Hebrew Public Capstone Trip – Day 9 – 11.14.17

Before the students left for Israel, one of them posed a question to the group: what can you do in Israel that you can’t do anywhere else? Today they did at least three.

1. They toured a kibbutz founded by Europeans who were sent to England as children by their parents to escape the Nazis.  After World War Two, they made their way to Israel and set up a communal farm where they lived together and built three successful businesses.

2. They sat at a lookout point where one can see: Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and the Mediterranean. (They weren’t able to see Syria because it was overcast.) They learned that one person’s perspective is based on his or her background and life experiences. Beni challenged the students to believe in change and to make it happen. They also learned that Israel has peace with two of its neighbors and that the other two countries, current rivals of Israel, while physically close, are also worlds away from the democratic norms that Americans and Israelis treasure.

3. We biked in the only place on land that birds can stop as they fly from Europe to Africa for the winter.

There has been so much growth, fun and learning on this trip. On day 10 the students head back home. A special thank you to our amazing chaperones, Mr. Glasco, Lisa Beckford, Mira Yusupov and Mr. Heckler and Nurse Nicole. A huge thank you also to their Israeli team Beni, Yohav and Or.