Updates from Israel

Shalom shalom! The group met at EWR with excitement , masks, and safe distancing. We enjoyed time to explore at the airport before boarding our flight. Long flight where folks chose to spend their time between watching movies, chatting with each other, and of course, good ole sleep. We arrived safely in TLV, got our…

Well, we made it!! After long hours of excitement and nerves, we finally came together as a group for the first time and got to know each other as we embark on this journey together.  Some even kissed the ground upon touching the floors of our homeland for the first time!! We are currently staying…

Well, we made it! At least *we* made it…some of our luggage in fact did not, and we are expecting it by Thursday! We started our day early at LAX where we played a name and stretching game to learn each other’s names, and assigned buddies. When we landed, we completed our PCR Covid tests…

We left Jerusalem, and arrived at Anim Synagogue, an ancient ruin from the first millennium of the common era. It was surrounded by Yatir Forest, an excellent example of Israel’s success in converting desert areas into green forests. In the 1960s, the first trees had been planted by the Jewish National Fund. Today, the archaeological…

Yad Vashem and the National Civil Cemetery: two places for conserving searing, raw, and painful memories in the State of Israel and the broader Jewish world. After our group’s usual breakfast together at the hotel, we set out bright and early to Yad Vashem. We went along winding roads, leading up the Mount of Remembrance…

Today we experienced Shabbat together as a group, and went on a journey through ancient history, local landscape, and present-day life. We “slept in” today and had breakfast until 9 am, then departed for the Israel Museum. We stopped along the way to admire the Knesset building, and the brass menorah across from it which…

Written by Shauna Today we went to Tzfat, the ancient site of Jewish mysticism and spirituality. Tzfat is a 500-year-old city that is visibly different from the rest of Israel (that we’ve seen, anyway), save for perhaps Jerusalem. I felt something in Jerusalem, and I felt something in Tzfat as well, and the only way…

Written by Dylan On Thursday, we were treated to an adventure of a lifetime… Jeep tour! This activity bordered on the extreme and was an exhilarating experience for all of us. We drove through an active military zone and got very close to the fence dividing Israel and Syria. We learned about the ongoing conflict…

We woke up in Jerusalem, and we are preparing to rest for Shabbat in Jerusalem. This morning, our group grew from 30 people to 36 with the welcoming of our six new Israeli friends. With every Birthright trip, several days are spent with Israelis who join us as Birthright participants, and help us understand more…

Thursday began with us packing up to leave our kibbutz in the north of Israel. We took an hour and a half drive to Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city. We stopped at an overlook to see the world-famous Baháʼí Gardens, the spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith. Afterward, we went on a nature hike…