Waking up this morning, we boarded our bus for a very full day. Our first stop, an overlook of the Syrian border provided us with a realistic understanding of the proximity of Israel to its border countries. After a drive past Israeli soliders in training, we saw two of the four Druze villages near the northern border of Israel and were given a brief history of the Druze/Israeli relationship from our Israeli guide Maxi.
The beautiful drive, overlooking the Lebanon border, led us to the Jordan river, giving us a chance to relax, floating downstream and soaking up the sun. The rafting trip was not only fun, but a great opportunity for the group to bond…and who doesn’t like a good splash fight?!?!
The highlight of our day was our visit to Yokneam-Meggido and getting to play tennis and baseball with some youths who live in our Saint Louis Partnership2gether region. We were greeted by the local tennis team, who even at age 16, were much more skilled than any of us. As half of our group proceeded to be beaten in tennis match after match, the other half of our group got to play some baseball with some 9-14 year olds. For some of our new Israeli friends who are part of the Taglit “mifgash” program, this was the first time they got to swing a bat or put on a glove. This really showed us how great it is that we at the Federation can provide the opportunity for the youths to learn new sports. The experience in Yokneam was incredibly worthwhile, giving us the chance to interact with Israeli youth and learn about growing up in Israel.
Next up, Jerusalem!