Today we started off by packing our bags and leaving our amazing accomodation of Ayelet Hashachar. We were all so sad to be leaving the amazing Kibbutz that we had been staying at for the last 6 nights. Even though we are sad to leave the North of Israel, we were all super excited to travel down to Tel Aviv🏝🏖.
After packing our bags and loading both buses we were on route, to Atlit. We travelled just over an hour from Ayelet Hashachar to Atlit, and we were able to drive through Haifa which was stunning 😍. We arrived at Atlit and were introduced to our very nice tour guide. He explained how Atlit was the largest Israeli refugee camp to detain Jewish illegal immigrants. We learnt that it was established before Israel was declared a state. We were fortunate enough to go inside a remake of the ship that brought the immigrants to Israel. It was a solemn experience seeing the hard and harsh conditions the people lived in. The ship had interactive 3D and 2D elements and it was incredible to see a technological exhibition that portrayed the experiences of the Maapilim (people who came to the camps) coming to Atlit. From the opportunity of coming to Atlit what I took away is that even though the Maapilim were experiencing such hard conditions they still stayed positive and embraced the fact that they were in the Holy Land of Israel. The tour guide explained how “no matter what was ahead for the Maapilim and the uncertainty they faced, being in the land of Israel was all that mattered to them”. For the refugees it gave them hope and strength that they will survive and blossom outside the camps they left. The experience of visiting Atlit allowed me to see a new lense in which to be truly able to appreciate everything that I am given and cherish every milestone and opportunity on this trip.
We then ate lunch at Atlit and ventured to Ceasera. Netzach was fortunate enough to have two amazing tour guides that explained the history of Ceasera whilst travelling through all the beautiful architecture. Our amazing cheerleaders from last nights soccer match danced at the amphitheatre in Ceasera that is over 2000 years old, consisting of 4000 seats and 12 vomiters. We then learnt about Herod and the history of his creations. Natan (the best tour guide) explained how Herod wanted to show that the Jewish people are the same if not better than other nations and other empires, and as such built supreme architectural buildings to portray this. I really enjoyed the stunning and unique constructions created by Herod and felt that I learnt so much from Natan.
After our amazing day of learning experiences we boarded the buses again and were on the way to Tel Aviv. We had an hour and a half drive and as such played fun games and did activities as a bus. We finally arrived in Tel Aviv and we were all super excited to embrace the cultures and community of the city tomorrow.
As this is my first time coming to the land of milk 🥛 and honey 🍯- Israel, I feel a huge sense of excitement and curiosity into how Israel was formed and the history of each and every place we go to. Today was my first time seeing Ceasera as well as Tel Aviv. I was so grateful that I was able to explore and learn about two more amazing cities in Israel.
I can’t wait for the rest of IST and all the opportunities I am going to experience!
Amy Forman
