Weekly Newsletter 2 June 30, 2017

BALTIMORE ONWARD
Shabbat Scoop
This past weekend, June 22-24, was the first Onward Breakout Weekend Seminar. Five of us went

to Tzfat for the weekend to experience the mysticism and the spiritual aspect that Tzfat has to oer.
Maia, Matt and Adam went on a hike in the Upper Galilee before celebrating Shabbat. Meanwhile,
Emily and Jenna made their own Challah using a 16th century oven and heard Jewish music from
that period. The entire group participated in a Kabbalat Shabbat through singing, dancing and
overlooking Mount Meron as the sun set and Shabbat began. On Saturday, we had the option of
going to a Tzfat Synagogue or learning about relationships in Judaism. Everyone had resting time
after lunch. The group went to a meditation activity to learn about Jewish and Kabbalistic
meditation. We finished the trip with dinner, a TuBshvat Seder, Havdallah, and then headed back to
Tel Aviv.

On Thursday, some of us who were still in Tel Aviv went to a Wine

Festival on Rothschild Boulevard. Everyone who went had a great time
and said the event showed them great Israeli hospitality. Otherwise,
many people spent the weekend hanging out at the house with one
another or going to the beach.

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Weekly Newsletter 2 June 30, 2017

Tuesday Tracking
This past Tuesday, June 20, we went to Jerusalem for the day. We started the day by going to a
lookout of the Old City. We heard about the history of Jerusalem and how it began to expand past
the Old City walls. Throughout the day, we learned about the history of Jerusalem as well as a few
dierent sects of Judaism. We heard from a representative of the World Union for Progressive
Judaism to hear about what the reform movement is working towards with the Israeli Government.
We then toured one of the first neighborhoods outside of the Old City. There was a break for lunch
in Mahane Yehuda Street. After this, the group moved to see Mea Shearim, a Charedi
neighborhood. We had a little bit of time to explore once we heard more about their culture. To end
the day, Or Rapoport, a co-founder of Beliba Choma spoke with us. His organization helped to bring
secular and Charedi Jews together by providing a tutoring service. With him, we discussed some of
the issues that the Charedi community is facing and how they are trying to solve them. Overall, we
were able to see many sides of Judaism throughout the day and learn more about what is going on
in Israel between the dierent sects of Judaism.

Participant Spotlight - Sarah Narrow

My name is Sarah Narrow and I am a student at Tulane University. I am
going into my 5th year, pursuing my Master of Architecture.

I came to Israel for the summer because I wanted to research the

architecture and urban structure of Tel Aviv and Jaa. I was fortunate to
receive a travel fellowship through Tulane to fund my trip, and decided to
participate in Onward Israel to spend the entire summer here to
completely immerse myself in the culture and profession! Outside of work I
have been conducting research for my fellowship through interviews with
architects and authors, walking tours throughout the city and museum
visits-- with an occasional visit to the beach of course.

My typical day is spent at my internship, at Rechter Architects. They are one of the founding
architecture firms in Tel Aviv, with an extensive portfolio of many pertinent architecture and planning

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Weekly Newsletter 2 June 30, 2017

projects in the city. I am currently on a project team for a competition in Ashdod, helping with the
competition drawings and graphics.

Before Onward I finished a program at Tulane called UrbanBuild, where I designed and built a house
with a team of peers over the course of the academic year. It was an amazing experience, and
helped me see the architecture profession through a dierent lens. After Onward is over, I am
starting my thesis. It is a daunting year ahead, so I am happy to have some fun this summer
beforehand!

I have learned a ton so far this summer! I did not have the opportunity to study abroad during
college so having the opportunity now to spend an extended amount of time in a foreign city,
especially Tel Aviv, has been amazing. The food is definitely a perk. I've been to Abu Hassan in
Jaa, claimed to be the best hummus in all of Israel, twice now! I also had a blast learning to make
Shashouka with Yona last week! I'm excited to buy the ingredients and try it out myself.

Participant Spotlight - Jess Cohen

Shalom! My name is Jessica Cohen and I am 23 years old. I just finished
my first year of Graduate School at the University of Baltimore where I am
majoring in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Juvenile Justice.
During my time in Israel, I am interning with The Jaa Institute, which is a
non-profit organization that helps at-risk and underprivileged youth. I am
interning at an after school/summer camp program through the Institute.

I wanted to come to Israel for the summer because I wanted to experience

a dierent culture and learn more about my religious roots. I knew that this
was a once in a lifetime opportunity and if I didn't take it this summer I
would probably never get this opportunity again since my parents have been pushing me to get a
big girl job. This summer I hope to learn more about myself and become more independent. Living
in a foreign country really makes you step out of your comfort zone. So far, I've gotten to meet a
bunch of awesome people and am happy at the friendships that I have gained throughout this
summer. Hopefully working with children this summer will help me learn a little Hebrew that I can
take back to the States.

When I'm not at my internship, I love going to the beach and working on my tan. I feel like the beach
is a great place to relax because Tel Aviv is a fast moving city but right on the coast you are able to
free your mind and get away from the crowd. My favorite place in Tel Aviv is Sarona Market. It is a
beautiful place with many restaurant options and the atmosphere is wonderful. It's great that the
market is a short walk from our apartment. My favorite restaurant in Israel is Benedict's, which is like
a gourmet IHOP. Many of the meals come with a mimosa that is very delicious. If you are ever in
Israel, be sure to check Benedict's out!

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Israel is a wonderful place and I'm sad that the program is half way over. When I get back home, I
have about a year and a half left of Graduate School. I am happy that I got an opportunity to work
with at-risk youth and gain more experience working in my field. Cheers to last month in Israel!

Internship Spotlight - Evan Willner at Vicomi

Hello! My name is Evan Willner, and I am a rising senior at Elon University in North Carolina. I am an
International Studies major with a concentration on the Middle East with minors in business and
Jewish Studies.

This summer I am fortunate enough to be interning for an amazing startup called Vicomi. Vicomi
has developed a widget that is designed to help a company monitor their viewers emotional appeal
to the content displayed on websites. Having this emotional intelligence is vital in maximizing
advertising revenues, as well as increasing user engagement on the website, and increasing the
overall trac on the site. Their widgets and video players collect big data, which is also a valuable
commodity in todays marketplace.

This startup culture was something that I really wanted to be involved with when I began searching
for summer internships. Israel, Tel Aviv in particular, is the startup capital of the world. There was
never really a question about where I needed to go if this was something I had to see for myself.
Vicomi operates with only 5 full time sta employees and us two Onward interns. However, since
the first day I was never treated as an intern. The atmosphere in the oce is filled with humor and
good vibes, but there is definitely the mentality of success and drive which creates a phenomenal
balance within the sta relationships and the interns. The sta trusts me to serve as a media buyer
for the company, so in some ways the success of Vicomi and its growth is somewhat reliant on my
work. It feels good to be a part of something and have your work really make a dierence.

Best Homemade Meal

Everyday we get home from work and smell something amazing cooking! So,
weve decided to share some of our best homemade meals each week. This
past week, Chase and Emily made a delicious homemade Shawarma. They had
Israeli salad, hummus, chicken and pita!

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Weekly Newsletter 2 June 30, 2017

The Week Ahead

There are many Onward Seminars happening this weekend! Desert Discovery in Mitzpe Ramon,
Sustainability and Community, The Global Leadership Lab and The Judean Desert. We have people
going to the Sustainability and Community as well as The Judean Desert. Were excited to hear
about everything they do!

On Tuesday, July 4, we have another evening program to reflect on the first month of our trip!

Photos from the Week

Shabbat Shalom from Baltimore Onward!

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