Bahai and Bye-Bye!

To start our last day in Israel, we woke up at 6:00 A.M. and packed our stuff onto the bus to leave the hotel. We were driving for a while until we made it to the Baha'i Gardens in Haifa. It was a beautiful site and we even learned a bit while we were there. Then we went to lunch which was shawarma and falafel. 

Next we drove around a Druze city on our way to Caesaria and saw some amazing things there. We also had some Israeli ice cream. Soon we had to say goodbye to our amazing tour guide, Yonit. She was the best tour guide that we could ask for. Then we had dinner at a restaurant near the airport. After dinner, we went to the airport, went through security and boarded, but not before saying goodbye to all of our friends from Ezra Academy. They were some of the nicest and kindest people I've ever met and I am so glad that we were all able to become friends on this incredible trip. 

There were many people on this trip that helped us along the way.  Now I would like thank you. I'd like to thank our bus driver, Achmed, who was able to drive is everywhere no matter what. Is also like to thank our security guard, Elidor for always protecting our belongings and us. Some other people I'd like to thank are our madrichim, Sara and Tani. They planned all of our night time activities and helped us whenever we needed it. I'd also like to thank Ms. Cook and the Ezra Academy teachers, Morah Amalya and Nurse Carolyn. They were amazing supervisors because they always made sure to let us know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. They were the best we could ask for. Lastly, I'd like to thank Yonit, our tour guide. She led us all over Israel and taught us so much. 

Although the Israel trip is over, Yonit told us our hearts will remain in Israel until our next visit. So you know what they say, NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!!!

 - Isaac  

Holon and Yafo: Sight, Silence, Stories, Shabbas

We started Friday (our third to last day!) by going to the Holon Children Museum. KBA and Ezra students were split up into groups for two tours - "Invitation for Silence", which simulated being deaf, and "Dialogue in the Dark", which simulates being blind. I went on the Darkness tour and it was very eye opening. All my life I took my eyesight for granted not realizing some people always see what I see when my eyes are closed. For people who were on the Silence tour, they had to wear noise canceling headphones. The people who went on the tour said it was very different for them to not be able to hear one thing.  

Next we headed to Nachalat Binyamin, a major street fair in Tel Aviv filled with hand-made arts and crafts by hundreds of artists.  Then we drove to old Jaffa/Yaffo; we could see a cluster of boulders from the port, and learned about the story of Andromeda's rock from Greek mythology. Our tour was cut short to go get ready for our last Shabbat in the holy land. Jaffa is an ancient port city, and is connected to many stories in the Bible, including Jonah. It is so astonishing  to be able to walk on so much history in Israel.   -Abby

Hello again friends! Today was Shabbas, so it was fairly uneventful. Even so the activities, such as cards, and playing outside were lots of fun. I mainly walked around the courtyard, and stayed in the hotel room, but I saw many others playing games, and some got their ball stuck in a tree. After dinner we had our final reflection session. Then we had our Auction. Every kid brought something to sell, and we raised over one thousand shekels for the Lone Soldier Foundation!

         See you soon!!

           Love from Makayla

Early to Bed, Early to Rise...Experiencing Tel Aviv was Wise

We started out Thursday in the worst way possible - AN EARLY WAKE-UP. We had to wake up at 5:45 because we were in a new hotel and had to drive at least 40 minutes just to get back Tel Aviv, where we will spend most of the remainder of our trip.

Anyway, we realized that everything in our new hotel is actually much better than our previous hotel - the food, rooms, and even key cards instead of keys.

We then went to Israel's Independence Hall where on May 4, 1948 David Ben Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. We learned that the staff who prepared the room for the event had to take furniture and art from local buildings to decorate the room.

We then went to Rabin Square/Kikar Rabin where we viewed the memorial for former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, who was assassinated by a Jewish extremist who was opposed to the peace process on November 4, 1995. This major event in Israel's history caused major controversy throughout the land. In small groups, we met and interviewed Israelis about that day. Two of them had been at the rally for peace held immediately prior to Rabin's assassination. 

 After viewing Rabin's memorial we made our way to the Palmach museum. (Rabin himself was part of the Palmach as a young man). The Palmach was one of the para-military groups before the IDF was created; they were the "striking force" of the Haganah. Much of the Palmach was made up of teenagers. Their efforts are a major part of why the land of Israel exists today.

Then, we made our way back to the hotel where we relaxed until 7:30 when some kids had visitation and the rest of us had a fun program run by our Israeli staff. After visitation our staff understood it had been a long 24 hours...so we headed to our rooms for an early night.  -Sam 

Student Mifgash and Supermarket Sweep

We woke up in Kibbutz Degania Bet, and after enjoying a nice breakfast, we embarked on the bus and went to have a "mifgash" (meeting/encounter) with Israeli 8th graders their school in Nahalal. There, we did some ice breaker activities, such as spin the bottle (no kissing involved!) and a “similarities chart.”  It was very interesting to meet teens our own age from a different cultural environment, and to compare ways in which they were both different from us and similar to us at the same time.

Afterwards, we did a “supermarket sweep” at Osher Gad where we bought food using a Hebrew grocery list and asking questions B'Ivrit. With our food on the bus, we drove to the Sachne natural pools. After eating lunch, many of us went into the pools and had lots of fun, which involved lots of splashing and a raft.

In my opinion, today was very fun, and we all got a relaxation day to just chill. It is always nice to have a day where you are not running around to 50 places. I personally enjoyed today very much.  -Coby

Above the water, on the water, in the water . . .

We started the day by hiking the Arbel mountain. At the beginning we walked on a hill where we looked at the wonderful view of the Golan, Galilee and Kineret (Sea of Galilee), and heard the story of Honi Hame'agel which teaches about planting trees for future generations. The view was beautiful and I really enjoyed it. After we walked down the hill we started the hike down the mountain. It was very challenging and scary at the beginning, but I really had fun. 

After a picnic lunch we did the Majrase water hike.  As we walked through the water, it got so deep at one point that it came up to my neck. At the end of the hike there was a pool where we all splashed water at each other.

Later, we drove to Kfar Blum where we went rafting on the Jordan River. The rafting experience was very fun. We were racing each other and my raft came in second place. Then we went back to the Kibbuz where we ate a delicious BBQ. It was  a great way to end this exciting day celebrating Yom Ha'Atzmaut! -Omer

From Tzfat to Tiveria - Happy Yom Haatzmaut!

As we prepared for day eight in the promised land, we commemorated the fallen soldiers that risk their lives for their country and their people. This day really sparked emotion upon all of us, while teaching us the heroism within these people.  We started with a group tefillah at kibbutz Deganya Bet, where we said the prayer for Israel. Next, we were ready to start our day!

 After a long bus ride we finally arrived in Tzfat where we met Sheva Chaya, a talented glassblower. Then, we stood silent and respectfully while hearing the siren of Yom Hazikaron. This moment was valuable, seeing everyone stop their day and whatever they were doing to pay a great amount of respect to the heroes who made so many things possible for their country.

Later, we had the opportunity to shop around and eat lunch. Next, we arrived at an extinct volcano, Mt. Bental, which overlooks Israel's border into Syria. It was powerful to see the difference between the two countries.

Then, we came back to the kibbutz, to get prepared to celebrate Yom Hatzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. At night, we celebrated in the streets of Tiberias.

This was a very special opportunity, similar to being in Time Square on New Years Eve. Although we were very tired after a long night of celebration, we look forward to further excitement on day nine!   -Juliette

Leket - Mitzvah Project

Collecting kohlrabi for a soup kitchen to help the hungry!