UPDATE: I just heard our flight was canceled. No word yet on whether we will get on another flight to a different city or whether we’ll be in Israel for a little longer. I’ll try and keep everyone updated as I find out more info. In the meantime, to our friends and family along the east coast, stay safe!

Day 8 was more than just Yad Vashem (the Holocaust museum), but it obvously left the biggest impact on us. Before we jump into it though, let’s start with a brief lesson on Israeli politics. Yay!

We met with Paul Liptz in his home and he gave us a history and breakdown of the Israeli political system. It’s a very interesting system with more than 12 parties having representatives in government. Paul is extremely knoweledgeable and passionate and that meant he made a talk about foreign politics incredibly engaging. I’m pretty sure that makes Paul some sort of superhero ;) Here we are on the way to his house.

Off to Yad Vashem and I want to start with a description of the museum’s architecture. The design is spectacular with every single aspect made to be significant. The museum is a spear through the mountain. The closed end hanging off the cliff represents life for the Jews before the Holocaust. From the inside, it looks safe and secure, but you can’t see that it’s not stable.

The museum constricts and goes downhill until the end when it finally goes uphill and opens to an unbelievable view of Jerusalem. Really spectacular.

The entrance to the whole campus.

Us in front of the main building.

On our way to Herzl’s tomb. He is credited as being the first to openly talk about the creation of a Jewish state.

A cool menorah. It’s slightly smaller than the one I hang in my window on Chanukah ;)

We ended the day visiting a program that trains Haredi Jews to join the work force. It’s an incredibly important program as most people don’t believe the Israeli government can continue to support the Haredi Jews in the way they currently do.

I leave you with a very simple, yet beautiful picture.