Another busy enjoyable day in Israel today.
Our breakfast meeting was a fascinating glimpse of Israel's public relations efforts, given by the IDF. Lt. Colonel Avital Leibovitz discussed how Israel was undertaking a public relations initiative to counter the biased one-sided international campaign against Israel. It was very interesting.
After the briefing we went on a walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. This continues to fascinate us all. We were shown a spot on a roof above the old city, from where we could see the four sections, the Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters. We were shown some more of the archeology of the area. We were given some free time to shop.
After the old city, we drove to Ammunition Hill for a picnic lunch. We came across a group of soldiers who were pleased to have photos taken with us. We then enetered the Ammunition Hill museam for a detailed sicussion of the intense battle that took place there. The bravery of the israeli soldiers who took this important hill in the 1967 six day war was incredible. Our tour guide, david, brought the battle to life. Great job, David!
We then drove to a Kibbutz where a modern day pioneer discussed how they had started a movement of young adults who were activists in the community, particularly in the Negev and the Galilee.
We then sat in a circle according to our bus groups to discuss out thoughts on the Mission as a whole. Every single person conveyed their very positive thoughts on the Mission and its organization by the Federation. It was amazing to see how this one week Mission had affected the lives of some of the participants in a permanent way. We were also very tactfully and tastefully asked to make a donation to the Federation. All the people to whom we spoke were happy with the way this was done.
We then meandered down the mountain for an hour before reaching a surprise location for a gala dinner. The location was the ancient archeological bell caves of Beit Guvrin. The setting was absolutely spectacular. We we entered an "entrance" cave lit up in an orange glow. We were given hot soup in cups while waiting to enter the main venue somewhere ahead. There was a strange figure of a man with a ram's head and a cloaked body from the waste down performing in a very interesting way. You had to be there to understand. Across the entrance to the venue were five drummers of which two also had long "shofars" across their backs. After a while the drummers started playing, and led us singing down a path among the huge bouders and limestone to the bell caves. they were lit up in a fluorescent blue, with a stage and dinner tables set out for 200 people. Talk about spectacular!
The band played, their was a flautist, fire breathers, acrobats and drummers. There were drums set around the dance area for guests to play as well.
Apart from the fantastic entertainment, the food was delicious and aplenty.
This turned out to be a wonderful fun party. It was time to leave before we were ready. A great job by the organizers once again.
We entered our bus for the long winding road back up to our hotel in Jerusalem. We deiced to tell jokes all the way back, making for a pleasant trip back.
We got to bed real late, and I have to get up at 05h15 to go to synagogue in the morning. Whoa is me!
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