Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat Shalom everyone!

Sorry about the delays with the last post. We were having some internet issues but it's all taken care of now. It's a good thing too, because we've had an incredible few days since you last heard from us! First we went to Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, where we learned all about the history of the city and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We heard all about the secrecy around the signing and how important it was for the Jewish people to finally have a home.

On Friday we started the day by going to Rabin Square, named for former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin was Prime Minister in the 90s, and unfortunately he was assasinated. It was very surprising to us that he was killed by an Israeli Jew--we definitely didn't expect that. We saw where he was assisanted, and we did a really cool activity. We split into groups to talk to Israelis about what they remembered about Rabin. They told us all about how close he brought them to peace and, sadly, most said they thought a similar tragedy could happen again in Israel.

We headed out of Tel Aviv to go to the holy city of Jerusalem--Israel's capital. We went to the Old City where we learned about the fascinating history of Jerusalem dating back thousands of years. We learned about how many different times Jerusalem has been conquered and re-conquered, because it is connected so deeply to so many different religions. We toured the city and had time to pray at the Kotel, the Western Wall.

Now we are at Kibbutz Tzuba for Shabbat, and we can't wait to have this special experience in Israel for the first time!