day 8, 9, 10

Sorry about the late post today. It's fairly hard to find Internet access when we're constantly moving. On day 8 we went to Haifa, Israel's largest port city. In Haifa, we saw the bahai gardens. The gardens were planted on a slope in the middle of the city by members of a religious group called the Bahai. After our visit to Haifa, we went to an ancient roman build town called Cisearia. Cisearia is a port town that was built by Herod the Great, and had been taken over by the Arabs, Romans, and crusaders in it's history. It originally was a magnificent city, but storms and earthquakes have destroyed most of it. The next stop we made was to Tel Aviv, our last town. We had dinner in the Yemenite quarter, and made our way to the hotel were we would stay for the night. The next day, we went to the Palmach museum, were we learned about the secret Israeli Militia and it's involvement in the war for independence. The same day, we saw a movie about Tel Aviv's history, and visited Independence hall, were David Ben Gurion declared Israel's independence. We later separated into two groups, one which went to Jaffa, where we ate dinner. Then we went back to the hotel for some free time and Friday night services. The next day is Shabbat, so there are optional services to attend in the morning. The rest of the day is left to enjoy Shabbat before we make our way home! It's been a wonderful trip, and hopefully not my last.

P.S. I apologize for any inaccuracy or vagueness in this post. It's been three days since I was able to post, so my memory of events was slightly hazy. If anyone sees any problems or something I forgot to mention, please comment or e-mail me. Thanks!

day 7

The first thing we did today was ride into the Golan for a Jeep ride around the mountains. We got a little history lesson on the way. The ride was about an hour (maybe more?) Then we went to the Galilee winery, where we were explained the process of making wine (we even got to do a taste test at the end.) After that, we rafted down the Jordan. We went in inflated rafts in groups of 2-5. The rafting felt much longer than the Jeep ride. In the evening, we took a short boat trip through the sea of Kinneret, and had dinner by the waterfront. Then we made our way back to the hotel for sleep.

day 5 and 6

On day 5, the first place we visited was the Yad Lekashish (lifeline for the elderly). The workshop was made by an elementary school teacher to help the older folks in the area socialize and learn new skills. The products they make are for sale in a shop at the corner of the place (I bought a Kippah). Later, we went to the Ayalon Institutes's museum in the secret munitions factory that was used to make .9mm bullets for use in the war for independence. We learned about the life and secrecy of the workers, and the process of making bullets. The factory was hidden under a laundry house and was accessed by a secret hatch below a dryer. The last thing we did that day was visit a Bedouin tent. We ate dinner there, and went for a camel ride. The next day, day 6, we went to mt. Masada. We had a short Bat Mitzvah service Julia Gross on top of the mountain, then took the cable car down. Last, we went to the dead sea. It was very easy to float on the water, which was very warm. They also offered spa treatments and freshwater swimming pools. After the dead sea, we drove up to Tiberias for the night.

day 4

Today was a little more flexible in terms of schedule. There were several different services to attend in the morning, and afternoon programs as well. We had lunch and breakfast at the hotel, and dinner was a pick nick on the lawn with the food we bought from the Shuk. At night we went to Ben Yehuda st. to do some extra shopping. Tomorrow, we switch hotels

day 3

on Friday, the first place we went to was Yad Vashem (National Holocaust museum). the Museum had recently added a new building with a "time line" style walk through the Holocaust and WWII. We also went to the Children's Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem. After that, we rode to Mt. Hertzel, the national military cemetery. Later, we walked into town and bought food for lunch at the "shuk" (market). It was a little crowded, but there was more to buy in 3 blocks than anywhere else. When lunch was over, we stopped back at the hotel to get dressed for services, then we went to the Kotel for Friday night services. After about ten minutes of prayer, we walked back to the Hotel for dinner and sleep.

SHUK MUSICAL MONTAGE!

Videos taken of street performers in the shuk (market). Filmed by my dad

Day one and two

The first day of the trip was pretty uneventful.  We boarded the buses, each picked up an Ohev shalom Israel shirt, and found or way to the plane.  We flew An ELAl, Boing 777 for about 10.5 hours into Ben Gurion airport.  It felt like we had been awake for 12 hours, and because of the time difference, it was morning  when we got there.  As we pulled away from the airport in our new coaches, we were introduced to our tour guides.  The first stop we made was to a small terrace overlooking the old city of Jerusalem, where we did some Israeli history activities and ate lunch.  After that, we went to the southern wall of the ancient temple, and worked our way to the southwest corner, then north toward the Kotel.  After we spent some time with the most crowded section of the wall, we explored the chambers beneath the Arab quarters, finishing the rest of the western wall.  We then had dinner at a place called IMA's (Mother's in Hebrew), and after being awake for almost 20 hours, we trudged to our rooms in the Olive Tree Hotel.

In the Weeks before...

Hi everyone! David Glanzman here. This website is where we will post all of our Israeli experiences while on the trip. Check back often for updates! There is a chance that there will be images and video of our trip here as well. If anyone has any questions about how this site will work, or if they want to get involved while on the trip, please email me at davidglanzman@yahoo.com