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Israel Trip 2007
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Tuesday, May 01 Arrival in Israel left many of us speechless with excitement and anticipation. The flight was very smooth and most of us were busy choosing movies to watch or video games to play. By the time we got to Hanaton, we enjoyed a good meal and had an orientation session where the St. Louis kids and Memphis kids began getting to know each other. We each threw our shoes in the middle of the floor, then retrieved anyone else's but our own. We searched to find out whose shoe we had and then introduced that person to the group. As the hour got late, we went to bed so we'd be completely ready for the next day's activities.
Wendsday, May 02
Waking up early and davening overlooking the mountains in the north was just beautiful. We had a delicious Israeli breakfast then took the bus to the JNF forrest to plant trees. After we each planted a tree we went to Tz'fat and visited the synagogue of the "Ari", Rabbi Luria. It was explained to us that we were in the heart of mystic life as we went through the city. There were many other synagogues and learning centers as well. We had time to do a little shopping and pick up a souvenir or two. We went on to spend time with a group of Israeli eighth graders in Yokneam, playing games and having dinner together with them. Completely exhausted we will soon be heading back to Hanaton in order to be fresh for another busy day tomorrow.
Thursday, May 03
Message from our student, Eliza Roberts: Shalom everyone, We started today with a prayer service at Kibbutz Hanaton when Caroline and Emily Siegler led the service together with Eliza, Joey, and Ethan. After that we enjoyed an Israeli breakfast at the kibbutz and we started our day driving up north to Kfar Giladi. We drove to a spot that is very emotional to many Israelis and to us. During the Lebanon War in July, 2006, many soldiers gathered in a pickup station to join their military friends in the battle fields in Lebanon against the Hizzbolah. While gathering and waiting for a ride, a rocket hit a group of soldiers and 12 died. We sang Hatikvah in the same spot that it happened. From there we continued to help with rebuilding the north and rehabilitated part of a forest around Kfar Giladi which also suffered from rockets.From there we continued to the Golan Winery and enjoyed tasting wine (grape juice ). After that we drove to the heights of the Golan Mountains and learned about the bitter history of wars between Israel and Syria while overlooking the Syrian side and the Israeli side.Getting into the bunker there was an awesome experience as well. Then we drove to Tiberias and saw the Sea of Galilee. We had free time walking in the pedestrian mall, and enjoying the huge variety of kosher food. Now we are back to Kibbutz Hanaton for our last night enjoying a cookout dinner around the pool. Tomorrow we are off to Neot Kedumim which is a small village in the area of Jerusalem. This village preserves the life in Israel during the Mishna times. At around 1:00 P.M. we will go to the Shabbat hosts. Miss you all,
Eliza Roberts
Friday, May 04 We woke up at Hanaton, organized our suitcases and headed to the bus to our third day in Israel.
Wow! We were back to the Bible times, when we arrived to this beautiful preservation. Everything at Neot Kedumim is just like the Bible days. The flour grinder, the original cheese, the local olive oil and the spices, are only few of the Items that make this place so unique and interesting. We split to two groups, each group cooked a vegetarian lunch to King Solomon (who was on a special diet according to some commentators). The teams work diligently, and after one hour and thirty minutes the judges voted on the best lunch. We all enjoyed the food, and continued with our trip to our Shabbat host.
Shabbat, May 05
The Shabbat Host was a relaxing experience and a great way to end the first week. We had the chance to spend the night at the Knafo’s house. On Friday we went to the Mediterranean beach and had Friday night dinner with the Knafo’s. We then went on a walk in the town to end the day. Over the weekend we enjoyed the spirit of Shabbat and the good food. We met many Israelis and it was fun play soccer with them. When Shabbat was over we went to Jerusalem for Lag B’omer. Yours truly, Nathan Sharfman.
After Shabbat was over, we got in to Jerusalem at 10:30pm. Bon fire in Jerusalem Hello there! The bon fire for Lag B’omer was super fun. Once we all met back up from our host-shabbat weekend, we walked with wood to a campsite type hill where there were bon fires everywhere! We soon found a scrumptious site to build our fire. There, we all canoodled in a circle and built the fire. There were Israeli kids near our site hanging out. The girls of Memphis wanted to become friends with them and hangout, but we were forbidden (I still don’t know why). The bon fire, I believe, brought us all closer and reunited us as one. After that, we got back to the “hotel” at 1 a.m.! We were all very tired the next morning, but we will never forget that amazing bon fire. Yours truly, Sydney Buring
Sunday, May 06
Independence Hall I would recommend every eighth grade group to go to this interesting historic site. I learned many things about the establishment of Tel-Aviv from the movie, and about the establishment of the state of Israel. As I sit on the couch at Ariel Hotel in Jerusalem, I think about all those brave visionary people who sacrificed their time and life for this country, and it makes me proud.
Yours truly, Brittany Lansky
Old Tel Aviv and Rabin Squarewere great site to understand better the history of Tel Aviv and the story of Yitzchak Rabin. Tel Aviv Tayelet, Beach `When we went to Tel Aviv we had a special surprise. I didn’t expect us to go to the beach and go shopping that day. I walked out to the beach and was amazed. Even though I had already been there before( 2 years ago ) I hadn’t remembered it this beautiful before. It was so much fun to be there with all of my friends playing in the sea. It was so cool to see other modern Israeli lives in Tel Aviv. I think everyone who goes to Israel should experience this wonderful place. Shalom, Emily Siegler
After Tel Aviv, we traveled over 2 hours to start the next part of the trip, the south of Israel, and we stayed overnight at Kibbutz Mashabei Sadeh.
Monday, May 07
It was a hot day, and we had a great challenge ahead of us, hiking for 3 hours in the desert of the Negev.after this difficult hike, we sprayed water on each other and most of us had to change clothes before going up on the bus. We then continued with a Visit to Ben Gurion’s hub in Sdeh Boker and listned to Shachar, our tour guide, about Ben Gurion and his wife Paula. We then traveled further south to the Beduin experience.
When we went to the camel rides at the Beduin tent, I was very surprised to be greeted by, not only a camel, but donkeys as well. I rode the camel for the first half and a donkey for the second half. The camel was really fun, and scary at the same time. The donkey on the other hand was very different. I really liked my donkey. He was really cute and he was named Bob. I was going to take him on the airplane with me, but I knew my parents wouldn’t like it. Then something horrible happened. The donkey urinated on my leg. It was wet and yucky , but let’s not get into that right now. Anyway, all in all the camel was very cute, but the donkey was an evil one. We rode for an hour, and were ready for dinner. Yours truly, Caroline Frisch.
The dinner at the tent was unusual. We sat on the floor with pillows, eating rice, shish kebab and Arabic pita bread, talking and enjoying dinner after a long day in the desert. We then learned that when guests are coming to the beduin tent they are greeted with food and drinks. If the cup that the beduins serve is full it means that you are not so welcome. If the cup is half full, it means that you are welcome to stay. We also learned about the beduin music, the way they grind coffee and at last, we got special tasty tea. We then left the tent to an activity and in the middle we had a nice surprise. Alon Broides, who studied with us in 6 th grade, came with his family to visit. We then went to sleep in a tent, boys alone and girls alone.
Tuesday, May 08
Climbing Massada on the Roman ramp was very tiring. Before we climbed up to Massada we went down to see the ancient cisterns. The cisterns were small caves that were dug into the bottom of the mountain and were cool. It was a hot day, and we needed to drink all the time. After we finished walking up Massada, we prayed in the old synagogue. We learned about what happened on the mountains and discussed what would we do instead of the people who lived there. Afterwards, we enjoyed cold drinks and bought souvenirs at the gift shop of this beautiful site. Yours truly, Seth Harrison.
To begin, we went to a grotesque spa to rent towels, and in this spa, it smelt like sulfuric acid. After we changed and rented towels, we put on mud that makes your skin soft. Everyone covered themselves head to toe. After, we took a tractor to the Dead Sea. When we got to the Dead Sea all of our boo-boos were stinging. I stuck my head under, and my eyes stung so badly that I could not open them. Some people chose not to go in the Dead Sea, but even though it was painful, it was still worth it. Yours truly, Stephanie Betesh
Wednesday, May 09
We arrived to Ariel Hotel last evening and had a marvelous dinner. Now, we are touring the old city, the Kotel and the Jewish quarter, and we just wanted to tell you that Jerusalem is really beautiful, Yours truly, The eighth grade |