Touring Atlit - Immigrants Detention Camp

Shalom Friends and Family,
Today is Tuesday, January 21 and yes it is another day of rain.  Our leaders quickly organized  Plan B, as we were supposed to go to work in the forest.  We made it to our community service  places. During heavy rain, taxis are in high demand and we seem to be low priority, but all got resolved.  The children are always so happy to see us.  Those working in the Botanical Gardens are anxious to get outside to do some weeding, but today they are inside working on sorting seeds for an international project.  The dogs would love a long walk , but today it was only short walks.

After lunch at the hotel, we drove north to a national heritage site, Atlit.  You might be familiar with the book written by Leon Uris, ' Exodus' or perhaps saw the movie with Paul Newman.

This internment camp, from the late 1930's,  served as detention center for illegal immigrants who were apprehended during their attempts to immigrant to Israel by land and sea.  Our guide took us through the restored center, where several of the buildings are preserved. 

There is also a ship and a plane on the site, similar to the ones used by the immigrants.  This is now an educational center, telling the story of  immigrants voyage fleeing Europe. Many of us had never been here before and we found the site to be informative and interesting.  Now, we understand, the CAARI takes us to well-know sites as well, as 'hidden gems'! 

Tonight we had dinner at a restaurant in Caesarea, nice to have non- hotel food!

immigrants also arrived from Iraq and Italy by plane 

Social media from the 1939 - immigrants would leave messages on the walls, letting others, know they were alive