Our first day in Israel! | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

Our first day in Israel!

Shalom from Jerusalem! We had a long and exciting day. After the Americans and Canadians flew across the Atlantic, we all came together as a whole group for the first time in Ben Gurion airport, where the Israeli participants greeted their overseas counterparts with a rousing performance (especially given that it was 5:00 a.m.). All of us then did our first dancing together, right there in the airport... a dance called Od Lo Ahavti Dai. We boarded the bus and headed for the Haas Promenade.

The Haas Promenade has some of the most beautiful views of the entire city of Jerusalem. We enjoyed some breakfast and then played some games out in the sun, one involving fun with shoes, and both giving us time to get to know each other.

After lunch and a quick rest at the hotel, we headed out to Sataf to hike through one of the JNF sites. We learned a bit about the work JNF does in Israel, and also saw a human map of the country. Several of us crawled through a tiny dark cave into a water pool, springing from the mountain.

From Sataf, we went further into the city of Jerusalem and learned about Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who still remains a Hamas prisoner after four years. We met some members of his family who were protesting outside the Prime Minister's home, asking Netanyahu to arrange for Shalit's rescue. We also talked about the controversy over that potential rescue.

From there, we visited Yemin Moshe and the German Colony before heading to Emek Rafa'im for dinner, where many of us enjoyed falafel and shwarma. After dinner, we returned to the hotel for our first Israeli dance session. With the day at its end, we know we will sleep well tonight!