Day 24

Thursday 6^th  August:

This morning began with the moment we had all been waiting for;  the excitement was palpable... the helicopter ride!!! 

In small groups we got ready to board the helicopter and were taken up in the air for a breath-taking, birds-eye view of Israel.  After travelling the length and breadth of Israel on foot, in water and by coach, this was a unique and unforgettable experience that added another dimension to our Israel tour.

We then went to the Kotel for our final Mincha and a closing ceremony farewell, which was a very powerful way to end Tribe Israel Tour.  

We came at the start of the trip with hardly any knowledge of Israel and Jewish history and we are leaving with a wealth of knowledge and inspired by our homeland.

After an emotional farewell we packed up our thing s and boarded the coach to the airport to begin our journey back to London.

We have had the most incredible three and a half weeks and hope you have enjoyed living our adventures through this blog. 

Day 23

Wednesday 5^th August:

Today we were in Tel Aviv and we started our day at the Children’s Museum in Holon.  The Museum runs courses that are actually in story form, allowing us to take part as characters.  The Museum allowed us to touch displays and be part of the exhibit as we followed the story and got a small feeling of what it is like to be blind.

We then had some free time in Carmel Market and Shenkin Street where we were able to spend some of our money and buy some lovely Israeli gifts.

Our day continued with a tour of Rabin Square.  Rabin Square, formally Kings of Israel Square, is the largest public city square in central Tel Aviv and has held political rallies, parades and countless other public events.  In 1995 the square was re-named ‘Rabin Square’ in honour of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who was assassinated there earlier that year  by a right-wing extremist.  This was a thought provoking and powerful afternoon.

Next we headed to Independence Hall, the place where David Ben-Gurion announced the founding of the state of Israel on Friday 14^th  May 1948, just before Shabbat began.  It was oddly  nostalgic to see the chairs and table where the declaration was signed and read out, and to imagine all the people crammed into such a small room.  

The juxtaposition between the significance of the moment and the place in which it happened was extraordinary indication of what Israel was like as an Infant in 1948.

Our final stop of the day was Modiin – a relatively  new city that has had a huge influx of Anglo olim (immigrants).  It has a large Modern Orthodox demographic and we had the opportunity to enjoy dinner with some local families.  We heard about what it’s like living in Israel, what sort of jobs they hold and what the Aliyah (immigration) process is like.

After a very busy day we headed back to the hotel and the group got ready for their talent contest – it was a fantastic ending to an amazing trip!

Day 22

Tuesday 4^th  August:

We began the day with horseback riding in the Carmel.  This was yet another incredible experience with the breathtaking Carmel backdrop. 

We then had a go at archery which although challenging and not as easy as it looked, was a lot of fun.

      

 Next was the Atlit detainee camp, a detention camp that was established by the British at the end of the 1930s.  The camp was established to prevent Jewish refugees known as ‘Ma’apilim’, mainly Holocaust survivors, from entering what was then the British Mandate for Palestine.  We watched a fascinating and entertaining re-enactment of one of the boats sailing to the beach and the Ma’apilim arriving at the camp.

 

We than started our drive back down to Jerusalem where we will be spending the last few days at the Caesar Hotel. 

Days 18 - 20

Friday 31^st  July:

It was an early morning for Tribe Tour but it was well worth it!  This morning we woke up at 4.15am (a challenge in itself!) to climb the Roman ramp at Masada in time to see the spectacular sunrise!  The hard walk justified itself when we reached the top and witnessed the beautiful views at dawn.

At the top of Masada the group learnt about the Jewish people's last struggle with the Romans at this site and we discussed their decision to become martyrs, rather than fall at the hand of their enemies.  It was a very contentious issue and it raised interesting points of debate.  We also got to see the remains of the oldest synagogue in Israel, built on the Masada plain.  Having hiked our way to the top, we took a cable car down.

The day continued at a slightly slower pace travelling down to the Dead Sea, to float in one of the most special places and relax a little.  As the lowest point on Earth the Dead Sea can be a pretty hot place, but the group loved floating and taking in the surroundings.

We then made our way to Afik where we will be spending the next four nights to clean off all the salt and prepare ourselves for our last Shabbat of tour.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat 1^st August:

Friday night was very special for Tribe Tour as it was the last Shabbat together and we were very lucky to be joined by David Collins (Director of Tribe) and Rabbi Gideon Sylvester (Tribe Israel Rabbi).  Our guests helped us to make the incredible atmosphere and our oneg after dinner was extremely fun and thought provoking.

After a  much needed long nights' sleep, our madrichim made sure to arrange wonderful activities throughout the day. We had a challenging Q & A session with Rabbi Gideon.

We really feel like a strong unit, everyone is comfortable within the group which allows us all to have a great time.

We had time to relax and sleep to get ready for the last few days of tour

We had a moving Havdalla from the viewpoint of Kibbutz Afik overlooking the Kinneret and then spent the evening having fun with games and activities.

Sunday 2^nd August:

The day began with a  fun river hike near the Hula Valley at Hatzbani.  The group had a cool, refreshing walk through the river and beautiful springs, something refreshing in the morning heat.

After boarding the bus our day then took a more somber turn as we visited the Shear Yishuv monument.  We walked through the Forest of the Fallen and learned the history of the moshav and the 73 people who died in the IDF helicopter crash that occurred above the moshav in 1997.

Following a Meafim lunch in Goshrim we headed back to the Jordan river for a fun-filled afternoon of kayaking.  

Our day ended on a chocolate high with a trip to De Karina Chocolate Making Workshop.  Located on a kibbutz in the Golan Heights De Karina is a successful chocolate factory distributing chocolates around Israel.  We all enjoyed the wide selection of chocolates, both making them and tasting them.