Tragedies Remembered, Deserts Traversed

Monday and Tuesday

We began Monday very early and visited Yad Vashem, the extraordinary Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. We were there for several hour with a guided personal tour, followed by a lecture by a Dutch survivor who shared her story of resistance. Lisha Rose - The Tulips are Red.

We spent many hours en route to the Bedouin encampment and stopped for lunch at a small shopping mall.

Kfar Hanokdim is a camp in the desert, a few miles from Masada and the Dead Sea, where we enjoyed Bedouin hospitality. This included a hafla meal and overnight accommodations in a giant tent. Remarkably, most people slept! We awoke very early to the desert alarm clock (a Bedouin guide turning on the lights and letting in the cold). Even though it was chilly outside, being with friends warmed the desert night air. We had a chance to debrief the powerful experiences earlier in the day at Yad Vashem, and talked again about the importance of Jewish memory to identity.

Next we drove to Masada, Herod's desert fortress. We climbed the Roman ramp and saw the magnificent archaeological ruins and learned about the siege of 73 CE that ended a stand-off between Jewish zealots who refused to yield to the Roman army.

Then to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. Participants floated in the dense salt water and relaxed for a few hours before our long drive to Netanya, near Tel Aviv on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. We enjoyed a night out on the promenande.

We are staying at the Galil Hotel in Netanya tonight, and will tour Tel Aviv tomorrow - our last full day.