Hey everyone,

We started this morning with a much later wake up of 7 am! A whole 30 minutes longer than what we’re used to:) As we/I made sure to not forget any of our belongings behind, we found our way to the buses and danced, sang or slept our way on the hour long journey to Haifa. When we arrived in the beautiful city, we immersed ourselves hands on in giving back to the community with a chesed project. Crates of fresh produce were put before us and our task was to bag as many as we could in one hour. Some may think this would be an uneventful activity, however, with all 46 of us working and giving back together, it became an hour of unity with a feeling of joy in the air. When the activity came to an end, we made our way to yom NCSY, a day where all 1200 Jewish teens come together for a night filled with Jewish pride; truly a night to remember. We were greeted with pizzas and delicious warm sodas then pushed to our limits by a challenging pro Palestinian woman. Our blood boiled and not a single ncsyer could sit still with acceptance. One by one we stood up for our pro zionistic beliefs only to find ourselves pranked. The teacher acted the way she did in order to test our beliefs and to prepare us for future encounters to make sure we were ready for the false accusations thrown at us. She then proceeded to teach us the secrets behind Israel advocacy and truth of Israel’s right to the land. Finally it was time for yom NCSY to begin. People screaming in excitement in all directions as they reunited with distant friends as well as new ones. Dinner passed by as the sun went down and all the different groups met in the Bar Ilan amphitheater for unforgettable event. Although everyone was coming from all different sects of Judaism and different origins of the world, I’ve never felt more united as a group of people. I was dancing with strangers as if they were my best friends, and together we sang the same words with the same passion behind them. The unforgettable davening capped off with an emotional   Hachnasat Sefer Torah making the already incredible day all the more meaningful. Rachel Karns out✌

Today was an amazing day! We started off with a 6:45 am wake up, had breakfast, and we’re off to Misgav Am to see the guy who lives on the mountain. He told us about his aliyah to Israel and about the politics between Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan since he lives right on the border of those three countries. After that, we went rafting down the Jordan River which was a blast. The water was amazing and so was being with my friends. We laughed and paddled and swam together. It was so cool. Once our amazing lunch was done, we went on a “nature walk” to the Banias Waterfall which was beautiful. It may not have been our busiest day, but it was still packed with fun things and amazing memories I will never forget.

– Erica Cohen

Shalom y’all! Today wake-up was at the slightly more manageable time of 7. In the morning. For the next 3 nights we are staying in a youth hostel in the northern Galilee region. The rooms are a bit nicer and a lot smaller than at our last hotel. This morning we did a raft building activity in the Sea of Galilee, the Kineret. The materials provided included bamboo, oil drums, and twine. Some groups paddled, while others simply stood in the water and pushed their rafts towards certain doom. After a lunch of schnitzel, a visit was made to an artist colony in Tzfat to pick up souvenirs and gifts. Moral lessons were learned as our tour guide pointed out someone charging money for the use of a public bathroom. After sneaking into the bathroom, our group went to the Ethiopian absorption center. We listened to a wonderful and moving story of one woman’s year and a half journey over 2,000 miles to make aliya. The most amazing part is that she did this when she was only 9 years old! Afterwards, the NCSYers played games with and talked to the children from the center. We played soccer, while the girls (and a few guys) got their hair braided. To end another amazing day the best way possible, money was distributed amongst the adolescents for them to source their own sustenance. Most people continued to enjoy the endless health benefits of Israeli Shwarma on laffa. So far, this has been one of the best summer’s ever! Also, I’ve been paid to say red bull gives you wings.

-Joseph Maltinsky.

#skokieforlife

Today was jam packed with activities! We started our day with techelet diving, which was an experience that was like no other. We went snorkeling underwater to look for a special kind of snail which would be used for the dye of the techelet. Once we found the snails, we did a super cool experiment in order to dye the cotton which we used to make our techelet friendship bracelets. Once we were all dry and had our friendship bracelets, we went to Caesaria. Caesaria was formally built for Herod the Great. There was an incredible theater there where we all got to perform and had our very own riff off (shout out to teams 2 and 4!!!) After we sang and got to see all of Caesaria we went to a mall and got lunch, shoutout to God for kosher McDonald’s! Then we got down and dirty while driving around in ATVs, everyone was COVERED in dirt. It was sick!!! We finished our day in a Druze community where we learned about the culture and religion, followed by an authentic and delicious dinner.  Overall, we had an amazing and spectacular Sunday! GO ICE!!!!!

– Shternie and Leore

#BestSummerEver #shterndownfortorah #leelee #disregardfemalesacquirecurrency #couplegoals #powercouple

Hello all,

This morning we woke up at a horrendous hour of 6:15 in order to pack the bus and move out of our hotel. From there, we went to Jilaboun for our 3-4 hour hike through the Golan. One might describe the amount of sweat that escaped our bodies as enough to solve California’s water shortage; nevertheless, the waterfall that we went swimming in towards the end was quite refreshing and beyond beautiful, making it well worth the wait. After the hike, we went to a small outdoor mall in Katzrin to use the restrooms to rid ourselves of our collective 90+ liters of water (at least), and have a long and relaxing lunch of Israeli pizza. Then we hopped back on the bus, and after hearing about life in the Golan Heights from a local resident, we went to Ben-Tal to check out a historical bunker located at an awesome view point. From the lookout, one could see the northernmost part of Israel, as well as  the ceasefire line and the beginning territories of Syria. However, even more powerful than the view was the sound of bombs and artillery coming from Syria. This was by far the most impactful part of the day. When one hears the horrifying and despicable stories of the civil war and of ISIS at home, the issues seem undeniably sad and scary, yet distant nonetheless. There is nothing more jarring, nothing that enforces the harsh reality of what it means to live in a war zone surrounded by enemies more than standing in what you know is your homeland, but having some of the most terrifying things in the world occurring less than a mile away. It was undoubtedly a revolutionary and eye-opening experience, and therefore my favorite or most memorable part of the day. We are crazy, crazy is ice. GO ICE ISRAEL!!!

– Zoe Levin

Hi! My name is Gabriel Adelman and this weekend was my first Shabbat on Ice Israel. I have to say it may have been one of the best I’ve had in a while! Some highlights from Shabbat were the singing and dancing towards the end of Shabbat, which is always amazing – this Motzei Shabbat though, we will took it to a different level! Another really cool activity we did was Shabbat afternoon when we were allowed to partner up with chavrutas and learn for a while about whatever we wanted, which was a refreshing break from being told what to learn like we are in school. By far the best part about the whole Shabbat was just the sense of family in the whole group. Can’t wait to see whats next in store!