Day 3: Caesarea, Haifa, and Israeli Cousins

Tuesday began at 9 am when my cousins Yaffa and Naama picked me up from Hana's apartment. It was so good to see them, it had almost been 8 years but definitely didn't feel like that long. To my surprise, they told me
we were going to the ancient city of Caesarea to begin the day. I was ecstatic. I love ancient history, and my mom always told me about how spectacular Caesarea was when she visited it.

As we were driving into Caesarea, I remembered that Caesarea is home to Israel's only golf course . As I said that out loud, Yaffa made a quick turn right into the golf course where we decided to eat breakfast. I definitely thought my grandpa , uncles, and brothers would appreciate that one so I took a few pictures...

View from the Clubhouse Deck.

Driving Range

After a breakfast of coffee, Israeli Salads and pita, we headed to the ruins of the ancient city of Caeasarea. The city was originally built by King Herod during the Roman era but it had also been a Byzantine then Christian then Muslim Crusader city. I have never been to a site so rich in history and with so many ruins to tour. It was breathtaking, and all right along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea on a gorgeous sunny morning...

Ruins of the city square

Looking at the edge of the beach

Me with ruins of the Roman Hippodrome (stadium where chariots and gladiator games were held) and the modern hydropower plant in Hadera in the background.

My cousin, Naama, and I in front of the Roman Ampitheatre .

Me inside the Ampitheatre .

My favorite picture of Caeasarea .

After our amazing morning in Caesarea, we drove about 30 minutes north to

the large , beautiful port city of Haifa. Haifa is known for its amazing scenery but also because it has a large Israeli and Arab population that co-exists peacefully. We walked around the area known as the German Colony, where a large group of German immigrants designed an area of the city in the similar white brick and red bricked rooftops. We could also see the Baha'i gardens , but did not go up to them. The gardens are world renowned for their intricacy and are on the entire side of what would be a small foothill in Colorado. After our quick walk, we ate an amazing lunch of salads, pita, humus and grilled kebabs. After lunch, we traveled to the highest point in Haifa that overlooked the entire city and Mediterranean Sea.

View from the high point.

It was an unforgettable day visiting two areas of Israel I had never seen before. More importantly, it was so good to be with my Israeli family again all day. I was so taken aback by the sites I toured, the knowledge and history I acquired, and the warmth and fun that Yaffa and Naama showed to their American cousin.

Up next.... Day 4: Jerusalem.

Day Two: Diaspora and Palmach Museums

Shalom everyone! Sorry I have not written earlier, this trip has been a whirlwind so far...

My first morning I woke up in Israel made me so appreciative and feel so lucky to be here again. I headed out form Hana's apartment in the morning and met her on the campus of Tel Aviv University. On her campus is the Diaspora Museum that houses a history of worldwide Jewish life outside of Israel spanning thousands of years.

Interestingly, there was a temporary exhibit detailing the Mossad's (Israeli CIA) operation in 1960 to capture Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was a Nazi responsible for all of the logistical planning of the Holocaust and fled to Argentina after the war , living there for 20 years until Mossad agents abducted him from his home, held him in a safe house for 9 days, and then by disguising him as a crew member on El Al airlines as he was drugged, smuggled him out of Argentina to Israel where he stood trial and was executed for his crimes in 1961. It was the first public record and account of Holocaust survivors testifying specifically about the horrors of the ghettos, concentration camps, and murders of Jews during this time and marked a launching point for this information to be shared for future generations. I was so glad I went to this exhibit because it gave me the perspective of both the sentiment that the Holocaust still remains an Israeli national tragedy as well as the pride they take in the capture and trial of Eichmann .

Briefcase where camera was hidden that took the first pictures of Eichmann in Argentina. The three pictures, camera, and original film are seen in the case.

Powerful words from the Prosecution's Opening Statement for Eichmann.

The actual bulletproof room made that held Eichmann during the trial.

In the afternoon, Hana and I went to the Palmach museum. The Palmach were the original fighting force of Israel. They began as small units assembled by the British in WWII to help fight the Nazis in North Africa. After the Allies defeated the Nazis in North Africa and the Middle East, the group was disbanded , but the Israelis kept developing their fighting units as a method of becoming an underground resistance force against the British, who ruled the area at the time.

The museum was unlike anything I have ever experienced. The entire museum was interactive and as you went room to room, you followed the story of 8 individuals training in the Palmach and eventually fighting in the 1948 War of Independence. Each room was fully designed to simulate a different time and place, from the streets of Tel Aviv in 1941, to the forest and Negev desert where the group trained, to a ship of Holocaust survivors attempting to come to Israel, to a theater depicting a battle field in the War of Independence. Each room played movies and you were completely surrounded by moving images on screens, giving you a 360 degree feel of being right in the middle of the action. There were no cameras allowed so I couldn't provide any pictures here, but it was an amazing experience.

My time in the Palmach museum gave me such an incredible perspective of the incredible courage and sacrifice it took for Israel to become what it is today. Bands of Jewish fighters fought off massive Arab armies from many different countries to finally establish a State of Israel, and over 1100 Palmach fighters died in the struggle to do so.

My museum day gave me incredible insight into the Israeli mentality of self-defense, preservation, and national pride and spirit. This idea has really hit me on a deep level in experiencing Israel as a young adult, and has given me a tremendous foundation as I explore more and more of Israel.

Up next, my day with my Israeli cousins touring the ancient Roman city of Caesarea as well as the beautiful port city of Haifa......

The Journey Begins

Well, here I am 8 years later on route to finally returning to Israel. My day began when l woke up this morning in my room in my apartment in Denver looking at this picture...


I couldn't believe that I'd be traveling almost 9000 miles today to finally reach Tel Aviv. Returning to Israel is something I have thought about in some form or another either through trying to lead a birthright trip, study abroad, or just on a trip, but nothing panned out over these last 8 years until today. It's an overwhelming but incredible feeling as I sit on this plane headed toward Tel Aviv that I'm about to experience Israel the way I truly want to as a 24 year old young adult. I can't wait to see Hana and what her life is like as she attends medical school and lives in Tel Aviv. I'm also so excited to see my Israeli cousins I have not seen in many years, and very excited for them to show me all around the best places in Haifa, Caesarea, and Tel Aviv.

I have about 9 hours of flight time until I reach Tel Aviv. Wow, what an incredible sentence.

N'dever Bekarov ( talk to you soon in Hebrew... It's like the one phrase I know ) ....