It's been a beautiful winter here in Israel. It has been really special to see how comfortable the students are with one another and how strong the group dynamic has become.

We started the week with a fun Super Bowl watch party. The students stayed up late, eating wings and nachos and enjoying a very American night together. It was a great way to ease back into the week and spend relaxed time as a group.

Our spring students volunteered on the Gaza border on Tuesday, painting and cleaning the Sderot Indoor Recreation Center, an indoor playground and community center supported by Jewish National Fund-USA, where play areas double as bomb shelters, providing kids with a fun place to play and parents with peace of mind that their kids are in a safe environment.

Meanwhile, our mini-mester students headed to Tel Aviv for a day focused on culture and connection. The students explored Levinsky Market and Shuk Hapishpishim and felt the city's energy firsthand. We then joined a graffiti tour in the Florentin neighborhood, which sparked meaningful conversations about identity and self-expression in Israeli society. Later the students took part in street interviews followed by a visit to the ANU Museum.

On Thursday, both classes went back to the South. The spring students hiked Masada and floated in the Dead Sea, while our mini-mester students embarked on an emotional visit to the Sderot Police Station and the site of the Nova Music Festival Massacre, where they heard from a speaker and reflected together.

For Shabbat, our spring students will be on our beautiful Be’er Sheva campus, and our mini-mester students will be in Tzfat, the center of Jewish mysticism in Israel.

We are so proud of how the students continue to show openness, thoughtfulness, and care for one another. How fortunate we are to be travelling and learning together.