Our last leg of the trip had been amazing! We stayed on a kibbutz outside of Jerusalem called “Tzuba.” We took a few stops on our way there from the north. We went to Rosh Hanikra, where we explored grottos and caves made naturally by the Mediterranean Sea. After that, we visited an Arab community and got to meet some Arab teens. We played some games with them and ate delicious Arab food for lunch. Finally we arrived at Tzuba where we enjoyed dinner and some free time.
The next day we went on a hike with a beautiful view of the mountains near Jerusalem. After our hike, we went to a village called “Ein Raffa” where we got to speak with a Muslim woman from the UK about her experience converting to Islam and moving to Israel. Then we drove to Jaffa and relaxed on the beach for a few hours. We finished out our day exploring the flea market in Jaffa before heading back to Tzuba.
The next morning we packed up and left Tzuba. We went back to Tel Aviv for the day, where we had a scavenger hunt on a famous street in Tel Aviv called “Rothschild Boulevard.” After our scavenger hunt we went to Independence Hall and got to see some cool history of Tel Aviv. For lunch we went to the Carmel Market where we also got to see an artist fair and look at local artists’ original pieces. We then headed back to Jerusalem, where we checked into Rabin Hostel for the second time during this trip.
For Shabbat, we went back to the Old City and enjoyed a Kabbalat Shabbat service there. We also went to the egalitarian side of the Kotel (Western Wall). For dinner we went back to the hostel, and then had a karaoke oneg with yummy candy! The next morning we led a traditional Sci Tech Shabbat service. We also went to the Israel Museum of Jerusalem, where we got to check out a lot of cool artifacts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, old menorahs from all over the world, and traditional Jewish clothing and jewelry from all different time periods and parts of the world. We ended the night with Havdalah at the hostel.
The next day we went to do some community service in Jerusalem, followed by a tour of Mount Herzl (a cemetery where many soldiers and Israeli politicians are buried) and the Theodore Herzl museum. We learned a lot about Herzl’s life and his vision of a Jewish State. At night we went to the RootOne mega-event, where ~5,000 teens on similar camp programs met up for a Netta concert. Netta is an Israeli singer who won “Eurovision” in 2018. It was so cool to see her live!
Today we are going to Yad Vashem- the Holocaust Memorial museum in Jerusalem, and exploring the Machne Yehuda market. So sad that tomorrow is our last day! These memories that we have made will last a lifetime. Thanks for reading!
