Welcome to the 8th grade Israel Experience Blog

By: Rabbi Jonathan (Yoni) Berger

April 23/Day 1

Shalom mi-Yisrael—Greetings from Israel!  I’m writing this from our tour bus. We just left the Atlit Detention Camp, near Haifa, and are on our way to Degania, the kibbutz near the Kinneret that will be our base for the next five days. But what time is it? The bus clock reads 16:00, my jet-lagged body feels like it’s 11 a.m., and my sleep-deprived mind is insisting that it’s bedtime, and is begging me to close my eyes for just a moment. It’s extremely tempting… but I don’t want to rest before letting you know how special this trip already is.

We gathered at Schechter at 7 a.m., made sure that everyone had their passport with them, and boarded a van to JFK. We checked in, had a preliminary security screening, checked our bags, and then went through TSA security—and our excitement grew at each step of the process! At our gate, we met the two teachers and fifteen students from Gross Schechter Day School in Cleveland. (We didn’t meet our other travel partners—eight students and a teacher from Kellman Brown Academy in south Jersey—until we arrived in Israel.)

Our students did our best to sleep on the flight, but we took off at 1:30 p.m. and inever really felt tired enough to rest. Only after we claimed our baggage did we start to feel tired—but by that point, our day was beginning! We drove to Caesaria for Minyan on the beach and an icebreaker activity, and then made our way to Zichron Yaakov for lunch. After eating, we drove to the Atlit Detention Camp—and it was a powerful visit.

During the period that Israel was ruled by the British Mandate—from the end of World War II until Israel declared independence in 1948—the British severely restricted Jewish immigration. Jews desperate to escape Europe before the war, or to immigrate to Israel afterwards, had to embark on a dangerous, illegal journey, usually by boat. Most of the time, they were caught and detained in the prison-like Atlit camp (and later on Cyprus). While these were certainly not Nazi concentration camps—the British fed them, clothed them, and offered medical care—it was surely heartbreaking to have come so close to freedom, only to be tossed in a barbed-wire prison.

It was a perfect site for the first day because of the perspective we gained. Yes, we were exhausted and sweaty; it wasn’t always easy to focus on the tour guide’s presentation. At the same time, we boarded a plane at 12:30 p.m. and landed less than 12 hours later! We had a comfortable, air-conditioned bus to travel in, and we will have a nice kibbutz guest house for our accommodations. Learning about the struggles our ancestors endured to make it to Israel helped us to appreciate our ability to be in Israel. We can’t wait for all the highlights that will follow!

Rabbi Berger

Note: We will be posting these updates from Rabbi Berger and the 8th grade students on a blog on the Schechter website! Stay tuned for that link in the coming days! In the meantime, enjoy this piece; PHOTOS can be found on Schechter's Facebook and Instagram pages!