Hi there! We’re posting from the Holy Land of Israel after a long and tiring journey of about 15 hours. All members of the group have made it safely and are healthy, of course. The East coast earthquake fortunately did not deter us, and we left JFK on time, had a brief stopover in Zurich, and landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening.
After the scenic bus ride to Jerusalem and introductions to our guide Jamie and guard Oded, we checked into the Jerusalem Gold hotel and settled down for the night. Our first day in Israel was spent exclusively in Jerusalem – in the morning we participated in a seminar on Middle East affairs with the British ex-pat Neil Lazarus. We lunched in Liberty Bell Park (named for a replica of the Liberty Bell given by the United States to Israel as a gift) and then made our way to Yad Vashem, where we participated on a 3-hour tour complete with some hangers-on from the Glen Beck tour of the Holy Land. There were very nice and it was interesting to see some American faces out of context of the States.
After Yad Vashem we ate dinner at the hotel and made our way to the German neighborhood of Jerusalem for evening entertainment. The area is a lively bunch of streets consisting of any manner of restaurants and shops, and a good number of the group partook in Middle Eastern falafel and schwarma. We then returned to the hotel and caught up on sleep.
Today is a big day- Shabbat begins at Sundown, and there will be a bona-fide Shabbos dinner and ceremony once it’s under way. At the breakfast table (which is going on right now) we’ve been introduced to our Israeli soldier companions who will be staying with us for the next five days. We will spend the day in the Old City of Jerusalem, starting at the Western Wall and working our way from there. It should be an exciting day. Until next time…
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