Students in grades 10 and 11 at AMIT Bellows Ulpanat Noga High School, Beit Shemesh, embarked on “Dream in the South,” an impressive four-day journey that began in the Ramon Crater. The girls enjoyed challenging hikes in the desert, a tour of Ben-Gurion’s memorial, a Bedouin hospitality experience, and a visit to Shanti House, which helps at-risk youth.
The highlight of the trip was a tour of Sderot, where they learned about life in the city and all the complexities, challenges, and aspects of Zionism involved in living along the Gaza border.
This excursion is one of the highlights of the year for students at AMIT Bellows Ulpanat Noga, during which they step out of their comfort zones in more ways than just the obvious. In the words of David Ben-Gurion: “The Negev will be the true test of the People of Israel.” The desert expresses the revival of Zionism in our generation while presenting the opportunity to learn and develop outside the classroom and beyond the curriculum. During this experience, the kids get to know themselves, their friends, their classmates, and the Ulpana. Meaningful religious discourse becomes possible, as they forge real connections to the desert where the Jewish people received the Torah. In a very unique way, this trip encourages the students to develop personal resilience, sensitivity to and caring for others.
Naama Cohen, a 10th-grade student, shares: “Before the journey, I lived in my ‘bubble’ and all I knew about Sderot was what I read about on the Internet and saw in news. But going there and seeing how they deal with the security situation on a regular basis and how their energies stay positive inspired me.”
Miriam Koren and Iris Eliyahu, the co-principals of the Ulpana add: “When we returned from the ‘Dream in the South’ trip, it was like the verse from grace after meals ̶ ‘We were like dreamers.’ We were excited and enjoyed traveling with the girls, seeing them take responsibility, help each other, and participate fully in the trips’ activities.
