By Jolie Pressburger, NFTY in Israel Participant, Bus 2 One thing I’ve noticed as the days left of our Israel experience become numbered and our trip begins wrapping up, is how truly amazing it is that 39 teenagers from all different parts of the US and from all...

Last Thursday, the group visited Tzipori, where the legendary collection of Jewish Lore and Law, the Mishna, was codified. At Tzipori, the group was awed by the most beautiful Roman-Jewish mosaics in Israel. The most celebrated is nicknamed “The Mona Lisa of the Galilee.” The teens learned about the community that lived here and why they made these impressive works of art.

On Friday, the Group began the “Kishrei Noar” segment of the NFTY in Israel Program. “Kishrei Noar” is Hebrew for “Youth Connections,” and for many of the American teens this is a highlight of the summer in Israel. During this part of the program, eight Israeli teens join the group full time for seven days. The idea is to break the illusion that the tour bus is like an “aquarium” in which the participants look about upon Israel from the bus window but fail to get to know real Israelis and their lives. 

Friday the teens visited the KashKash Farm to learn what it’s like to be a farmer in the middle of the desert.  Here the words making the desert bloom are not an empty slogan, but the product of back- breaking work achieved by the sweet of one’s brow. The teens also visit the Ramon Crater and learned about the inspiring story of Israel’s first NASA astronaut, Ilan Ramon, and the tragedy of his loss.

Friday the teens enjoyed an early morning hike through Ein Avdat, a picturesque desert canyon. Here the participants got to see desert birds, that seek refuge here in the protecting walls of the canyon that characterize this unusual desert geological formation. Most of the species of animals and plants that live here are unique to the Israeli Negev Desert ecosystem.

While touring Jerusalem, we visited a fascinating startup creating a product called the Orcam. It’s essentially a small camera, microphone, and speaker mounted with magnets onto a pair of glasses.