I arrived in Germany on Friday. Got to spend one night in Tamar’s new apartment. It is very airy and bright with a view of the river. On Saturday, we drove to Amsterdam The countryside is so flat but very green. There were lots of wind turbines. After settling into our Airbnb, we took the… Read More Next adventure. Now in Amsterdam

On the last day in Tel Aviv we went to the Yitzhak Rabin Museum which is very well done, combining info on Rabin’s life and the history of Israel during that same time period. We also went to Rabin Square and saw the spot where he was assassinated. One of our last experiences was touring… Read More Back in Portland

Today we visited Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli based international humanitarian project providing life-saving heart surgeries and follow up care for children from around the world regardless of race or religion. We brought art supplies and we got to play with the children. After lunch we visited the Sharon Recycling Park a unique ecological… Read More 2nd day in Tel Aviv

We spent the morning exploring Jaffa, an ancient port city over 3500 years old. It was the port that most of the early Jewish settlers came through. Napoleon landed here in his attempt to conquer the Middle East. Surprisingly, if he had succeeded, he would have given this area to the Jews. Who knew that… Read More First day in Tel Aviv

We were allowed to sleep in a little on Shabbat morning and then we walked around the old town even though nothing was opened. We did some Torah study in a nice open area. After lunch we hiked on Mt. Meron the highest peak in the Galilee getting a 360 degree view of the area… Read More In Tzfat and on to Tel Aviv

On Friday we headed out of Jerusalem. Stopped on Mt. Scopus for one final view of the city. The drive up to Tiberius was mostly through the West Bank. We made a brief stop at the spot on the Jordan River that Jesus was supposedly baptized. Once back in Israel proper we stopped at Kibbutz… Read More Heading for Tzfat

We met with a rabbinic student who works with the Israeli Religious Action Center (IRAC). They are funded in part by the Reform Movement. The state funds construction of synagogues and pays Rabbis only if they are Orthodox. Marriages and divorces are controlled by the Chief Rabbinate which is controlled by the ultra-orthodox. The last… Read More Day 3 in Jerusalem

Wednesday morning started with a talk by a young Israeli girl named Murphy who is a member of Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran combatants who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the second intifada who work to expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the… Read More Day 2 in Jerusalem

First we heard a talk about Jewish ethics and how they play out in Israeli society. Found out that Israel has the highest child poverty rate among developed countries mainly in the Ultra-orthodox communities and some of the rural areas. Not all Israelis are sharing in the wealth of the country. Spent the rest of… Read More First day in Jerusalem