Apr 5, 2009 - Trip to the North by Jessie Miller!

This was definitely one of my favorite trips so far! We have already been to the North once but not with the our Israeli buddies so this trip was even better then the last. Our first stop was at the Arbel mountain. The bus drove us ALL the way to the top and we had to climb ALL the way down! It was SO steep and at first a little scary. But after climbing down a bit, we looked up and saw the mezmorizing view and from that point on it only got better. We had so much, fun everyone taking a bunch of picutres, laughing, and singing. But I think...

Mar 22, 2009 - Purim by Dan Baifus

PURIM One of the most culturally different events from LA that occurred in Israel was Purim. In LA, during Purim, any non-Jew would have no idea that it was Purim. In Israel, everyone could feel that it was Purim. Everyone is decked out in their crazy costumes, parties everywhere, and everyone having a great time. Purim was a major highlight of the trip. During three days of vacation from school Israel was partying non-stop. On the Sunday before Purim, we had a Purimon at school. At the Purimon, there was a band, food, and crazy costumes....

Mar 22, 2009 - Mesada by Max Levin

The day started out with everyone being very tired. This is because most of us stayed up all night or very late. We were climbing Masada in the morning at 4:00. We ended up starting at 5:00 because, knowing us we start everything late and end late. But, anyway as we started hiking we climbed the amazing mountain. We took the snake path, which for those of you who don't know it is a very windy path up the mountain. And the reason we started so late is because are goal was to see the sun rise at the top of Masada. Well, we might not have...

Mar 22, 2009 - The American's Trip to the North by Jordan Grant

At the beginning of this week all of the Americans and Yoav went to the North for a night. We visited the Lebanon boarder, a battle field, the Golan Heights and a town called Rosh Pina. They were all particularly beautiful in their own way. The Lebanon boarder was one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. It is right on the beach, near these caves where the water from the ocean runs through. Inside the caves are pathways and holes to look out at the water. The water was a pure, bright turquoise in contrast to the tan rock. It’s...

Mar 15, 2009 - Yad va Shem experience - by Alex Shy

Yad Va Shem, Jerusalem's holocaust museum, put life in to perspective for me. I feel touring the museum was one of the most life changing experiences I will ever undergo. Learning about beyond terrible situations that people endured made me want to savor and appreciate every single aspect of my own life, to the very fullest. Hearing about the misery that people felt under the nightmare-ish conditions made me realize that I dont know real misery, and feeling unhappy is a waste of my precious life. SInce the museum, I take time out of my days...

Mar 9, 2009 - Jerusalem trip by Michaela <3

JERUSALEM TRIP!!! Between the long bus rides, calf cramps and suspense to be reunited with our grade, the EIEP had an unforgettable weekend. Jerusalem must have known we were coming because the sun was shining bright! After getting off of the bus all of the tenth graders quickly meshed back together and no one could tell, from that point on, what delegation you were part of. The tours were amazing and the food was even better. After a full first day, we arrived at the Montifiore hotel, where we were happily surprised that it wasn’t a...

Mar 9, 2009 - Ice Skating by Jordan Grant

A month into this trip, I have done many incredible things. But the most memorable were was the most simple. One night after school, me and a couple of girls went ice-skating. The reason this was so special to me was because it was the first time I did something completely out of the ordinary that I could never do in LA. We just got up and left at the end of the day from school and decided to go ice-skating. And within an hour of two we were on the rink, laughing, talking, and appreciating each other's company. At the rink we saw a bunch of...

Mar 8, 2009 - A Friday Night in Jeruselum

As our grade drove up the hills of Jerusalem Friday afternoon, I noticed how almost everyone had a paper in their hands anxiously waiting to get a pen so they could write a note to G-d, and later put it in the Western Wall. Once we arrived at the Cotel yard, we were given Shabbat candles to light, and pray over. We made our way up to the Cotel, and the feeling of Shabbat was so alive, it brought me to tears. As a leader of Kabbalat Shabbat, I was overwhelmed with the feeling of unification it gave our grade. Everyone joined in song (when...

Mar 8, 2009 - Jeruselum by Talia Eide

The excitment of seeing SIEP and being together in the place that is the holiest in the world was a true gateway for emotion. Tears, laugher, rejoicing, singing, dancing, prayer. The first day was full of catching up and reuniting with friends on SIEP. By the second day, we were at Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem is a Holocaust museum in Jeruselum. Our tour guide made the experience unforgettable. We were reminded that everyone is someone, that everyone has a name, and that the people who perished in the Holocaust, all left a legacy. People from all...

Mar 3, 2009 - Issues of Modern Israel

We started the day by listened to an interesting presentation from the organization "Israeli Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace." Aharon Banea and Mazen Faraj spoke about their experiences and shared their beliefs about the peace process. At the end, the students were able to ask questions to create a lively conversation. Following a short break, it was back to learning about minority groups in Israel by learning about the Druze from Yoseph Ali. Then it was off to the Ayalon Institute, one of Israel's lesser known attractions. The...

Mar 3, 2009 - Day 05 - Change in Plans

Due to heavy rain we had to make some changes in our original plan. Instead of leaving to the north we switched the itinerary of Sunday with Tuesday and stayed in the Tel Aviv area. Here are some interesting reports from our "News Crew" of today: Today the weather is finally better, instead of being cold and rainy it was just plain cold. Our day was spent at Gymnasia watching some very interesting movies about Jewish identity and what makes somebody Jewish. After school most of us went to the mall to do some shopping [ima I finally got the...

Mar 3, 2009 - Day 03 & 04 - Shabbat With the Families

We would like to share with you some of our Shabbat experiences: So it’s a bit stormy over here! Our trip to the North was cancelled because of the rain, thunder, and lightning. Shabbat over here is very casual, I just had dinner with my host family and then we got together with friends. We’ve spent a couple of our free nights already at Max Brenner (basically an entire restaurant dipped in chocolate YUM). I’m not really sure when we will get to the North but hopefully we will make up the lost trip. - Samantha Rishe The weather in Israel...