Tel Aviv, Baby! | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

Tel Aviv, Baby!

Lexi Goldstein, Scott Gerstel, Jonathan Gillis, Jacob Weinstein, and Jacob Salit

Day 4 of our Israel journey:

It was a relatively slow morning after a great night out in Tel Aviv and very little sleep for most. We began with our usual early breakfast and bus ride to our first site of the day: Independence Hall. We learned about the history and it was surreal standing in the very place that Israel declared its independence in 1948. We even got to listen to a clip from the actual declaring of independence!
After a lot of begging, the staff finally gave in and we all got to go to Aroma, the best coffee place in Israel! Ice Café is now an essential every time we see an Aroma, which is often since there are so many around the country! 

We walked to the largest shuk, or open market, in Tel Aviv, Shuk H'Carmel and it was incredible! There were merchants shouting out their prices and boasting the superiority of their products. We were offered "special" prices everywhere we went because we were on Birthright but our Israeli friends and our staff made sure we were getting the best deals possible! Haggling was a rush and we couldn't be more satisfied with the gifts we bought for ourselves, friends, and family (Hi mom and dad!) There was even a famous Israeli singer from The Voice performing on the street! All this combined to make the shuk the most electric atmosphere we've encountered so far.

We finished up our experience in Tel Aviv by spending a few hours at Rabin Square, the spot in the city where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. Part of our learning about this tragedy involved us dividing into groups and interviewing people who were walking through the square. It was so interesting and eye-opening to hear the stories and information they had first hand from when this occurred. 

Our day ended with a traffic-filled bus ride to Jerusalem, where we will be spending our entire Shabbat. We took some time to write the notes we will slip into the cracks of the Kotel, or the Western Wall, which we will be visiting tomorrow morning! We are all looking forward to exploring the history filled and holy city throughout the next few days we will post again Saturday night, after Shabbat. 

Shabbat Shalom!