May 6 - Arielle Hendel

What a thrill!  We reached Jerusalem and welcomed 7 of our members to Jerusalem for the first time.  I cannot express how lucky I feel to have been part of their first visit to Jerusalem – the heart and soul of this country.  Tel Aviv is exciting and other places are beautiful, but Jews everywhere say "next year in Jerusalem" and now we can say that last year we meant it.  We are here.  The weather cooperated and the sites could be seen for miles.  We then left to meet with Erel Margalit the funder and founder of HaMaaaBabada – the Laboratory.  The Lab is known for providing a creative stage for all kinds of artists.  They also have developed a interdisciplinary after school program for kids from Jerusalem which is staffed by volunteers who live in the communities they serve.  Erel serves as a brilliant example of Israel's entrepreneurial spirit.  After the visit we walked a few blocks to the hotel – mighty funky hotel  It was once a hotel for the blind – hard to believe since we can hardly find our rooms and we are not blind.  The halls twist and turn much like the old city streets and many rooms face the old city, offering a spectacular view.  In the evening, we left for the Russian Compound for a Memorial Day service (in English).  Words cannot describe the sadness of that ceremony.  All I wanted to do was hug the Canadian mother who lost her first born son in Nablus and say thank you for her massive sacrifice.  I couldn’t though and cannot express the deep sorrow I feel that we continue to pay such a high price for our State and our freedom.