June 8, 2008 - 3AM Israel Time

Shalom from Israel!

The Poland portion of the trip is over. The group arrived at Ben Gurion Airport safely. I was there to welcome each one with a big “Welcome Home”. Everyone was excited to be in Israel and eager to begin this part oif their program. They are now ascending to Jerusalem to say Shehehianu – the blessing said at joyous occasion, to see the city and to prepare for the Shavuot festivities. Please visit the site from time to time as we post messages and pictures from the group – this way you can join in “virtually” until you come to Israel too. Shalom Amnon Weigler, Vice President Oranim Educational Initiatives

June 3, 2008 - 3:00 AM Californai Time

Shalom from Poland

The group landed in Warsaw and everything is fine. The kids are tired but excited to be have arrived. Please visit this website as the tour progresses and make sure to look at the pictures that will be posted often. Shalom! Amnon Weigler, Vice President Oranim Educational Initiatives

Ofer Ladani, Your Tour Educator

Ofer Ladani was born in 1976. He grew up in Haifa and when joining the army, he served (with distinction) in a Combat Engineers unit. After the army Ofer traveled and even spent a year in the US. Then he worked for 4 years on a ranch as a guide for tours by foot, by jeep and on horseback. Ofer worked with various youth organizations on programs geared to bring young Jewish people to Israel and with Israeli schoolchildren. He has an engaging personality and a deep love of the land, so you know your trip experience will be a unique one.

Sara Pellach - your Tour Educator in Poland

Since 1987, Sara Pellach MA, born in Israel to Holocaust survivors, has guided over 200 school and adult heritage trips to Poland and Eastern Europe. Sara grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust, with a mother who would speak of nothing other than the Shoah and a father who refused to divulge his experiences. It was only in 1971, when Sara was researching the Shoah for her degree in Jewish History and Political Science at Tel Aviv’s Bar Ilan University, that her father finally began to relive his past. After participating in a tour to Poland for second generation survivors, Sara, a former history teacher in Israel and a school principal in Canada, decided to dedicate her working life to researching and teaching the Holocaust - not in the classroom, but rather as a guide to student and adult groups in the very places where Jewish history in Eastern Europe unfolded. Sara’s vast knowledge, sensitivity, religious conviction and personal experiences bring an important added dimension to her guiding and her sense of “shlichut” (mission) gives her the strength to return to Eastern Europe time after time with yet another group. Fluent in Hebrew, English and Yiddish, Sara has extensive experience of guiding students and adults from Israel, Europe and the States and now is in charge of coordinating Oranim Educational Initiatives' programs in Eastern Europe