Today we went up to the Golan Heights. It was so cold and windy, Boaz refused to get off the bus. (Yeah, he really wouldn’t like Winnipeg, especially in the winter). We saw tanks that were left over from various wars,…
Day 8: Arbel and Tel-Dan
Mud in everything. Socks, jeans, shoes, hands, hair. That was the picture after a day of amazing hiking. It all began with a hike down the magnificent cliffs of Arbel. It was beautiful, though I’d never climbed down cliffs with…
Day 7: Atlit, Haifa, Druze Village and Tiberias
Destination: Northbound. We jumped on the bus in the morning, headed for Atlit. I kept thinking about how small the distances were in Israel compared to home. We passed Israel’s richest area, in Caesaria by the golf course, and right…
Day 6: Shabbat and the Gala
Shabbat programming took up the day – exercises on Jewish Identity, and a seminar on Mideast politics. Both were very interesting and well-done. Of course they were one-sided, especially the seminar, but the person running it was engaging and well-educated…
Day 5: Yad Vashem, Tel Aviv, and Netanya
We woke up and had a short preparation seminar, and then went to Yad Vashem. It was the most emotionally difficult part of the trip. I’d already been there back in ’93, so I guess I wasn’t expecting to be…
Day 4: Camel Ride, Masada, Dead Sea, and Ein Bokek
The day began with my first-ever experience riding a camel. It was fun. We rode 2 people to a camel, and they were led in a straight line at a tame walk around the desert. Since it had poured the…
Day 3: Beit Govrin and Arad
This morning, we went on an archaeological dig. We went to caves from the time of the Maccabees, and climbed into tiny, claustrophobia-inducing spaces, digging into the ground with hoes and buckets. People found two-thousand-year-old pottery – it was really…
Day 2: New Jerusalem
New Jerusalem today. We saw a miniature model of Jerusalem in Roman times – more history. Boaz, our tour guide, was getting to know the group a bit better, and we decided he was pretty cool. (The other bus had…
Day 1: Old Jerusalem
The first day of the trip was a LONG day. I was awake for 30 hours straight by the time I was finally able to crash out. Here’s a recap: We drove straight from the airport to Jerusalem, to visit…
Bruchim ha’Baim l’Israel
We arrived at Ben Gurion airport at 7am. Some of the people in the group who had never been to Israel before leaned over to kiss the ground. I’ve always found that custom a little strange, but on an El…