Aryeh Malkin on his kibbutz
Sunday morning we left Tzfat and headed South toward Haifa. On the way we stopped at Kibbutz Ein Dor where we met Aryeh Malkin, a Bronx native who fought in World War II and then volunteered in the Haganah and helped Jews make aliyah to Israel. He himself made Aliyah when he was 26 and founded Kibbutz Ein Dor. He was very interesting and personable throughout his talk. We then continued on to Haifa where we explored the city and saw part of the Baha’ai Gardens. Then we headed to the beach in Haifa where we swam and hung out on the beach. The kids thought it was the best beach we had been to so far. That evening we went to a Druze village where one of the families welcomed us into their home and cooked a wonderful Druze dinner for us. The food was very yummy and we learned more about the Druze. We also did some shopping at the Daliat-al-Carmel market before dinner.
Ceasarea
Discussing Tisha B'Av at the Kotel
In Jersualem
Monday we began the day at Atlit Detention camp where Aryeh Malkin was detained after his boat was captured on the way to Israel. From Atlit we headed to Caesarea to explore the ancient ruins. We saw the amphitheater, hippodrome and watched an interactive video about the history of the area. After Caesarea we headed to Jerusalem and checked in to the hostel and had some free time to mingle with some of the other groups. That evening began Tisha B’Av (9th of Av) which commemorates the destruction of the temple as well as other tragedies that have occurred to the Jewish people. This is one of the fast days in Judaism and some of the counselors and children chose to fast for this day. We headed to the Kotel in the evening to experience Jewish tradition during such a holiday and learned more about why we commemorate the day. Tuesday we began the day at Yad Vashem where we learned more about the Holocaust through memorials and the museum. The museum helped to broaden our knowledge that we had developed from Poland. Afterwards we went headed to a home of an Ethiopian family where the woman told us about her experience of making Aliyah from Ethiopia to Israel 26 years ago. Then we headed back to the hostel where we had some time to rest and then watched A Hero in Heaven, a video about Michael Levine, a Philadelphia native who made Aliyah when he was 19 and was killed in combat during the second Lebennon war in 2006. The video gave us background about his life and Noah who knew him talked a bit about him as well. This morning we visited Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery where we had the chance to visit Michael Levine’s grave as well as see those of past Israeli Prime Ministers.
Amanda & Noah
