Photo montage

On our last evening in Israel we were invited to Yuval's home, one of the Israeli hosts students, where we all got together to say goodbye. Parents and children spent a few hours together reminiscing on the past two weeks and looking forward to their trip to Los Angeles. Please take a moment to see the video montage we prepared with pictures from our trip.

Beit Issie Shapiro, Temple Judea's sister school in Ra'anana, by Carly

Beit Issie Shapiro, Temple Judea's sister school in Ra'anana, by Carly

As our last activity together in Israel, we went to Beit Issie Shapiro. Little did some of us know that we have been helping Beit Issie Shapiro since we were in preschool at Temple Judea. When we got there, we learned about how the school was founded, and then split into two groups to tour the school. Two of our favorite rooms were the white Gymboree and the dark room. It really brought out our childish sides. During the tour, we got to go outside and play with the kids that go to school there. It was truly an eye opening experience for all of us.  After we left we went to the first handicapped accessible park in Israel. It was very fun because the park had a lot of things in it that we don't normally have at our parks. It was great to see how parents and kids can interact with each other even if one has a disability. All in all it was a great way to spend our last day together. 

A final note from Bruce

A final note from Bruce
As I write this, our children are spending their last afternoon with their hosts. In a few short hours we will celebrate our closing party, thank our hosts and depart for our long journey home.
Your children will be overwhelmed with the enormity of the experience and will need time to process what they have done. Please don't attack them asking them to share immediately. Instead, give them a day or two, or better yet sit with them over the weekend, looking at the blog with them and talking about what they did. Give them time to process, allow them to absorb their experience and by waiting, you will actually hear and learn more. 
Karen joins me in thanking you for allowing us to share this experience with your children. They were a great group and we loved helping them learn to love the land and the people of Israel. Thank you for trusting us with them, for being so willing to host our Israeli partners in April. 
We will see you at the airport in the morning!

Machne Yehuda and Jerusalem, by Lauren

Today we went to Machane Yehuda where they had tons of shops and many places to eat. Machane Yehuda was divided into what it seemed lIke 3 different alleys. One alley was mostly vegetables and spices with some restaurants, the next alley had more tourist shops and clothing shops, and on the last alley there were not a lot of things open but from what I did see, I saw a couple of vegetable shops and a fish/ meat shops. There were many shops that had very interesting things in it and there were many good places to eat. After our market experience, we had a chance to walk around old neighborhoods in Jerusalem and to eat delicious chocolate rugallah that Rabbi Raff bought for everyone. Overall, we had really good food and bought some very nice things for ourselves and for others.

Yad Vashem & Mount Hertzl, by Jordyn

Today we went went to Jerusalem for the second time. This time we went to Yad Vashem, and after Har Hertzl (mount Herztl). At Yad Vashem a tour guide explained the museum as we walked through it. Yad Vashem is an amazing museum, but also horrifying, as everything that they show has happened to us Jews during WWII. In the museum there are many things and clips from then Holocaust. The museum makes us feel as if we were really there. After going through the main museum we then moved on to the children's memorial. The children's memorial is a memorial for all the children during the Holocaust. After that we moved up the hill to Har Hertzl where many important people, including Theodore Hertzl is buried. Today it was pouring rain but it didn't matter because we were all together and today was our last full day together.

December 23 - Our Streets (Scavenger hunt through Tel Aviv), by Karen

Today the students had an opportunity to explore the streets of Tel Aviv through a scavenger hunt. American and Israeli students were divided into four teams and were given a set of instructions to get from one place to the next. They had to fulfill tasks such as finding an Israeli soldier or a set of twins in order to get to the next stop. It was a very interactive way for the students to learn about Israeli culture and to become familiar with the streets of Tel Aviv. Fridays are very special as the city prepares to welcome Shabbat. After the game was over, students had an opportunity to walk around Shenkin (similar to Melrose in LA), walk through the streets of Nachalat Binyamin, an open artists market only open on Fridays, and the Shuk Hacarmel (a typical Israeli market where spices and other typical Israeli foods can be found).

This will be the last post until next Sunday as students will spend Saturday with their Israeli host families.
Shabbat Shalom from Tel Aviv

December 22 - Druze Village, by Rachel

Today we went to the Druze village. The Druze are a religious minority based on honesty and equality. It was founded in the 1020's. To become a Druze one must be born to two Druze parents as there is no Druze conversion. At the age of 15 a person becomes responsible for their own actions and they get to choose to become a religious Druze, where they must observe strict rules and learn all the secrets of the religion. The other choice is to become a secular Druze. A secular Druze doesn't need to observe all of the same restrictions, but they don't learn all of the religious secrets. It was really fun learning all about these people and their way of life. I really liked eating lunch with them.