Hello everyone who is following our journey! This is what we’ve done for the past few days: On Wednesday, we got up bright and early to go hike in the Golan Heights, where we observed all the beautiful scenery of the mountains. After breaking a sweat there, we stopped at an olive oil factory and tried all the delicious kinds of olive oil they had perfected over the years.
That afternoon after lunch, we all went on a jeep tour and saw many cool sights, including a memorial for Eli Cohen, an abandoned Syrian hospital, and Syria itself. We were even able to drive right up next to the UN building that sits beside Syria. Driving to the top of the mountain and then looking below at the border of the two countries was amazing.
To finish off the day, we had dinner beside the Sea of Galilee, the K’neret, and played in its shore.
On Thrusday, we first participated in a coexistence project at an Arab school. We talked to students at the school about daily life and differences in customs between Jews and Muslims. We also discussed with them about any insecurities they feel in Israel and what they wish to do with their lives. It was very interesting comparing our religions, restrictions, and feelings about Israel and people in general. We think it all enlightened us about Arab culture and the faults with discrimination between Jews and Muslims in Israel.
Later in the afternoon we visited the Druze village and leaned about their religion. Our informant wasn’t able to reveal a lot of information about his religion, but he was able to inform us of how he and his people have hidden and protected their religion since biblical times. Being a minority even smaller that Judaism, it gave us insight on another religion that has persevered through the times to stay true to themselves.