Oseh Shalom Family Experience Days – Yom Ha’Atzma’ut
By Mary F. Meyerson
Shalom! Welcome to Israel!
We hope you have a chance to visit each of the
different regions of our country on our tour today.
This is a self-guided tour, so you may visit each
region in the order that you choose.
If you have any questions, please don’t
hesitate to ask your tour guide, Miss Mary.
Enjoy your visit and come back soon.
Customs: Please pick up your passport, your visor and your backpack.
The visor
will help protect you from the sun as you travel through Israel and the backpack
will hold all your souvenirs.
The Galilee
The Galilee is in northern Israel. The land is fertile. Many agricultural kibbutzim are
located there. A kibbutz is a community where everyone lives together and shares in the work and
the profits.
There are also many tourism kibbutzim near Lake Kineret (also called the Sea of Galilee).
The weather is pleasant, the hiking is easy and there are plenty of fish to catch in the Kineret.
Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel. It often has snow at the top of its peaks
— even in the warmer months.
One of the most famous examples of mosaic work was found when Beit Alpha synagogue was
discovered. Tiny bits of tile were laid to make interesting and colorful pictures.
Here you can:
 Match the animal families
 Make a design using the pattern blocks
 Complete puzzles of scenes found in the Galilee
 Fish in the Kineret (can you match the symbols?)
 Lace farm animals
HAIFA
Haifa is an important seaport on the Mediterranean Sea. It is located on the top of Mount Carmel
and is as hilly as San Francisco.
Haifa is also the home of the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. Students there
learn a lot about computers and other technology. It is one of five schools in the world where
students design, build and launch their own satellites.
Here you can:
 Finish the dot-to-dot picture of Haifa harbor.
 Design your own satellite
 Complete the puzzle of scenes from Haifa.
Tel Aviv—Jaffa
Tel Aviv is a modern city; Jaffa is an ancient seaport on the Mediterranean. In 1949, they became
one.
Israel’s independence was declared on May 18, 1948, in Tel Aviv. On the Hebrew calendar,
the date was the 5th of Iyar 5708.
Tel Aviv is the home of the Israel’s national theater, Habimah; the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange; the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Yad Eliyahu Basketball Stadium. Tel Aviv
University contains the Museum of the Diaspora.
Jaffa is a center for artists. Outside of Jaffa, are the orange groves. Jaffa oranges are
known for their sweetness and are shipped around the world. Some even can be found in our local
grocery stores.
Here you can:
 Make an Israeli flag
 Add Jaffa oranges to your orange tree
 Match some letters of the Aleph-Bet
 Shoot some “baskets”
The Negev
The Negev is the largest area of Israel. Very few people live there because it’s mostly desert.
Bedouins have wandered the desert for many generations. They travel by camel and live in
tents.
The Hai-Baar Biblical Wildlife Reserve is in the Negev. It helps protect rare animals mentioned in
the Torah.
Eilat is at the southern tip of the Negev. It is a very popular vacation resort, with sailing,
water-skiing and snorkeling. The weather is usually warm and sunny.
Here you can:
 Sort and count seashells
 Follow the wild animal patterns
 Complete puzzles with scenes of the Negev.
 Lace wild animals
The Judean Desert
The Judean Desert is outside of Jerusalem. There you will find Masada, where Jews refused to
surrender to the Romans. The Dead Sea is also in the Judean Dessert. The Dead Sea is the lowest
place on earth. The water from the Jordan River flows into it. As the water evaporates, the sea
salts and minerals remain behind. The Dead Sea is so salty, that people can float sitting up! It’s
also so salty that nothing can live in it.
Here you can:
 Complete a puzzle of scenes from the Judean desert
 Color the picture of the path to Masada and sprinkle some sand on the path.
 See if you can discover which container of water is super-salty, like the Dead Sea, and which is
fresh water, like the Kineret.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a mix of the old and the new. For over two thousand years our people have
promised each other “Next year in Jerusalem.” The Kotel (the Eastern Wall) is a special place. It’s
the sole remaining wall from King Solomon’s temple, built thousands of years ago. Many Jews pray
there and hope their prayers will be answered.
In the Jewish Quarter, some people like to shop at the shuk, or open-air markets. There
they find many things that can only be bought in Israel.
Jerusalem is also a very modern city. It is the capital of the State of Israel and all the
important government buildings are located here. It is a holy place for Jews, Christians, and
Moslems.
Here you can:
 Make a mizrach to hang on your eastern wall at home to remind you of Jerusalem.
 Visit our shuk and separate Israeli groceries from American ones.
 Complete some puzzles of things seen in Jerusalem.
 Write a special note and put it on our “Kotel.”