By Steve Myers

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Our last day in Tel Aviv concludes the first chapter of our trip. I feel so much pride and inspiration for what the people of Israel have accomplished in such a short amount of time with one hand tied behind their backs.

Today, we visited Independence Hall, where the State of Israel officially began. But we also learned that 66 families started the movement to build Tel Aviv back in 1909 on pretty much a sand dune. To do so required courage, entrepreneurialism, grit and intelligence –all of which I see in each Israeli person we have met so far. We heard the recording of David Ben Gurion proclaim the Establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, an emotional moment that will be remembered, discussed and celebrated for thousands of years of years to come. We sat in that room!!

As an American, I’m proud that the support of the United States government with the leadership of President Truman helped tip the scales in Israel’s favor. Truman, being from Missouri, gives us a unique connection to this moment. The Israelis have built something that should inspire the world. We have much to learn about what has been accomplished here and how it was done.

After touring, Neve Tzedek, Nachalat Binyamin, surfing in the Mediterranean (yep we did that!!) among other things, I keep thinking to myself that this historic city has it all…beaches like Santa Monica, a central business district like Manhattan (maybe a small exaggeration), food that blows Paris out of the water (not an exaggeration), open air markets like London or Barcelona, shopping like Chicago, weather like San Diego, and a night life like South Beach.

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After visiting Israel in 1867 Mark Twain, another Missourian, described it as a barren wasteland. It is so not that today! Thank you Pam and Ron for making this possible. Mindee and Dovev, you do amazing work and are as inspiring as the things we are seeing!