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Day 15 — North of Tel Aviv

We departed from Tel Aviv and headed up north. The landscape was very different from the south. We were now surrounded by pine trees, olive trees and bushes instead of desert. Our first stop was the Ein Shemer Eco-existence Ecological Greenhouse where we listened to an eye-opening talk. An Arab-Israeli explained how Arab-Israelis feel in a Jewish country and her relation with Palestine. Their aim is to create bonds between Arab and Jewish kids and mold a future Israel with no stereotypes or preconceptions. The Greenhouse itself had a very nice purpose: kids and teens who have difficulties at school go to the greenhouse and use their imagination to solve day-to-day problems.

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After having lunch at the chic neighborhood of Zikaron Yaakov, we visited the grave of Israeli benefactor Benjamin Rothschild and his wife. Our next stop was the Atlit Detainee Camp, where Jewish immigrants stayed when they arrived at the shores of Israel from 1938-1948. Jewish people from all around Europe risked their lives by getting on overcrowded boats with the chance of getting caught and sent back by the British. Many of them were survivors of the Holocaust, so it came as a shock that the British sent those that were caught in the ports of Palestine to this camp, which resembled the Nazi concentration camps. Even though they weren’t mistreated physically, they suffered from boredom since there was nothing much to do. Communication was very difficult since there were immigrants from many different countries. All in all, we learned to appreciate the story of the Jews who wanted so badly to get to the Promised Land.

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After a very hot and humid day, we headed to the Acre Youth Hostel. After dinner, we celebrated Tess’s birthday with lots of chocolate and got started preparing songs in Hebrew for a “camp sing” tomorrow night. 

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