Harlam in Israel – Bus 8B

By Eli Ortiz and Levi Paskett After a surprisingly delicious meal of hand crafted pizzas, we embarked on our journey to the Jordan River. The bus ride was a new experience. It was run-down, reeked of mold and there was asbestos on the walls; it reminded us to be...

By Grace Leibowitz, Jordyn Hirsch, and Aliza Harris Hi everyone! Jordyn, Aliza, and Grace here! We are three rising seniors from the greater Seattle area and we all come from URJ Camp Kalsman in Arlington, Washington. We all chose Yam L’ Yam, meaning sea to sea, as...

By Zoey Rockoff After waiting for what seemed like a lifetime, I finally made it to Israel. I had never been to Israel before so not being able to go last year was killing me. Hearing the news that my friends and I will have the opportunity in summer 2021 was so...

July 7, 2021 By Eliana Bloom It’s been a long journey. Deciding to go to Israel, buying duffels, the trip getting cancelled, deciding to go to Israel again, and finally sitting on a plane for ten hours, all so that we could come to the one place we’ve been hearing...

By Bailey Pollack Coming to Israel I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve always heard stories about the constant warfare in and around Israel but I never worried too much because I’ve never personally been seriously affected by the conflict. However, now that I’ve come...

By Iris Bassin Since we have gotten to Israel our days have been jam packed. Wednesday afternoon my bus went on an archaeological dig in Beit Guvrin. Our experience at the dig was connected to the story of Hanukkah. We learned about how after the Maccabees took over...

July 11, 2021 By Jake Bardack, Bus 25 Staff After I read a prior blog post to the participants, they adamantly voiced their disapproval of the term ‘the participants’ and suggested the term ‘my besties’ instead, which is what I will be using throughout this blog...

By Zach Snyder, Ben Levithan, and Josh Rueben The 160km trek, cut down into four days of action-packed hiking, biking, and swimming. The yam l’yam adventure began at the Sea of Galilee, or Keneret, as the locals know it. With choppy waves, the opening ceremony...

By Gabby Miller I really enjoyed the Taste of the IDF chavaya. From learning krav maga, to camping, to first aid, the chavaya was very fun. I personally love learning about self defense and what to do in emergency situations, so everything we learned in the chavaya...

By Jackson Strauss I stared in awe at the view that surrounded me; standing atop mighty Masada, I could see the massive mountains of the Negev Desert to the west and the blue shimmering waters of the Dead Sea in the east. Looking down from Masada, I could spot the...