When the Iran conflict began early Saturday morning, the group was told not to leave the hotel, Hazon Weiss recalled. The morning\u2019s planned visit with Holocaust survivors at the nearby JCC was moved to the hotel, and additional security was brought in.<\/p>\n
The students\u2019 return flight on Monday was canceled, \u201cand at that point, we didn\u2019t know how we were going to get back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Later, she was told that repatriation flights would be arranged through Taba. Apprehensive regarding the challenges of such a trip, Hazon Weiss asked the Association for the Advancement of Education, which runs the schools and arranged the trip, if the school\u2019s flight could be delayed until after other similar flights were completed, so she could see how those went.<\/p>\n That was a smart decision, she later learned. \u201cThere was a lot of chaos for the first flights,\u201d she said. \u201cThere were groups stranded in Egypt for hours without water before they were cleared to travel towards Israel. Because we traveled later, we got to avoid a lot of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Flights to Taba for other schools were organized by the Education Ministry and the Shin Bet, according to news reports. Israel\u2019s Ben Gurion Airport was reopened<\/a> to limited repatriation flights on Thursday.<\/p>\n \t Meanwhile, the group was moved to a different hotel on Sunday, and its planned trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp was canceled. Students channeled their energies and anxieties into organizing a pre-Purim party in the new location, ahead of the festive holiday on Monday night and Tuesday, Hazon Weiss recalled.<\/p>\n As it became clear that their stay would be extended, the Auschwitz visit was moved to Monday, which happened to be the Fast of Esther, observed the day before Purim, which added significance to the visit.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was very special,\u201d Hazon Weiss said.<\/p>\n Monday evening, the group joined the local community at the JCC for the traditional Megillah reading and a Purim celebration, and on Tuesday morning, they attended a second Megillah reading and enjoyed an extensive Purim feast. All of the additional expenses of the trip, including accommodations and return flights, were covered by the Association for the Advancement of Education, Hazon Weiss noted.<\/p>\n \t Around 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, the group boarded a flight to Warsaw, and then a connecting flight to Taba, which landed around 11 a.m. the following morning, according to 11th grader Yair Barkan, one of the students on the trip.<\/p>\n From there, the group boarded buses that reached the Israeli border around 4 p.m. One of the students\u2019 parents arranged to meet the buses there with sandwiches and drinks \u2014 and a bit of singing. After that, it was another four hours until the students arrived in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n \t \u201cIt was hard to be stuck in Poland, and not at home, when the war broke out,\u201d Barkan said. \u201cThere was some worry, but we felt that things were organized and that we were in good hands. The trip back was hard, especially after such an intense week in Poland, but we were very happy when we got back home.\u201d<\/p>\n Hazon Weiss said the faculty was in constant contact with parents throughout the journey, and that the school was in touch with Israel\u2019s ambassador to Poland, whose daughter studies at her school.<\/p>\n The trip was demanding and emotionally draining, Hazon Weiss, but the experience was an unforgettable one.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the kind of story we\u2019ll tell our grandchildren,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tIsraeli high school students at a Holocaust memorial site in Poland, March 2026 (Courtesy\/Roni Hazon Weiss)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-05-at-1.16.23-PM-640x400.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tIsraeli high school students celebrate Purim in Krakow after their return flights to Israel were canceled, March 3, 2026 (Courtesy\/Roni Hazon Weiss)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-05-at-1.16.24-PM-640x400.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tIsraeli high school students eat after they cross the bus from Egypt to Israel after their return flights from Poland were canceled, March 4, 2026 (Courtesy\/Roni Hazon Weiss)<\/p>\n
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