DAY FIVE
Jaffa

RACHEL F.
When we first entered Jaffa, we played some common Israeli games. One of the games included a circle with everyone holding hands, trying to keep the “catcher” away from the “runner.” It was fun how everyone worked together to win. After, we examined a statue created by sculptor Daniel Kafri, which represented different stories in the Bible. While walking, we came across the floating orange tree. The structure is designed to sustain the orange tree while staying off the ground. Many thought that the tree could represent the Jewish people, as we have stayed alive even when it was thought impossible, as the tree has stayed alive despite not being rooted in the ground. We did many other activities, like learn about the Jaffa Port and ate some delicious snacks!

Tel Aviv Bike Ride 

CAYLIE K.
As we biked along the promenade, I smelled the salty air of the Mediterranean Sea. I saw the locals enjoying time at the beach. It was quite windy, and we caught glimpses of people surfing on the waves. We biked on lots of different terrain such as bridges, sidewalks and more. It was so much fun and definitely something that I am going to remember most about this trip.

Graffiti Tour

LIAM M. 
Another piece of graffiti that stood out was a piece with all the faces of the twenty-seven club, a club of artists that sadly died at the age of twenty-seven. It was created by an artist named Kis-Lev. He had created this piece and six others during the middle of the day, even though graffiti is illegal. Kis-Lev was wearing a construction worker uniform and a crane on Rosh Hashanah, which was his twenty-eighth birthday. He added his own face thinking he would be joining this club, but through creating this artwork, it became a healing mechanism for him. After some time went by, another artist had poured white paint over Kis-Levs face covering it up and that meant to him that he had made it out of this hard time of his life. I thought that this piece was really cool because it kind of serves as a memorial to the twenty-seven club. It also ties back to what we have learned in Dr. Ellison’s class about resilience and how people can be powerful and use various outlets to be able to get past hard times in their lives.

THEO B.
Today we walked through the streets of Tel Aviv, and saw all different kinds of cool graffiti. This graffiti ranged from those arguing for human rights, to people just trying to send their love to other famous graffiti artists. One of my favorite pieces we saw was a piece with braille on it, but oddly enough, the braille was not for people who are literally blind. The story behind this piece was that the woman who made it went to Croatia for a street-art fair and she saw countless amounts of swastikas on the walls. However, when she asked someone why they were there, they all responded by saying that they didn't see the swastikas. To protest, the woman put braille on the swastikas to demonstrate that the people she asked were blind to this symbol of hate. Not physically blind, but blind to the truth. This piece specifically was made when she returned to Israel, and here she realized that she was also blind to the discrimination and hate going on in her own country, and once again said that with braille. Not only did I think this was a cool piece, but it was also meaningful to me because it connected to what we have learned at school about standing up for what is right.

Shopping in Yafo

IAN H.
While walking through the Jaffa flea market, my mind was set on adding an Israeli watch to my ever-growing collection. However, watches were hard to come by; instead, I wandered the streets aimlessly. I happened upon a jewelry store. Thinking nothing of it, I walked inside. Deciding my search for watches would have to be postponed, I would acquire a gold necklace instead. I had then to decide between numerous symbols at the end of the chain. I could go with the simple Star of David or a more complex design. In the end I decided on the outline of the state of Israel. While looking the most favorable in my eyes, it also provided a certain symbolism for me. With this necklace, I would always be able to keep Israel close to my heart.