On Monday, we visited the Ayalon Institute, where we toured the once illegal underground bullet factory that was used to assist Israeli forces during the war of 1948. We then went to Kibbutz Gezer, where we were greeted by Ben’s Aunt Su! She gave us a tour of kibbutz where afterwards we enjoyed a fine lunch and took a dip in the pool. We then headed over to the beach in Bat Yam, where we rode the waves of the Mediterranean and learned about an organization that allows troubled youth to refocus their energy on surfing. The next day, we left Tel Aviv and headed north. Our first stop was Caesarea, where we toured the ancient crusader city that sat on the coast, as we learned about the rich history of one of Israel’s most popular attractions. We then went to Givat Haviva, which is a center for Jewish education and coexistence, where we were able to further understand the history of the conflict in the region. Next, we visited Atlit, an old detainee camp where Jews were taken off ships coming from all over Europe and put in camps by the British. We were able to explore a refurbished version of one of the old ships and we gained more knowledge of the creation of the State of Israel. After spending a night in Haifa, we spoke with a representative of the ahmadiyya sect of Islam and asked him many questions as we got to see inside of his mosque. We then explored Haifa on our own, and then went to a town called Akko, where we toured another crusader town and explored the underground tunnels. We are currently on our way to the Sea of Galilee and will stop at a Bedouin village for dinner on the way. We will be coming out with more blogs soon, so stay tuned….