8th Grade Israel Trip 2025: Flight and Day 1

Flight

Our trip started with a flight from San Jose to LAX. The flight felt peaceful and lightweight being merely one hour. The landing was loud and turbulent, but our ears survived. After landing and baggage claim, there was a 15 minute walk to baggage check for the following two flights to Warsaw and Tel Aviv. Before we could check our luggage, there was a 45 minute wait which we happily spent sitting on the floor, enjoying phone time, embroidering, talking, and going through our camera rolls. This part of the journey was our meetup with the kids from Wornick. After an outrageously long security line, we had some time to buy food and gifts for our host families from Leo Baeck, for when we go to Haifa. A group of kids sat on the floor and found entertainment in a mini volleyball game. 

Our flight to Warsaw was 11 hours long, and for many a plane ride without sleep. A group of girls began doing henna art and chatting. People used up screen time, talking, attempting to sleep, and more. The food being brought to us was pasta for some, chicken for others, and chocolate coconut cake for all. Our flight to Tel Aviv was much more peaceful being 4 hours long. Most people either slept or tried and failed. Raging applause followed the landing in Ben Gurion Airport. 

Day 1

Today, Wednesday, was our first full day in Israel. Despite jetlag plaguing us all, we had a very eventful day. We woke up at 7:00 and had breakfast at 7:30. We then booked it for Yafo, where we walked to an arch with a scenic view of Tel Aviv. We walked around Yafo for a while, stopping every once in a while to learn more about the history of Yafo and Tel Aviv, as well as the origins of the port city that became the center of culture in Israel. We volunteered at the Yafo Institute, where we packed boxes with food for Holocaust survivors who struggle to get food for themselves. We had lunch on Rothschild Boulevard, splitting into groups of people getting different foods such as sabich, falafel, shawarma, and acai. Afterwards, we went to the beach and swam in the water, played volleyball, and hung out on the sand. 

We went to the hotel to clean up before meeting with Tammy Hausner, Gideon Hausner’s daughter, where we would have dinner. Dinner was yummy and we saw our belongings disappear and reappear in front of our eyes during the performance of a mentalist. We then headed to Park HaYarkon, across from the restaurant, where we had an Erev Yom HaShoah ceremony. Some listened while others read excerpts from poems and books relating to the Holocaust, and we lit 6 candles in memory of the 6 million Jews that perished. Then we went back to the Hotel, where we had an hour of free time to chat, watch tv, and play card games. Rabbi Danny also joined us then after his long journey across the ocean. Looking forward to more adventures tomorrow!