Our Final Days of the Trip...

JANUARY 1st and 2nd, 2011


Our final days as a group had arrived and we were more than happy to be spending them in the amazing city of Tel Aviv. We were able to take our time and fully explore our surroundings. On Saturday, we all walked to the beach in order to have a wrap up session as the trip was winding down. We discussed our original expectations of the trip and how it turned out in reality. We also discussed how we were going to bring this amazing opportunity back home with us to Pittsburgh and how we could potentially grow it for future J'Burghers as well. It turned into another great brainstorming session with some very exciting ideas to implement.


Our evening ended with a lovely dinner as a group at a restaurant on the water.

Beth, Carolyn, Steve, Evan, Erin, Rachel and Becca at dinner!

On Sunday, many of us took the opportunity to travel to Jaffa. Jaffa is part of the old city of Tel Aviv and is full of restaurants and shopping. It was the most beautiful day outside and we enjoyed walking around and eating even more falafel. (You can never really have enough.)

Sara, Rachel, Hara, Evan, Beth, Kiki, Erin, Becca and Jesse enjoying the Tel Aviv sun in Jaffa. 

Rachel and Evan

Our last activity for the trip was quite exciting for a group from Pittsburgh. We traveled a short way to Mike's Place, which is an American sports bar right in the middle of Tel Aviv. We had to make sure to catch the Steelers/Browns game in style. It was very relieving to see the Steelers win too...I don't think we would have had very many happy participants if that didn't happen. :)

After the game we headed back to the hotel for half of our group's final night in Israel. The next morning, 8 out of the 15 of us headed back to the States. The people that were left continued on their own adventures. Five continued on to Eilat and from there made their way to Egypt to see the Pyramids while the last two did some diving in Petra and hung out in Eilat as well.

Everyone made it home safely and has returned to their lives here in Pittsburgh. It's quite amazing to see that this trip happened and is now behind us. We all looked forward to it for quite some time and we must work on making sure what we saw and learned has a presence here in the Pittsburgh Jewish community. Please make sure to check this blog periodically for more exciting updates about what the J'Burgh group is doing now that we've returned!

Sorry for the delay...

Hi all!


First off, so sorry for the delay in posting about the last few days of the J'Burgh Israel Trip. Things definitely got a little hectic and we also had limited internet access. 


So without further ado, here's what went down on our last few days in Israel...


Thursday, December 31st, 2010


Our day started at 9am once again and we were off to explore more of Jerusalem with our tour guide, Peter. Peter gave us a one of a kind experience that morning. We drove outside of Jerusalem and right into the West Bank. The first thing we did was stop at a very special kibbutz where we were shown a movie about how it was started way back before Israel was a state. Being in the West Bank, it had its trials and tribulations and fell quite a few times. The important thing is that it kept rebuilding itself from nothing. The founders and the people living on this particular Kibbutz stood for everything they believed in and kept fighting, no matter how high the stakes were.

After the movie was shown, the screen opened up to a whole separate room where the actual bunker is shown. This is where many of the Kibbutz members stayed in when the Kibbutz was under attack.

After the visit to the Kibbutz we stopped at a very special place that definitely managed to put smiles on all of our faces after the heavy topic of the Kibbutz. As we were driving along the road there was a small little building on the side where we pulled up next to. This little building is a very special place where members of the nearby communities run through donations and their own free time. It's a place where the Israeli Soldiers can come and go as they please and a snack, a cup of coffee, or even just have a nice place to relax for a short while. The place is called "A Warm Corner" in English and it is exactly that. The people inside are all volunteers that take pride in what they are doing. It is so easy to see how much it is loved based on the fact that the walls are covered in memorabilia soldiers who have stopped by and enjoyed this special little place. 

A group of us with some soldiers who stopped by at "The Warm Corner". (When there are 5 cameras taking one picture people tend to look in every direction!)

 Volunteers behind the counter and many badges on the wall that were left behind by thankful soldiers.

A recently donated foosball table for the soldiers to enjoy in their down time. 

Just a few of the hats that have been given over the years from the soldiers.

Our last stop before heading to Tel Aviv was a rather special one. Peter, who made Aliyah with his family in 1990, took us to his home in the West Bank Settlement of Efrat. We were invited into his living room to continue the discussion on Israel and its borders. It was also very interesting to see a settlement in the West Bank and how very large it actually was. Peter was very informational and we enjoyed having him as a tour guide very much.

After a nice lunch in Efrat, we got back on the bus and headed towards Tel Aviv. Once we arrived, we had plenty of time to explore our surroundings (our hotel was basically right on the beach!). Since it was New Years, we wanted to do something special for the group and one of our Israeli friends that was a part of the young adults from Karmiel invited us to come to his apartment in Tel Aviv for dinner. We were all very excited to see Uri again and be able to celebrate New Years all together as a group. 

Jesse, Hara, Erin, Kiki and Rachel at Uri's place in Tel Aviv!

Jesse and Justin bought the all the girls roses and handed them out during dinner! So sweet boys...

For New Years itself, many of us stuck together and rang in 2011 on the beach right by our hotel. It was a lovely evening and definitely one that will not soon be forgotten. 

Departing Karmiel and off to Jerusalem (Dec. 30th)...

We woke up early on Thursday and said goodbye to our wonderful and generous host families and headed to Jerusalem. Even though we had to say bye to our new friends, we know we'll be seeing them again in the future. We all met at the bus stop at 8:30 and we were off to Jerusalem. The trip was pretty long so it was a great time for all of us tired Pittsburghers to catch some Zzzs. 


Once we arrived, we picked up our tour guide Peter for some educational and fun touring around the holy and ancient city. The first stop was the popular photo spot where you can see where the new city and the old city meet. Far to your right you can just make out Jordan, in front of you the Dome of the Rock and Hebrew University, and to your far left you can see Arab neighborhoods.

a view from the lookout.

Our whole group in Jerusalem!

Peter, our tour guide, showing us a map of the city.

After some free time in the Old City, Peter took us through a crowded market place in the Christian quarter to stand where the 4 quarters of the city meet. With a view of the Western Wall behind us, Peter taught us about the 1948 and 1967 borders and how they have changed over the years. He had informative maps to help bring his words alive. 

The Western Wall from above...

Praying at the Western Wall.

A beautiful picture of the old city...

Next Peter lead us through the security at the Kotel for us to have a few moments there as well. It's always interesting to see how much smaller the women's side is in comparison to the men's. It's a very moving experience for every Jew to place their hand on the wall, close their eyes, and have a quiet moment to themselves. 


Once we were finished at the wall, we traveled over to the offices of PresenTense Magazine. PresenTense is an international grassroots effort to inspire and enable socially-minded pioneering amongst the Jewish People. The magazine is made possible by a network of volunteers around the world. J'Burgh was lucky enough to have been featured in the magazine this past fall with quotes from participant, Beth Goldstein. You can check out the article here: http://www.presentense.org/magazine/community-pittsburgh!


It was then time to check into out Jerusalem home for the evening. Our evening was complete with free time to check out the shops and restaurants on Ben Yehuda Street. Everyone had a great time and was exhausted by the end of the day. It's still hard to believe we were done with the Karmiel portion of the trip.






Until next time...