ATID IV: Tel Aviv Part II

ATID is the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis advanced leadership program. Part of every ATID class is a trip to Israel. These are accounts from the partcipants of ATID IV, who are traveling through Israel in February 2016.

Post written by Rachel Gershman

Shalom from Tel Aviv!

We had a busy day in Tel Aviv, full of powerful experiences. Tel Aviv is considered the New York City of the Middle East. It's also the place to be for younger secular Jews in Israel. We learned people in Israel say, "you haven't lived if don't live in Tel Aviv for at least a year!"

In the afternoon, we visited Independence Hall, where we learned Tel Aviv was built from a barren vineyard in 1909. Sixty-six families came to the area, following Theodor Herzl's dream to start to a Jewish state. The land was raffled off and the families designed neighborhoods. Tel Aviv then grew bit by bit to be the major metropolitan city it is today.  

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Independence Hall was one of the first houses to go up in Tel Aviv. It was built by the mayor of the city and was later donated to be an art gallery. Independence Hall is now famously where David Ben-Gurion declared independence in 1948. We felt as though we had stepped back in time as we sat in a replica room at the bottom of the gallery where independence was declared. However, the only original item there was a large picture of Theodor Herzl.


In the evening, we experienced the city that never stops. A group of us went to an incredible dinner at an Asian Fusion restaurant, Taizu. Our waiter said he was going to take us on journey and brought out the best items on the menu. We then headed out to a bar to top off our free night in Tel Aviv. The party was just getting going when we left in the wee hours of the morning! After our amazing meal, drinks and some good laughs, it's safe to say our group had bonded.

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