Well I think that picture says it all. Everyone is really
happy with the time we've had here and the celebration tonight proved it to the
max. Tomorrow is a beach day, and Wednesday we have one more day of touring.
We started the day by making our way south from Kibbutz Farod to a moshava near Tel Aviv called Mazkeret Batya. It's neat for two reasons. Number one it has a special connection to Calgary and even has a street called Calgary Street! Second of all, Dafna grew up in Mazkeret Batya and we visited her family's house!
We also attended a short ceremony at the cemetery there and Dafna told some stories of people from her home town who fell in the wars. Yom HaZikaron left a hard impression on everyone, and there is a sincere
appreciation of the sacrifice that Israelis have to make so that we can live
free Jewish lives. Next we went to Latrun to see the Tank Brigade memorial and museum, and headed to Tel Aviv to freshen up for the party at Mini Israel.
As you can tell from the photos, it was a pretty sweet party. It started with a ceremony commemorating the end of the March of the Living with a slideshow, speeches, and songs sung by participants. The March is obviously a special program and it's great that our kids get a peak into that experience. But then it was time to party! There was felafel, hot dogs, cotton candy, singing, dancing, and fireworks.
I can hear it on the streets below my
open window, and you can see it in some pictures of Mazkeret Batya draped in
flags. It's time to celebrate. I hope everyone will get a chance to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut either at
TT or some other way. Chag Sameach!!!
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