My Shorashim trip to Israel

By Jared Sichel

Shorashim means roots in English and is designed to motivate potential young leaders in their communities. The opening took place overlooking the old city of Jerusalem with a tour through the tunnels and a political update on Israel. This was followed by a lecture on leadership skills, motivation and team building.

We then moved to Haifa where we hiked in the northern region and experienced Drew?s Arab hospitality. That was followed by a tour of Acre, the Bahai Gardens and an inspection of the ?security fence?. We then moved to the Northern Kineret area where we experienced Kibbutz life looking out over the Golan Heights which included white river rafting down the Jordan River as we split up into teams as part of a team building session. Next stop was Tel Aviv with a tour of Jaffa and shopping in the Arab markets where I got to practice my bargaining skills. I then had a free weekend which I spent with family.

The next experience was in the I.D.F (Israeli Defence Force) which included 3 days living on an army base in full uniform with rifle and pack and learning about life in the army. This was an exercise in learning to obey and carry out commands, respect for leadership, working in a platoon and learning team building at its best, culminating in training and firing M16 Assault rifles which was a great experience!

The following day we went south to swim in the Dead Sea, enjoyed camel rides, climbed Massada and spent a night in the Bedouin Tents in the middle of the desert. We then undertook a two day workshop and learnt how to strategise, plan, team build and develop leadership skills and techniques. Some fun activities included experiencing kibbutz life, meeting Israeli youth, visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem as well as hiking in the mountains and relaxing with friends on the beach.

The entire experience is one I will never forget and have learnt invaluable skills on leadership, team building and motivation. This was a tour that incorporated a balance between good fun, education, historical knowledge and various leadership and team building exercises. I thank Glenwood High School for allowing me to have the opportunity to benefit from this amazing experience and I hope to implement much of what I learnt for the benefit of my school.