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| OHCC LIVING | JUNE 2023 | 39 Yiddish Club Israel celebrated 75 years as a modern state in April, and Rob and Dorothy Ganz and Katherine Backman from the Yiddish Club were there to join in the celebrations and to tour the country from the desert southern Negev region to the fertile green Galilee in the north. The trip started with a solemn day visiting Yad VaShem, the museum memorial site dedicated to the horrors and heroism involved in the Holocaust. That evening at 8 pm, and again the following morning at 11 am, sirens sounded throughout the country and everything and everyone stops all activities – even cars on the highways – to pay tribute to the soldiers who died in the 1948 War of Independence, the 1967 Six Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and other subsequent conflicts. The group attended ceremonies at two famous battlefields to commemorate the Israeli Memorial Day, Yom HaZikaron. Twenty-four hours later, Israelis pivot to a joyous day making the founding of the State of Israel, Yom HaAzmaut. There are picnics and barbecues all over the land and the American travelers partied hearty at a river park in Beersheva, the capital of the Negev region. In the following days, there were explorations of examples of making the desert bloom: agricultural farms to grow produce using advanced techniques; an Olympic sized pool and gymnasium for youngsters to train in various sports; a residential/outpatient center for severely disabled children and adults, with its accompanying rehab hospital; and an amazing natural crater, 50 miles long and 12 miles wide, that rivaled the Grand Canyon in scope and beauty. The journey continued north into the lush Galilee, including a visit to Akko, a city founded by the Crusaders in the 1200s, rebuilt by the Ottomans, and is now a mixed city where Jews and Muslims live and work together mostly in peace. The trip ended in Tel Aviv, a bustling metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. At once old and modern, it is an exciting locale, home to many high-tech companies and young people from all over the globe. This is just a brief synopsis of a jam-packed, on-the-go two weeks in Israel. It is a place not to be missed. It is filled with history, diverse people and foods, and wonders to be seen and heard. There is always something old/new to discover, no matter how many times one travels there. Akko Market Mitzpe Ramon Crater Soldiers with the Eternal Light at the Western Wall