and tell others about our journey and spread our Jewish knowledge and interests to ensure the survival of the Jewish people. We are all excited to tell our friends about the Birthright experience when we get home!
We had an amazing speaker to round out our afternoon. Avraham Infeld, the President of Hillel spoke to us and captured our attention. If he had been our speaker all week, I'm sure we all would have paid much more attention! (And not just cause he is funny, his South African Accent is fun too!)
To end our time in Israel before we went back to the hotel to pack and have our closing circle, we visited Mini-Israel. We got to visit all the sites that we already went to see on a very, very, very small scale. Quote of the day..."Why do they need a Mini Israel?! Isn't Israel already small enough?".
Our closing circle was full of laughter, tears, and memories that will last a lifetime. And now, we are all back in the states safe and sound counting the minutes and ways to get back to Israel. Not only do we all have a better sense of what Israel is all about, but we have a better sense of who we are both as individuals and as Jewish college students. Plus we have tons of new friends from across the city that we can't wait to see and tons of reunions lined up, including our first one next Sunday for breakfast! While we missed our family and friends, we truly found that Israel is a place that we can and will call home!
Pictures will be posted soon!
Today we woke up and heard from a Holocaust survivor, from there we went on to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Israel. We were toured around there by one of their tour guides and our first stop was the Children's Memorial. As we quietly walked in, grasped to one another it was pitch black and all around us were the reflections of one single candle flame and the names continuously being read of children that were killed in the Holocaust. It was very tough for us to handle. From there we went on to see the sculptures, every sculpture in Israel has meaning to it. Then to the forest of the righteous, trees that were planted for those that helped the Jews during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem was not all about death. We then went into the newest part of the museum where although we were toured through, we were given a headset and we took our time walking through. It was almost as though we were cattle being herded through and you got the sense of what it may have felt like to have to keep going even though you wanted to stop.
It was amazing how many people in our group had stories of Holocaust survivors in their own families and openly shared their stories. From stories of their families to stories of hatred that they have faced, we never felt so close as we did at Yad Vashem. Maybe it was because it was our last day or maybe it was the gloominess that lingers over Yad Vashem, but we were very happy to have one another to lean on. After a quiet and sad lunch, it was time to move on to part two of our sad day. Har Hertzl, the military cemetery. Har Hertzl is where everyone that defends Israel is buried. Soldiers are buried along the mountain and as you go up, the Prime Ministers and at the very top, is the body of Theodore Hertzl. Hertzl was the founder of the Zionist movement and it was just 44 short years after his death that the state of Israel was created. The most moving part of the tour on Har Hertzl was standing around Yoni Netenyahu's grave and doing a memorial service. Yoni was not only the brother of Bibi Netenyahu, a Prime Minister of Israel and from Philadelphia, but he was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service for his conduct in the Yom Kippur War. He was killed in action during Operation Entebbe , by Uganden soldiers, where the Israeli military rescued hostages after an aircraft hijacking.
A lot of us couldn't understand the sadness on our last day but our staff put it very beautiful...although there was death, the Jewish people survived and we are here to tell the story. It is our job to go on and tell others about our journey and spread our Jewish knowledge and interests to ensure the survival of the Jewish people. We are all excited to tell our friends about the Birthright experience when we get home!
We had an amazing speaker to round out our afternoon. Avraham Infeld, the President of Hillel spoke to us and captured our attention. If he had been our speaker all week, I'm sure we all would have paid much more attention! (And not just cause he is funny, his South African Accent is fun too!)
To end our time in Israel before we went back to the hotel to pack and have our closing circle, we visited Mini-Israel. We got to visit all the sites that we already went to see on a very, very, very small scale. Quote of the day..."Why do they need a Mini Israel?! Isn't Israel already small enough?".
Our closing circle was full of laughter, tears, and memories that will last a lifetime. And now, we are all back in the states safe and sound counting the minutes and ways to get back to Israel. Not only do we all have a better sense of what Israel is all about, but we have a better sense of who we are both as individuals and as Jewish college students. Plus we have tons of new friends from across the city that we can't wait to see and tons of reunions lined up, including our first one next Sunday for breakfast! While we missed our family and friends, we truly found that Israel is a place that we can and will call home!
Pictures will be posted soon!
"Everywhere else is a place, this is a feeling"-Alex Kaslowitz
Alex Kaslowitz said that "Everywhere else is a place, this is a feeling" speaking about Israel as he represented our bus in front of everyone overlooking Jerusalem at the Shehecheyanu ceremony that celebrated our group (and about 6 other groups) arrival into Jerusalem.
On Tuesday morning, our bus ride into the majestic Old City was breathtaking. White stone ontop of winding streets. As we arrived into the City of David, where the city of Jerusalem first began...this is where our tour of Jerusalem started.
We started in the Jewish Quarter and our tour guide, Guy had us all blindfolded and had us each place an arm on each others shoulder of the person in front of us. He then lead us in a single file line through the narrow winding streets of the Old City where the smell of Falafel and sounds of Yesheva kids playing soccer drifted through the air. He suddenly stopped us, and told us to turn and take off our blindfolds. And there, resting below the bright gold beaming off the Dome of The Rock was the Kotel, (The Western Wall), one of the holiest places in Jerusalem. It was not as large as some of us had originally thought but amazing to see with the black hats on the left and women on the right side of the barrier that split them down the middle. We just stood there and stared. And then of course we pulled out our cameras.
The view only got better as we actually went down to touch the wall. Most of us cried as we touched the wall and we were given time to look, touch, watch, pray, and just sit at the Kotel. One of the most touching things was watching people from the bus help Brandon DeJulius put on his new Talis at the Kotel. Some people react to seeing the wall and some are overpowered with emotions that they never knew they would feel, and some feel nothing. My favorite thing to do is touch the wall and look up at the fluffy white clouds moving quickly above the top of the Wailing Wall. It almost seems like a deeper connection is formed between the earth and the sky.
From our emotional experiences at the Kotel, we moved on to get some yummy falafel for lunch and then on to The Davidson Center to learn more about the Southern Wall Excavations. And then it was off to Latrun Army Base for the Mega Event!
Have you ever seen 5,000 Jewish students from all over the world in one confined area all high energy?! This was the most amazing sight! And to be able to hear from the people that made this trip possible made it that much more special. We heard from Michael Steinhardt, Lynn Shusterman, and saw a video tribute to Andrea Bronfman who passed away earlier this year. These 3 families are great philanthropists of the Taglit Birthright Israel experiences. We then heard from Shimon Peres. Following some amazing dancing and music, the crowd rushed to the ground floor and turned into a huge dance party and everyone had an amazing night!
On Tuesday morning, our bus ride into the majestic Old City was breathtaking. White stone ontop of winding streets. As we arrived into the City of David, where the city of Jerusalem first began...this is where our tour of Jerusalem started.
We started in the Jewish Quarter and our tour guide, Guy had us all blindfolded and had us each place an arm on each others shoulder of the person in front of us. He then lead us in a single file line through the narrow winding streets of the Old City where the smell of Falafel and sounds of Yesheva kids playing soccer drifted through the air. He suddenly stopped us, and told us to turn and take off our blindfolds. And there, resting below the bright gold beaming off the Dome of The Rock was the Kotel, (The Western Wall), one of the holiest places in Jerusalem. It was not as large as some of us had originally thought but amazing to see with the black hats on the left and women on the right side of the barrier that split them down the middle. We just stood there and stared. And then of course we pulled out our cameras.
The view only got better as we actually went down to touch the wall. Most of us cried as we touched the wall and we were given time to look, touch, watch, pray, and just sit at the Kotel. One of the most touching things was watching people from the bus help Brandon DeJulius put on his new Talis at the Kotel. Some people react to seeing the wall and some are overpowered with emotions that they never knew they would feel, and some feel nothing. My favorite thing to do is touch the wall and look up at the fluffy white clouds moving quickly above the top of the Wailing Wall. It almost seems like a deeper connection is formed between the earth and the sky.
From our emotional experiences at the Kotel, we moved on to get some yummy falafel for lunch and then on to The Davidson Center to learn more about the Southern Wall Excavations. And then it was off to Latrun Army Base for the Mega Event!
Have you ever seen 5,000 Jewish students from all over the world in one confined area all high energy?! This was the most amazing sight! And to be able to hear from the people that made this trip possible made it that much more special. We heard from Michael Steinhardt, Lynn Shusterman, and saw a video tribute to Andrea Bronfman who passed away earlier this year. These 3 families are great philanthropists of the Taglit Birthright Israel experiences. We then heard from Shimon Peres. Following some amazing dancing and music, the crowd rushed to the ground floor and turned into a huge dance party and everyone had an amazing night!
Monday, June 12, 2006
We Are Finally In Jerusalem!!-6/12/06
Can you believe we are finally in Jerusalem?!
Yesterday morning we got a very early start to our day. We checked out of our hotel in Tel Aviv and headed down South to the Negev.
We started our day out with an archeological dig in Beit Guvrin followed by crawling through caves. It was a great way to start the day! We were digging up artifacts from the time of Judah Maccabee, it was quite amazing to see the site where the story of Chanukah happened.
Following our morning activity we had to say good-bye to our Israeli soldiers that had been joining us for the week...after long hugs and exchanging emails, we were on our way to do our Tzedek (volunteer) project. We worked with Ethiopian orphans making arts and crafts and playing sports, it was a very special and moving afternoon.
From there we were off to our Bedouin tents where we slept last night. Once we dropped off our bags, we mounted up on our camels and went on a ride through the desert. We were then welcomed to the Bedouin Village with tea and coffee. We had the most amazing meal in the tents and spent the evening gathered around a huge bonfire.
After a night of pretty much no sleep, we woke up way before sunrise to hike Masada and watch the sunrise from the top. What a breathtaking view! Some of us took the opportunity to say the morning prayers, while some of us gathered close to our bus friends and others of us just took a minute to meditate by ourselves. It's amazing how powerful the sunrise on top of Masada is.
Following our tour on top of Masada, what better reward then going to Ein Gedi resort for a dip in the Dead Sea. We slathered ourselves in the silky mud, and then ran into the salt crusted crystal blue sea where you can't help but float. We can't wait to show you the amazing pictures we got here! After a quick shower, we boarded the bus for a nice long bus ride to....
JERUSALEM!!! We are finally here!!! It's unbelievable and we finally feel like we are in Israel. It looks totally different then the rest of the country and truly does look like the Old City. We were welcomed into Jerusalem on the Haas Promenade with the Shehecheyanu (the first of something,and for us, the first for us arriving in Jerusalem). The lookout was breathtaking and even more amazing and special is that taking place right next to us on the Haas Promenade was a wedding of 2 people that met on a Birthright trip! It was very sweet and special to see.
After having dinner on our own, we finally checked into our hotel in JERUSALEM! Tomorrow we finally get to go see the Old City and tour the City of David, see the Western Wall, and take part in the mega event with over 5,000 other Jewish students that are also on a birthright trip from around the world. We are all exhausted and getting an early nights sleep. It's hard to believe there are only 2 days left of our trip!
Yesterday morning we got a very early start to our day. We checked out of our hotel in Tel Aviv and headed down South to the Negev.
We started our day out with an archeological dig in Beit Guvrin followed by crawling through caves. It was a great way to start the day! We were digging up artifacts from the time of Judah Maccabee, it was quite amazing to see the site where the story of Chanukah happened.
Following our morning activity we had to say good-bye to our Israeli soldiers that had been joining us for the week...after long hugs and exchanging emails, we were on our way to do our Tzedek (volunteer) project. We worked with Ethiopian orphans making arts and crafts and playing sports, it was a very special and moving afternoon.
From there we were off to our Bedouin tents where we slept last night. Once we dropped off our bags, we mounted up on our camels and went on a ride through the desert. We were then welcomed to the Bedouin Village with tea and coffee. We had the most amazing meal in the tents and spent the evening gathered around a huge bonfire.
After a night of pretty much no sleep, we woke up way before sunrise to hike Masada and watch the sunrise from the top. What a breathtaking view! Some of us took the opportunity to say the morning prayers, while some of us gathered close to our bus friends and others of us just took a minute to meditate by ourselves. It's amazing how powerful the sunrise on top of Masada is.
Following our tour on top of Masada, what better reward then going to Ein Gedi resort for a dip in the Dead Sea. We slathered ourselves in the silky mud, and then ran into the salt crusted crystal blue sea where you can't help but float. We can't wait to show you the amazing pictures we got here! After a quick shower, we boarded the bus for a nice long bus ride to....
JERUSALEM!!! We are finally here!!! It's unbelievable and we finally feel like we are in Israel. It looks totally different then the rest of the country and truly does look like the Old City. We were welcomed into Jerusalem on the Haas Promenade with the Shehecheyanu (the first of something,and for us, the first for us arriving in Jerusalem). The lookout was breathtaking and even more amazing and special is that taking place right next to us on the Haas Promenade was a wedding of 2 people that met on a Birthright trip! It was very sweet and special to see.
After having dinner on our own, we finally checked into our hotel in JERUSALEM! Tomorrow we finally get to go see the Old City and tour the City of David, see the Western Wall, and take part in the mega event with over 5,000 other Jewish students that are also on a birthright trip from around the world. We are all exhausted and getting an early nights sleep. It's hard to believe there are only 2 days left of our trip!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Shabbat, B'nai Mitzvot, and A Night Downtown! 6/10
While some of us took the opportunity to sleep in this morning and catch up on our beauty sleep, some of us did wander out with the staff to explore local shul's in Tel Aviv for Shabbat Services this morning. There is something so beautiful about celebrating a Shabbat in Israel! We all gathered back together for a community lunch and then had free time. Some of us used free time to sleep, but for many of us, we used the time to play outside in the hot Israel sun and sit swim in the pool.
This afternoon, once we were all showered and clean, our bus celebrated the B'nai Mitzvot of 2 of the members of our bus. Brandon DeJulius and Stephanie Herold. The service was beautiful and we are so happy and proud of our bus-mates!
Our long afternoon continued with a walk through Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv's first neighborhood and then heading to an early dinner. Our Rekaz group (all of the buses in our hote
l) gathered together to hold a Havdallah ceremony to mark the end of Shabbat. It was amazing to see everyone ending a day of rest together and commemorating the start of a new week as one large community.
To end our day and to celebrate Brandon and Stephanie's B'nai Mitzvot, we headed out to a popular club in Tel Aviv that was rented out especially for Taglit Birthright, it was a wonderful conclusion to the day.
We have an early day tomorrow as we will be packing up and heading to our 3rd location...The Negev and sleep in a Bedouin Tent tomorrow night!
This afternoon, once we were all showered and clean, our bus celebrated the B'nai Mitzvot of 2 of the members of our bus. Brandon DeJulius and Stephanie Herold. The service was beautiful and we are so happy and proud of our bus-mates!
Our long afternoon continued with a walk through Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv's first neighborhood and then heading to an early dinner. Our Rekaz group (all of the buses in our hote
l) gathered together to hold a Havdallah ceremony to mark the end of Shabbat. It was amazing to see everyone ending a day of rest together and commemorating the start of a new week as one large community.To end our day and to celebrate Brandon and Stephanie's B'nai Mitzvot, we headed out to a popular club in Tel Aviv that was rented out especially for Taglit Birthright, it was a wonderful conclusion to the day.
We have an early day tomorrow as we will be packing up and heading to our 3rd location...The Negev and sleep in a Bedouin Tent tomorrow night!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Ah, it's finally Shabbat! 6/9
It was so hard to believe we are actually in Israel! After finally leaving the Golan Heights, we arrived in Tel Aviv to see where the State of Israel was born.
We started our day at Independence Hall, where Prime Minister David Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Our tour guide at the Hall was great and it really felt us with an amazing sense of pride at the end of our tour to stand when we heard Hatikvah.
Following our morning, we headed to Nachalat Binyamin, this huge artists fair in the center of Tel Aviv that is adjacent to a large shuk. Here we strolled the shops and enjoyed lunch on our own before meeting back up with our bus.
It was after lunch when we gathered together and Guy, Judah, and Heather brought us over to Kikar Rabin, or Rabin Square. It was here at this site where Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish fanatic in November 1995. It was strange to see that amist the beautiful sculpture set at the bottom of the stairs, and the markings that show exactly where everyone stood...life in the busy city of Tel Aviv moves on and Israel continues to prosper.
We are now all preparing in our first Shabbat in Israel for most of us were in definite need of an early night back at the hotel.
Tomorrow we will have the option to explore different service opportunities in Tel Aviv, take a walking tour through Tel Aviv neighborhoods, and let's not forget the Disco! Isn't that what Tel Aviv is about after all, the nightlife?!
We started our day at Independence Hall, where Prime Minister David Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Our tour guide at the Hall was great and it really felt us with an amazing sense of pride at the end of our tour to stand when we heard Hatikvah.
Following our morning, we headed to Nachalat Binyamin, this huge artists fair in the center of Tel Aviv that is adjacent to a large shuk. Here we strolled the shops and enjoyed lunch on our own before meeting back up with our bus.
It was after lunch when we gathered together and Guy, Judah, and Heather brought us over to Kikar Rabin, or Rabin Square. It was here at this site where Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish fanatic in November 1995. It was strange to see that amist the beautiful sculpture set at the bottom of the stairs, and the markings that show exactly where everyone stood...life in the busy city of Tel Aviv moves on and Israel continues to prosper.
We are now all preparing in our first Shabbat in Israel for most of us were in definite need of an early night back at the hotel.
Tomorrow we will have the option to explore different service opportunities in Tel Aviv, take a walking tour through Tel Aviv neighborhoods, and let's not forget the Disco! Isn't that what Tel Aviv is about after all, the nightlife?!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Biking in the Hula and Visiting Safed-6/8!
We started our day with another very early morning breakfast and got on the bus to head towards our first morning activity...bike riding!
We took part in a beautiful bike ride through the Hula Nature preserve where we saw beautiful birds that migrated to Israel from as far away as Africa! Between the heat and the exercise, you can imagine the appetite we worked up, so it was off to the mystical city of Safed for lunch and touring.
After indulging in Falafel and Shwarma, our groups gathered back together to tour the mystical Artist City of Safed. We saw the sky blue color that wards away the evil eye everywhere and saw students studying Kabbalah all around us. The group strolled in and out of some of the synagogues in Safed and saw the beautiful arks and murals around them, including one that still has a bullet hole in the bimah from the 6 Day War! And we finally got a chance to do some shopping! We got some beautiful jewelry, art, candles from the candle factory, and Judaica that we can't wait to share with you!
After a short hike on Mt. Meron we went on to visit a Druze Village of Beit Jahn and see how the Druze live and learn more about them. After learning the way of the Druze, we enjoyed a delicious Druze dinner and with our full stomachs we gathered around our Israeli Mifgash to take part in our first conversation "How I Relate to Israel-How Israel Relates to Me". It was very moving to have the Israeli's involved in this conversation and it was just as moving to the Israeli's to be able to hear what Israel means to those students who are (many of them) just visiting for the first time. After a very long day, bus 531 loaded up to head back to our Guest House to try to catch up on some sleep before starting another very early day.
On tomorrows agenda is:
Heading to Tel Aviv, Independence Hall (no, not the one in Philadelphia!), some more shopping!, Rabin Square, and checking into our new hotel and preparing for Shabbat. This will be big for us. For some it will be our first Shabbat, for others it will be our first Shabbat in Israel and for still others it will be there first Shabbat in a group atmosphere. There will be many options for the students to chose from and best of all, they will be celebrating Shabbat in Israel with their new friends on their bus!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Our First Day in the Golan and we already hiked 6/7!
Our tour guide Guy is simply amazing! We got a very early start this morning after waking up to an amazing Israeli breakfast at our Guest House.
Our day started by meeting our Mifgash today. We were joined by 8 Israeli soldiers that are our age, only they are serving in the army. They seem like they are going to a great addition to our bus family! From our initial meeting with the soldiers, we headed to a local military cemetery and got an overview of the Golan Heights and of Israel.
From there, Guy, our tourguide gave us a very moving talk about the history of Israel and of the 6 Day War at an Outpost overlook of Syria. We were also given the opportunity to speak with a man that made aliyah in a town that needed to be evacuated, that had a deep impact on many of us.
Following lunch it was time for our first official hike at Tel Dan. And what better way to celebrate our first hike then spending our money at Kibbutz Naot, the shoe kibbutz. We bought lots of sandals and shoes, sure hope there is room on the plane ride back!
To end our afternoon we went rafting and tubing down the Jordan River, although the rapids weren't huge, we had a really great time!
Back at the hotel after dinner tonight, we had a concert by a popular Israeli artist. It's hard to believe that today was only our 2nd day!
Tomorrow we have a very early day and we will be taking a bike ride through the Hula Valley, visiting Safed, hiking through Mt. Meron, visiting a Druze village in Beit Jahn, and taking part in our first of 4 conversations.
Our day started by meeting our Mifgash today. We were joined by 8 Israeli soldiers that are our age, only they are serving in the army. They seem like they are going to a great addition to our bus family! From our initial meeting with the soldiers, we headed to a local military cemetery and got an overview of the Golan Heights and of Israel.
From there, Guy, our tourguide gave us a very moving talk about the history of Israel and of the 6 Day War at an Outpost overlook of Syria. We were also given the opportunity to speak with a man that made aliyah in a town that needed to be evacuated, that had a deep impact on many of us.
Following lunch it was time for our first official hike at Tel Dan. And what better way to celebrate our first hike then spending our money at Kibbutz Naot, the shoe kibbutz. We bought lots of sandals and shoes, sure hope there is room on the plane ride back!
To end our afternoon we went rafting and tubing down the Jordan River, although the rapids weren't huge, we had a really great time!
Back at the hotel after dinner tonight, we had a concert by a popular Israeli artist. It's hard to believe that today was only our 2nd day!
Tomorrow we have a very early day and we will be taking a bike ride through the Hula Valley, visiting Safed, hiking through Mt. Meron, visiting a Druze village in Beit Jahn, and taking part in our first of 4 conversations.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
They've Arrived! 6/6/06
Bus 531 arrived in Tel Aviv safely this morning at 8 am Israel time. As the 37 students from Philadelphia depart from the airport today will bring them to Caesarea, which was founded by King Herod between 22 and 10 B.C.E. and served as the main port and administrative capital of his kingdom. This is where their journey begins!
At Caesarea, overlooking the beautiful Mediterranian Sea the students will have a Shehecheyanu ceremony on the beach celebrating the group's arrival to Israel and then continue to tour ancient Caesarea.
Following lunch, our students are travelling to Ramat HaNadiv, where Baron Edmond de Rothschild and his wife, Adelaide, are buried.
Nothing like trying to hold off that jet-lag then with a little wine tasting, so we are taking the students off to the Carmel winery in Zichron Ya'akov for a mid-afternoon treat. Then off to settle into the guest house where the group will take part in some ice-breakers and a group program.
For Hotel Info or Emergency contact info, please feel free to contact Edy at Edy@temple.edu.
This site will be updated daily with pictures and stories from YOUR students as well as their daily schedules! On tomorrow's agenda...meeting the soliders that will be traveling with them (their mifgash, or encounter), The Golan Heights, Hiking, Rafting, and beginning to learn about the tank battle in the '73 war. Check back regularly for updates!
At Caesarea, overlooking the beautiful Mediterranian Sea the students will have a Shehecheyanu ceremony on the beach celebrating the group's arrival to Israel and then continue to tour ancient Caesarea.
Following lunch, our students are travelling to Ramat HaNadiv, where Baron Edmond de Rothschild and his wife, Adelaide, are buried.
Nothing like trying to hold off that jet-lag then with a little wine tasting, so we are taking the students off to the Carmel winery in Zichron Ya'akov for a mid-afternoon treat. Then off to settle into the guest house where the group will take part in some ice-breakers and a group program.
For Hotel Info or Emergency contact info, please feel free to contact Edy at Edy@temple.edu.
This site will be updated daily with pictures and stories from YOUR students as well as their daily schedules! On tomorrow's agenda...meeting the soliders that will be traveling with them (their mifgash, or encounter), The Golan Heights, Hiking, Rafting, and beginning to learn about the tank battle in the '73 war. Check back regularly for updates!
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