July 28th - Partnership

Date: July 28th, 2015

By: Zack Fox

Celebrating a birthday with friends is always a fun experience. Celebrating in Israel with 38 amazing teenage leaders while taking part in great programing can’t be topped! We started the day by going to Kibbutz Ketura in Eilot and learning about their solar panels. It really surprised me to learn that, despite the fact the Israel is a very high-tech country, the first solar field was only installed in 2011. At Ketura, we discussed various reasons why Federation in Toronto would help with such a project and one answer that stuck out to me was that this is something that could help the world, not just this one kibbutz. After Ketura we drove back to Eilat, to the fire station where we had a tour and a conversation with a firefighter. Some of us even put on the whole firefighting outfit! Here, we got to see the truck with a big UJA logo on the side, as well as I learned that Federation also helps with emotional assistance for some firefighters. This shows that the partnership is not just through money, and that there is a real emotional connection between the cities. After this, we went to Yoseftal hospital where we heard from the CEO of the hospital, who also happens to be the father of one of the Eilat Diller Fellows. We saw the state of the art ER, and discussed their connection not only to Federation, but also with Mt. Sinai hospital back home in Toronto. From there, the group went to have some fun at a local swimming pool. To end the day, we had a closing dinner with all the parents and fellows. It was a truly amazing community week, and I am happy we could all experience it together (even the parents...the kids don’t write this for nothing) and Kol Hakovd to everyone that helped make it that way, Zack

Kibbutz Kotura

July 27th - Environment & Culture

Date: July 27th, 2015

By: Alex Barkin

Today was an amazingly exciting day filled with beauty and learning. We started with a program by our amazing coordinators, Shir and Raquel. This program allowed us to explore our memory as ourselves, our nation's, and our people. It was very thought provoking and interesting! Next we hopped on the bus and zipped over to snorkeling at the beach! This was an amazing time where we got to see all the wildlife and even coral! Sagi the JC from eilat took my camera (waterproof) and swam to the bottom to take some killer photos of us from under the sea! (Insert little mermaid song here). Once we had finished that, we had a fantastic lunch on the beach. Then we moved down the shore front to the eilat underwater aquarium!! This was so cool because we got a tour (from a canadian) of the shark tanks and then had an hour to go check out the viewing area from above or below sea level! With a couple other fellows I decided to go both above and below. Above deck was particularly special, because you could see 4 countries at once (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and of course Israel)! 

When we had finished here, we moved to the heat of the desert. A guide showed us around and explained how the dried up river bed floods every couple of years!! He then took a thorn and made it germinate to show how they survive the blazing sun. This was really cool because when the pod is ready it shoots the seeds out which popped and flew out at the fellows. Then we made music videos for a song which are really cool and when they are put together will look amazing!

July 25th & 26th - Shabbat and Tisha B'av

Date: July 25th & 26th, 2015

By: Abby Libbus

The beautiful thing about Shabbat with our host families is that everyone has their own individual experiences that they can share. So as I reflect on my own perfect day, there are also 19 other, completely different but equally perfect days that were had on Saturday. For me, Saturday was a sleep in, which was greatly appreciated after the busy week we'd had. The night before my partner, Ligia, had her best friend come to sleep over. After the relaxing start to the day, all three of us headed down to the beach, where a lot of the other Dillers had chosen to spend their Saturday. The beach was amazing, so hot and beautiful. It was great fun everyone being together and hanging out in the Red Sea. I was lucky enough to meet Ligia's friends at the beach. So I got to meet so many amazing new people, which was honestly so great. After our beach day, Ligia and I headed home for dinner and of course, a much needed shower. Then, we headed out to Hadas' house, one of the Eilat fellows for some late night programming. There, we learned about and discussed Tisha ba'av and talked a little bit about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Of course we were all exhausted, but the engaging programs kept us awake and interested all through the night. Very, very late the programming came to a close. Half of the fellows decided to have a sleep over at Hadas' house, while the others headed home. Overall, it was a fantastic and wonderful day. And a very informative way to start a very important day for the Jewish people.

July 26th - Tisha B'av

Date: July 26th, 2015

By: Aaron Ambrose

Today we explored the theme of Judaism and struggles in society. Continuing our narrative of tikkun olam, the Toronto and Eilat/Eilot fellows volunteered to paint the inside of the youth futures house in Eilat. With lots of hard work and effort, our amazing effort paid off. We completely transformed the room into a beautiful oasis for troubled youth. We then had a chance to talk with the director of the operation, we found out that UJA of greater Toronto is one of their main donors, a continuation of the amazing Toronto-Eilat/Eilot partnership. After finishing at the Youth Futures House, we travelled to the port where we boarded a beautiful boat. On the boat we analyzed the boarders that the city of Eilat shares. We were very surprised to see how peaceful the borders seemed to be. Later on the the evening, many of the fellows broke the fast of Tish Abaav with a meal on the boat. By the end of the night we had an amazing party on the boat where everyone danced, sang and had an amazing time. Aaron Ambrose

Harbour at Night

July 24 - Leadership Day

Date: July 24th, 2015

By: Josh Saltzman

Today's theme was Leadership. We started off the day at 8:30 at the library. Soon after arriving, the Jeep Tour began. Several Jeeps came to pick us up at the library. We drove around the Arava Valley and learned a lot about the area. It was an amazing experience for everyone. The views were outstanding! Following the Jeep Tour, all the fellows were given free time to walk around and eat lunch. Bar, Harrison, Ido and I went to a restaurant called Café Café and we all enjoyed a delicious lunch. We then went to watch a movie about leadership. We watched the movie Coach Carter and then discussed the type of leadership that was exhibited in this movie. It was interesting to hear the perspectives of the fellows and it was a nice break from the scorching sun. We then traveled to the Botanical Gardens of Eilat which was a very picturesque place. We had a quick tour and learned about the plants and trees located there. We then participated in a special activity pre-Shabbat activity. Everybody received a rose and had to give their rose to another fellow who they were appreciative of. After this activity we all left the gardens and went home to get ready for Shabbat. It was another great day in Eilat and I am looking forward to tomorrow!

July 23 - A Day through the Eyes of a Soldier

Date: July 23rd, 2015

By: Ori Talmor

What a day! From the planning process all the way to our culminating delivery of the fun and insightful day. It was an amazing experience. I was part of the team of 5 whom planned the day, and even though we had our doubts and challenges, the execution went really well. We started the day off at the university of Eilat's rooftop where we had an activity on the iron dome and learned a bit more about how it works, and looked into our relationship with the system. We then went over to the Birdwatching park were we meet an amazing person named Dani. Dani is the parent of a soldier, Idron Amar, who was killed during a special operation in Gaza. We learned about the ”classroom” (monument) that Dani, his family, and his friends built so that people will learn more about Idron, and about the fate of many soldiers in the Israeli army. After spending quite a long time with Dani, we learned a lot about Idron, and about his life, and about the monument. After meeting with Dani, we headed to one of the main high schools in Eilat where we had lead and participated in a few stations that had to do with military training. We had a lot of fun, and had a little taste as to how fit soldiers need to be. Then, we went on to a really cool army base called Lotar, which is a reserve special unit that deals with anti-terror and hostage situation threats. It was really interesting to see the gear that the soldiers there have and to be able to feel and hold the wait that they carry on their shoulders often, both physically and mentally. Lastly, we went to the parent panel, which consisted of parents and family members of the Eilati fellows we were able to tell us a bit about the

ir time in the army, and answer the abundant amount of questions that we had. Overall, today was a really fun day, where we got to experience a small glimpse as to what it is like to be a soldier, as well as the price that people pay in order to protect the Jewish State of Israel. As we learned today, the three core values of the IDF is, Human Dignity, Civilian Defense, and love towards the country and state. With this in mind, we focused today through the lens of empathy for the State of Israel and its people, and all in all, we had a really fun and educational day! Can’t wait for tomorrow!

July 22 - A great introduction to Eilat-Eilot

Date: July 22nd, 2015

By: Benji McLean


Following an excellent evening with our host families, we started the first day of community week with a bang. The Eilonto fellows went to the Camel Ranch in Eilat, where we enjoyed some delicious pita (made on a fire in front of us) with labane. We then experienced riding a camel on a beautiful path surrounded by hills. We proceeded to the Eilat museum where we learned the history of Eilat. Personally, I found the story of the ink flag very interesting (the Ink Flag was a handmade Israeli Flag that was raised when Eilat was captured during the War of Independence). We learned about famous Eilatis and important occurrences in Eilat. The fellows capped off the activity by watching a short documentary regarding Israel's Navy Seals. This film depicted a dangerous mission, in which the elite unit seized an Iranian boat filled with weapons that was destined for Gaza. We continued the action packed first day with a program regarding Jewish values in relation to being a guest and a host. We read through the story of Rabbi Yannai in groups. 

making homemade Labne on open pit

camel ride!

From here, we went to Yotvata. We learned about how the kibbutz was founded and went on a bus tour, stopping at key sites within the kibbutz. As we drove by, we saw the Jordanian border which was represented by two doves, each with one country's flag. We looked at the variety of crops that are grown in Yotvata and we tasted juicy dates that were picked at the trees that we had just looked at. We discussed kibbutz life with our guide and learned many interesting facts about the life of a kibbutznik. We then went to the inn at Yotvata where each fellow selected ice cream from a mouthwatering array of flavours. We came back to Eilat and I enjoyed an amazing dinner with my host family. We finished the day with a lovely walk in Eilat. This was truly an awesome introduction to Eilat!