text from : Museum of the History of Polish Jews Website
Poland-Israel Youth Encounters in 2007
High School Exchange
Pilot meetings took place between 17-26 July in Poland and 16-26 August 2007, in Israel. A total of 12 Polish and 12 Israeli students took part, representing high schools in Warsaw and Tel-Aviv, respectively.
Israeli High School Students’ Trip to Poland
The Israeli high school students’ July 2007 stay in Poland was led by Kamila Dąbrowska, the PIYE coordinator for Poland, Iga Kazimierczyk from the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, and Noga Lowenstein from Israel. The Israeli students lived with Polish families in Warsaw, and experienced their daily routine of life. They spent their 10-day visit visiting places in Poland that are important for the history of Poles and Jews, going to favorite spots of the Warsaw teenagers and having fun together.
In Kraków, the students and their Polish “family” members visited the contemporary Jewish quarter in Kazimierz, the Schindler factory and the site of the former ghetto, and afterwards they cooled off from the summer heat with a visit to the salt mine at Wieliczka, a UNESCO historic site. The most moving part of their trip was the visit to the Auschwitz-Berkenau Memorial and Museum in Oświęcim. The visit to Poland ended on the 26th July with a farewell party at the Tarabuk coffee shop in Warsaw.
Polish High School Students’ trip to Israel
The Polish students whose families had entertained their Israeli counterparts in July then visited Israel from 16-26 August. Tsipora Zeiri, the PIYE coordinator in Israel, Iga Kazimierczyk and Noga Lowenstein looked after the group.
The students spent the first two days in the homes of their Israeli colleagues, getting to know their families and daily routine, going to restaurants, shopping and trying their luck bargaining at local markets. Then they began their visit around Israel at Yaffo, a historical port city not far from Tel Aviv. Their next stop was Jerusalem with its Old City, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Western Wall and the Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority. Discussions concerning the exhibition depicting the tragic recent past of the Jewish nation laid the foundations for long conversations aimed at understanding the past and its impact on Israel and Poland today .
After leaving Jerusalem, the participants spent two days in the picturesque, desert part of the country. At Sde Boker kibbutz, they participated in a seminar about the history of the first settlers and the rules of the kibbutz operation. The young Poles learned about the history of the kibbutz movement and saw how such settlements operate today. On the second day, the students also visited the grave of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel and his wife, Paula, they walked the trails of the Ein Ovdat National Park, and on their way back, experienced unusual bath in the Dead Sea.
text from : Museum of the History of Polish Jews Website
Polish and Israeli group in Israel
In Jerusalem
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Our group in the saltmine - Wieliczka, Poland
In Kazimierz, Poland
In Memorial Place - Auschwitz Birkenau
