Meeting on the Israel National Trail

The Journey of the Decade: Meeting on the Israel National Trail

Meeting on the Israel National Trail is a socially conscious and value-oriented journey from Eilat to northern Israel, connecting hikers to the country's walking paths and to the Israel National Trail by addressing the deeper questions of Israeli society.
Video: The 10th Meeting on the Israel National Trail trek begins (Hebrew with some English)

 

 

It is a trek along the Israel National Trail (INT) commemorating the casualties of the 1997 IDF helicopter disaster and of all the wars of Israel and acts of terrorism. At the same time, the hike also addresses the deeper questions that characterize Israeli society through recognition of the other and emphasizing what unifies us.

This year, KKL-JNF is a partner in the Meeting on the Israel National Trail venture, in which tens of thousands of hikers have taken part over the ten years since it began. Participants mainly include individuals and small groups of people. The educational program is structured by a daily discussion sheet that deals with a weekly topic. During the daily trek, which is between 15 and 20 kilometers long, there are built-in workshops, and the day is concluded with a session connected to a place, a personality that was encountered, or to a personal or community project, sometimes connected to the time that the walk took place. Year 2015 is the tenth year of the project. Tens of thousands of participants have embarked on this journey since it started ten years ago. This year, the trip began in Eilat on February 23rd and will end on April 20th in Shear Yashuv Moshav in the Upper Galilee. KKL-JNF guides are playing a major role in the journey this year, one of them guiding the hikers each day.

Week 1: Summary of four days

KKL-JNF Guide Yosef Speiser, who led the journey in its first week in the hills of the Eilat region, presents a summary of his week.

Week 2: From the Arava to the Ramon Crater

KKL-JNF guide Itzhak Mai led the hikers in the beginning of the second week of the trek for the two days that started at Lake Sapir and ended at the Saharonim Recreation Area. This is his report.