Blogs

We are having a great time on our trip. The North of the country is green and beautiful. We had a great time today kayaking in the Jordan River and swimming in a waterfall after a hike. We are looking forward to more adventures tomorrow!

We all arrived safely in Israel and were graciously greeted by the Israeli's that would be traveling with us with songs and music -- it was very welcoming and definitely got all of us excited to embark on this 10-day excursion that is expected to be an unforgettable and incomparable experience.

We are officially in Israel! After arriving at JFK International Airport with 250+ other students on the Shorashim Birthright program, enduring an extremely long plane ride (10 hours), and adventuring across the Israeli highway system to the Degania B Kibbutz in the North of Israel, we are here and ready to start on our itinerary of exciting adventures.

Shalom Everyone!

My name is Dan Argentar and I am excited to be part of the Shorashim Bus 146 staff and I cannot wait to share an amazing experience with all of you. As Becky said in her introduction, this blog will be a place that we document some of our experiences and periodically share our thoughts with our friends and family back home.

Hi Bus 683 and parents!

Beautiful weather welcomed us early this morning at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. After customs we were given an official welcome by Yossi our tour guide along with our 7 other Israelis that made our bus #152 complete. With some new Israeli phones and crisp Israeli shekles in our pockets, we headed north watching the scenery outside our window slowly turn into the green and rocky mountains of the north.

Hello to all of the participants of our trip (and your parents),

My name is Rabbi Yehoshua Dovid (YD) Schwartz and I'm a Rabbi at UIUC's campus working with the Jewish Education Team (J.E.T.). My wonderful wife Chava and our beautiful 3-year-old daughter Meira have been stateside for about a year, and before coming to Illinois, we lived in Israel for 10 years. I graduated from UCLA and am a native to California and I can't wait for some Israeli sun.

Shalom Shorashim participants and parents!

My name is Jessica and I am one of the two American staff that will be leading you on this ridiculously awesome journey through Israel. Throughout the trip I promise that you will continue to hear about my passion and love for Israel which hopefully by the end of the trip you will feel, too!

Hi guys! I'm Becky and I will be the other staff on the trip, along with Jaclyn and our Israeli guide, Yossi!

Hi Everyone!! I am your other American staff person, Ali Terkel. I currently work for Metro Chicago Hillel and can't wait to travel to Israel again with Birthright. I was born and raised in Oklahoma, attended the University of Kansas (Go Jayhawks!) and have lived in Chicago, IL for the past 3 years.