Here are some pictures from the past few days!!

In Memory

Yad Vashem was our first stop yesterday June 10th and it is one that I will remember for the rest of my life. Yad Vashem is the Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem and it was an experience that truly changed my life. I have never felt more connected to my Jewish heritage than while walking through Yad Vashem and reading the propoganda portraying Jews to be devils, witnessing the pictures of holocaust survivors, watching videos of executions, and seeing burnt Torahs touched me and in those few hours touring the museum I truly realized what it meant to be Jewish. My grandfather spends many of our family holidays talking about Judaism and the history of our people and now I realize how important that is. At the end of the tour you open tall glass doors and the triangular shaped structure begins to open up and you can walk out and witness the most magnificent view of Jerusalem. For me exiting the museum where I had just witnessed the remaining documentations of the extermination of 6 million Jews and seeing Jerusalem and realizing that I was in Israel. A place that the Jewish people can call home, a place that we received in order to rebuild and start new. It was at this moment that I put my arm around my new friends Eitan and Eyal, two soldiers in the Israeli army and I thanked them. I thanked them because at that moment I decided that although Israel is in a war with Palestine they are fighting for something much greater, they are fighting for our home, a place in which the families of those who had their lives taken in the Holocaust can pass along the memories and ideals of our people. Then I decided that I would take it upon myself to do all that I could to keep the shared memory of our heritage and history alive. I am a Jew and very proud to be able to be connected with so many brave and courageous individuals who fought for their lives in the Holocaust and fight to defend the lives of the Jewish people here in Israel.


Brandon Weiner '11
University of Delaware

Holocaust & Dancing

June 10, 2009

We woke up early, had breakfast and then we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. We learned about the lives of the Jewish people who were forced to go into the concentration camps and the hardships that they faced. Later we had lunch at the local mall. Ellen says hi Mindy and Donald! After our delicous lunch at the food court which included chinese food, sandwiches and pizza, we were off to the Mega Event where we were able to meet thousands of Jews from around the world. We even saw Jews from India and Brazil. During the Mega Event, we listened to a concert from famous Israeli Singer which later turned into a dance party.

Hi Michael, Cecily, Jackie, Rebecca and all the Robermans, which you were here!
Hi Mom, Dad and Arielle, I am having a great time and running out of money so don't be surprised if the credit card bill is a little high. Tell Grammy I have not joined the Army.

Deanna Roberman RU 2011
Brian Erenrich UD 2012

Too exhausted to think of clever titles

Hello Parental Units,

Today was a really long day. Not as long as yesterday, which lasted for 40 hours, but still. We got around. We started our day bright and early and went to listen to a vibrant lecture by Hillel's President Emeritus Avraham Infeld. He was a really charismatic, warm, and entertaining speaker, as evidenced by the fact that we actually stayed awake. He talked about the idea that Judaism is not a religion, but a culture, and it was really thought-provoking.

After that, we drove from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, on the way passing through a valley that was a main battle site in the Six Day War. In Tel Aviv, we visited Rabin Square, which is the biggest square in Tel Aviv and known for being the site of huge political protests. Our esteemed tour guide Yuval also told us the sobering story of the Square's name. At an anti-violence rally in 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin spoke about the desperate need for peaceful political ideology, and the whole crowd sang the song "Shir L'Shalom (A Song for Peace)". As he exited the event, a Jewish man shot and killed him. The entire country mourned the death of this great leader.

After this we had lunch and went to an awesome-tastic craft fair/festival with fascinating and sometimes unnerving exhibits (dancing men with webbed fingers, for example). THEN WE WENT TO THE BEACH!!! It was so despicably hot the whole day, that we were unbelievably excited. The Mediterranean water was so warm and calm. It was blissful.

After a quick conversation about how we relate to Israel, we visited Independence Hall, where the state of Israel was officially declared on May 14th, 1948. It was so moving and helped me to really understand the complex struggles of the Israeli people. It's so easy when reading the news at home in the U.S. to make quick assumptions about this complicated country-- this trip has taught me so much about the nuances of the Israeli identity. It is hard, hard work to try to understand it all, but it is a vital journey for which I am extremely grateful.

PS-We will post more pictures tomorrow :)

Carly Groff 2011 UD
Lauren Knapp 2012 UD
Anton Rassadkin 2011 RU

Our hotel in Jerusalem has free wireless that works--yay for more blogs!-Day 4 and 5!!

Day 4

We started off the day by meeting our 'chayelim'-the soldiers from the Israeli army that will be joining us for the next five days. There are eight of them and we are super excited to get to know them. It is a great opportunity since they are our age and it's interesting to see how we will relate to each other. Next we went to Arad, which is the sister city of the Jewish Federations of both Delaware and parts of New Jersey. We did a Partnership Community P2K project with the children from the area, which consisted of a baseball game. The kids did not make it easy for us-and they were only 10 years old! Then we had some time to explore Arad-it turns out it's a Russian community. Privet! Following that, we drove to the Bedouin Hafla, where we took turns riding camels and/or donkeys. This was one of the most exciting parts so far for many of the participants. Natalie wasn't quite pleased with her donkey, as he was being an ass. While quite a few others named their saddled friends, including names such as Herb and Irving. Then we continued to learn about the Bedouin's culture-they showed us some of their rituals and gave us a taste of their cuisine. Many of us found this to be the most delicious meal we've had so far. We then had a very deep discussion in the desert and had the chance to explore and connect with our more spiritual side. Our overnight stay consisted of sleeping in the Bedouin tents and much bonding over campfires.

Day 5

We woke up at 4am today in order to see the sunrise at the top of Mount Masada. We had a lot of fun learning about Masada's significance within history. The way up was not bad via the Roman Ramp, however on the way down we took the Snake Path, which was quite long and frightening for some. Afterwards we drove to the Dead Sea and had a blast floating in the water and covering ourselves in mud. Though, it did turn out to be painful on cuts and wounds. Then we went to Ein Gedi, which is an oasis in the middle of the desert. It was incredible to see the gushing waterfalls and even personally experience them as we went swimming and hiked through. We then drove to Jerusalem and attended the 'Shehechiyanu' which was a welcoming ceremony for the Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel groups. This was a fun event consisting of drums, dancing, and prayers. Rachel even had a dance-off. Sababa! She was great :) After this we arrived at our hotel in Jerusalem and all of us were super excited to finally take a shower. After dinner we had a great program planned for us by our new soldier friends, which was a competition based on Israeli knowledge of pop culture as well as history. Shout out and much love to the Chernavsky family. Dear Mom, I know this is supposed to be a shout out, but my IsraelPhone sucks and I'm sorry and I love you.-Hilary. Hi Sheynmans! Dad, sorry we keep playing phone tag!-Love,Shaina. And to all the parents---we miss you and hope you are enjoying your vacation from us :)

Mariya Badu RU 2011

Natalie Sheynman RU 2009

Natalie Fenchel RU 2011

Day 3

Today was our first Shabbat in Israel. We slept in a bit and headed to a buffet breakfast, where we had delicious rugelah. Then we did yogaerobics from a room overlooking the beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee. After some D-Rut (Delaware-Rutgers) bonding time, including some fun games, we headed to the pool to cool down. We learned about our soldiers who are joining us tomorrow before dinner.

After dinner we did Havdala with the other two Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel buses out on the patio. Then we headed into city of Tiberias where we were able to walk around, shop and eat. We watched as Asi (our guard-medic) and Brad joined in on an Israeli dance aerobics class. We ate crepes and bought “Aladdin” pants and enjoyed a beautiful evening in Israel. We had a great time and are looking forward to all of the experiences yet to come.

Ari Hausman UD '10

Lauren Knapp UD '12

Carly Groff UD

Day 2

So today we went to Mount Bental where we can see the Hermon peak and believe or not there is still snow on top of the Hermon mountain peak. At the mountain we traveled through the Israeli built bunkers and it felt surreal! The tunnels were just like the movie Boufor. On the mountain peak, we saw Pereg flowers, the plants where Opium is extracted from. I just love that movie!!!!!

Then we went walking in the Jordan River!! It was the time of my life! Sometimes the water was up to our ankles then it would go all the way up to our necks and our guard was walking through the river with his gun above his head to protect us. Then we got into rafts and rafted into bushes trying to get top the end of the river. It was very fun even though our boat was flooded with water. After the Jordan we headed back to prepare for Shabbat. It felt very different and special having Shabbat in Israel. I love this country and it just makes me feel so great inside, I feel so connected to my Jewish roots.

Alyson Belgraier UD '12

Rotem Naftalovich RU '09

Day 1

After a long 10 hour flight, we arrived in sunny Israel. It was already super hot by 9 AM. We got some cash, our phones and headed off on our grand adventure.

Our first stop was at the aquaducts in Caesarea. Right next to the Mediterranean was a 9 mile long 2000 year old aquaduct that was built by King Herod. We shot some group pictures and splashed in the turquoise waters. We took our sandy feet back onto the bus and started towards Tzfat.

After a some quick naps on the bus, we got some lunch in Modern Tzfat. We ate falafel and shwarma from tiny restaurants. With some food in our bellies we trekked down the slippery stairs to the old Tzfat. We took in the beautiful view of the mountains and the valleys. We visited the candle factory and saw many meaningful candles along with Harry Potter broomstick candles and rubber duck candles and then went on to the shops before heading towards our hotel.

After another quick nap on the bus we arrived at our hotel and played musical rooms. After we all got settled we ate a wide variety of Jewish and Mediterranean food. After stuffing our faces we did some quick icebreakers and got to know each other a little bit better. We parted for the night and we are preparing for another exciting day in Israel tomorrow!!

Sarah Baser UD '10

Lindy Deal UD '11

Daniel Naftalovich RU '09

Greetings from Israel!

Hello everyone!

We apologize for the lack of messages on our blog from our group thus far. (We haven't been able to access the internet from our own computer and the very nice hotel staff is letting us use their computer right now.) We should be back online when we arrive in Jerusalem on Monday evening. (Sunday evening we will be in the Bedouin Tent in the South and will not have internet access... and we're getting up before dawn on Monday).

Everyone is having a great time, bonding as a group and learning about this beautiful land. We look forward to sharing their stories and posting pictures as soon as we can.

~Alicia & Brittne

3 more days until we are in Israel!

Hello everyone!!

On Wednesday, June 3rd we will be leaving to go to Israel for the best 10 days of our lives! We don't arrive in Israel until Thursday morning, June 4th, so check back later on Thursday to read our first blog!! Once we are in Israel we will be updating the blog with pictures and summaries of our days as often as we can!

Stay tuned 8-)

-Brittne