☀️Day 8️⃣: Jaffa

Yesterday was a beautiful and exciting day! We had a reflection on Palestinian history and Palestinian identity. Then we watched a short video on the historical significance of Jaffa🌅 which was followed by a quick brunch to prepare us for our beach day. We then started our trip towards Jaffa. When we reached Qalandia checkpoint we had a little difficulty, but thankfully everyone passed safely🙏. We arrived in Jaffa and were instantly mesmerized by its beauty🌅. We reached the beach🏖️, rented umbrellas and chairs and the kids hit the water🏊‍♂️. The students had a blast in the sea with the cool water and the hot sun🌞, smiles and laughter echoed all around us😄. We then tracked along the shore through what used to be the Manshyeh neighborhood of Jaffa, a home to wealthy Palestinian elites that is now in a park and parking lot. Last week we saw old tiles from many of these homes on display at the Palestinian museum (one of the art pieces in the exhibition). After our trek, we reached one of Jaffa’s landmark restaurants, The Old Man and the Sea🐟 where we enjoyed our lunch that started with a huge selection of mezzes🍴. The students had the following options for food: fish, calamari and shrimp, mussels, schnitzel, chicken and meat kabab or a burger🍔. We spent an hour and a half with a personalized tour of the old city with Palestinian Member of the Knesset Sami Abu Shihadeh and his brother, Khalil. Sami is part of the Joint List and is the leader of the Balad party. The tour ended with a delicious dish of knafeh and ice cream🍦, the perfect combination of hot and cold.