During the April session, there are so many holidays Israel celebrates during these two months. We celebrated both Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut over two days which was a lot to take in, but an amazing experience. Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s memorial day to commemorate lost soldiers in terrorist attacks. We went to this ceremony in English and listened to personal stories about soldiers who risked their lives to ensure the lives of the rest of the population. I cried a little bit at the ceremony because I am inspired by their true bravery. After spending the night in sadness and remembrance, the next day we switched gears to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day. It was hard for all of us Americans to make this switch so quickly, but we realized it’s just a part of Israeli culture, so we went along with it. Independence day was an day i’ll remember forever because it was Israel’s 70th birthday.  

On the night before Independence day, we went to this concert and danced the night away for three hours. We got to meet all the other kids in the different groups like the semester group, Milkin group, San Diego group, and JDS. Milkin, San Diego, and JDS are all Jewish schools from America where their students go as a grade to AMHSI. It was really fun hanging out will all these groups because we don’t get that much time to spend with them on campus. We see them sometimes, but it’s hard because we all have different schedules of trips and classes. At the concert, there were groups of kids and adults performing on a stage, both singing and dancing. It was similar to a music festival which I love going to at home!

On the special day of Yom Ha’atzmaut, we got asked to join JNF for a barbeque. This was such an extraordinary experience for me because the reason I am here on this program is because of the amazing organization of JNF. My impact fellowship works hand and hand with JNF to help fund students to get opportunities not all people can have. At the BBQ, we were able to  socialize and meet all the people who work behind the scenes of this huge organization. I was so happy to thank the President and head of JNF for offering me the fellowship. Our group also danced with all the executives of the foundation which was adorable and lots of fun.. It was so cute when they brought out a huge birthday cake for Israel which showed the love and support everyone has for this fascinating country.

I thought these two holidays, that I have never celebrated before in the States, were so cool to experience and would be an “only in Israel” moment. Celebrating these cultural holidays with my new best friends made it even better! We all let loose to be ourselves and dance to observe traditional Israeli culture. These two days right in a row stood out to me and I will never forget how connected I felt to Israel. This just makes me want to come back to continuously celebrate these two important and special holidays.