Wednesday 22, 2015

Day 14

Evan

Following almost three hours in the bus we arrived in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. Israel’s modern city that “never stops” was oddly quiet. Driving through the streets we saw stores close and the flags being flown at half mast. Vibrant street life was replaced with silence for Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s remembrance day. Fallen soldiers defending the state of Israel or those who were killed fight for its establishment are remembered. Our group went to the rooftop of our hotel top to hear the siren. This 2 minute sirens brings the entire country to a halt. We watched as the most energetic streets came to a complete halt. The only noise came from the siren and the sea. After that we watched movies about fallen soldiers. One was about a lone soldier who was killed. Learning about individuals who sacrificed their lives helps us comprehend the large and growing amount of victims in Israel’s forces and those who had been killed in acts of terror. The next morning we all woke up in our real beds. Despite Yom Hazikaron being a sad day we did have reasons to rejoice. We woke up to the knowledge that the Calgary Flames had defeated Vancouver and it was Aviv’s 15^th birthday. After breakfast we walked to Rabin Square, the place Israeli prime minister Yitzhack Rabin was assassinated. Rabin was an advocate for peace and his negotiations with the Palestinian Authority eventually became too much for an Israeli right-wing extremist. We were then given questions to find out what locals had to think of Rabin. Interestingly everyone remembered where they were and what they were doing at the time. Then at 11 we stood for the second siren. Once again people put their daily lives aside to pay respects to Israel’s fallen heroes. We then walked to Rothschild ave to have lunch. After we explored independence hall. The place where Israel was declared a state. We learned how the declaration happened and what it meant for an independent Jewish state. We took the bus back to the hotel and got ready for the transition from sorrow to party. We headed to Mini Israel to celebrate the country’s 76^th birthday. Before this we stopped in Latrun where we learned about Israsel’s armed corps. We also got to see and climb on an array of tanks. We then met up with fellow Canadian march of the living groups. We explored Mini Israel which has models of landmarks in Israel. We then had a presentation about March of the living. After we ate dinner listened to music and watched fireworks. After a great night we drove back to Tel Aviv. Everyone is excited to embrace the last 3 days of our wonderful trip.