Sunday, June 18 – Depart U.S.A.

Monday, 19 June – Going up into the Land

• Arrive in Israel to be met and assisted by your ITC representative (today’s program depends on arrival time).
• Tour Old Jaffa, the ancient port city once known as Zion Gate from which Jonah tried to flee and where Solomon brought the Cedars of Lebanon on the way to Jerusalem.  Today paintings and sculptures have been installed in its ancient alleys.
• Shehekhiyanu-Welcome ceremony on top of Tel Jaffa overlooking modern Tel Aviv.
• Check-in to the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Tel Aviv’s Mediterranean Coast.
• Welcome dinner at Maganda Restaurant in Tel Aviv’s old Yemenite Quarter.
• Overnight: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Tuesday, 20 June – The Hebrew City and the Jewish State

• Walking tour of historic “Little Tel Aviv” – Discover the quaint Neve Tzedek neighbourhood that gave birth to the “first Hebrew city in 2,000 years”, once home to Zionist cultural pioneers Eliezer Ben Yehuda, S. Y. Agnon and Rabbi Kook.
• Hear about the establishment of Tel Aviv, the first Hebrew city in 2,000 years at the Founders’ Monument on Rothschild Boulevard and see the Bauhaus architecture for which central Tel Aviv was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Free time to explore the Nachalat Binyamin crafts fair. While there checkout the nearby Carmel Market and try great street food.  Then have a look at bohemian Sheinkin Street – All Three of these Tel Aviv icons meet at the “Magen David Junction”.
• Lunch on own
• Travel to Rehovot for a guided tour of the Ayalon Institute – An underground bullet factory used by Jewish forces before the founding of the State of Israel.
• Free time to swim in the Mediterranean Sea and enjoy beachside promenade.
• Dinner on own
• Overnight:  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Wednesday, 21 June – Digging Up the Past, Camel Ride and Swim in the Dead Sea

• Travel to  Beit Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands, crossing enroute the biblical Elah Valley, where David and Goliath fought.
• Dig up Israel’s past by participating in a hands on archaeological excavation with Dig for a Day in Beit Guvrin National Park.
• Ride Camels and experience Bedouin hospitality and  lunch at Kfar Hanokdim.
• Check in to the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Dead Sea.
• Swim in the Dead Sea at the hotel’s private beach and experience its remarkable buoyancy.
• The hotel also has a fresh water pool and spa facilities.  Massage and spa treatments available at additional cost.  A spa menu will be available before the trip.
• Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dead Sea

Thursday, 22 June – Masada and the Dead Sea: Freedom Fighters or Fanatics?

• Ascend Masada by cable car to tour the ruins of Herod’s palace and the last outpost of Jewish independence.  Discussion: Which decision did our ancesters make?  Masada or Yavne? What does that mean?
• B’nai Mitzvah ceremony on top of Masada to connect a Jewish past with a Jewish future.  (Ancient Synagogue requested for 8:30).
• Lunch on own
• Walk in Ein Gedi Nature Reserve opportunity to bathe in waterfalls and hear how David hid there from King Saul.
• Travel to Jerusalem.  En route pass Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
• Look out over the Temple Mount and Old City of Jerusalem.
• Check into the Dan Panorama Hotel in Jerusalem.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Overnight:  Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Friday, 23 June – Exploring Ancient Jerusalem and Welcoming the Sabbath

• Discover the archaeological story of the Western Wall and episodes of Jewish life 2,000 years ago at Robinson’s Arch and the Southern Wall Excavations.
• Visit the traditional prayer area of the Western Wall.
• Walk through the Western Wall Tunnels to discover underground Jerusalem.
• Lunch on own in the Jewish Quarter
• Tour of Jewish Quarter including the Broad Wall, Rooftops and Cardo followed by free time to shop and explore on own.
• Free time to relax and prepare for Shabbat.

Friday/Shabbat evening options

• Light Shabbat candles at hotel.
• Attend the “Israeli Kabbalat Shabbat” service at the First Station Compound (begins at 5:00 pm, so it is also possible to continue to one of the other kabbalat options listed below).
• OR:  Join hundreds of other Jews from around the world to Greet the Sabbath at the Western Wall. Option to pray together as a congregation at the “Masorti Kotel“, where men and women can stand together.
• OR:  Attend Friday night services at a local Jerusalem synagogue.
• Festive Shabbat Dinner at hotel.
• Overnight:  Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Saturday, 24 June – And on the Seventh Day…in Jerusalem 

• Shabbat morning services – TBD with Rabbi Raskin.
• Shabbat Lunch at hotel.
• Free time to relax, explore the city on own and enjoy hotel pool.
• Walking tour to the historic Montefiore Windmill to discover the first neighbourhood built outside the walls of the Old City.  Then continue to nearby Ketef Hinnom, a First Temple period burial site where archaeologists discovered the oldest biblical text ever found.
• Havdallah with Rabbi Raskin.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Recommendation for the evening:  Check out the First Station Compound – Jerusalem’s old Ottoman Train Station which has been converted into a restaurant- café area.  It’s a short walk from your hotel.
• Overnight:  Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, 25 June – Holocaust, Remembrance and Continuity 

• Tour of Yad Vashem – Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum, including the Historical Museum and Children’s Memorial. (Children under age 10 are not permitted in Yad Vashem’s historical museum).
• Alternate program for younger children: Visit Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo, where you’ll see animals which lived in Israel during biblical times. (Children must be accompanied by an adult).
• Lunch on own
• Tour Jerusalem’s quaint Nachlaot neighborhoods to discover a world of Jewish folklore and history just blocks from downtown Jerusalem.
• Tasting tour of the bustling Machane Yehuda Market for a multicultural gastronomic experience.
• Dinner on own if still hungry.
• Watch the Night Spectacular – Sound and light show at the Tower of David.
• Overnight:  Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Monday, 26 June – Across Israel: Many Faces of the Jewish People

• Travel north through the Jordan Valley.
• Visit Bio-Bee on Kibbutz Sde Eliahu, world leaders in organic agriculture to hear

how they are using very effectively biological pest control, rather than toxic pesticides to protect their crops.

• Lunch at Kibbutz Sde Eliahu
• Explore mystical Tzfat, cradle of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in the 16^th century.  Visit its old synagogues and picturesque alleyways.  Then discover the origins of our Friday night service in the city where Lecha Dodi was written.
• Free time to shop in galleries and explore Tzfat’s Artists Colony on own.
• Check-in to the Ramot Resort Hotel overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
• Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Ramot

Tuesday, 27 June – The Souces of the Jordan and the Strategic Golan Heights

• Kayak down the Jordan River – Great way to cool off on a hot day.
• Hike in the Banias Nature Reserve, one of the sources of the Jordan River, to see its magnificent waterfall.
• Lunch on own.
• Tour to the Golan Heights for a perspective on Israel’s complex geopolitics as we visit former Syrian bunkers overlooking Israel and strategic Mt. Bental.

Please choose one of the following two “touring and tasting” options.  Both located on nearby Kibbutz Ein Zivan (Possibility of splitting the group):

• Chocolate making workshop at the De Karina Chocolate Factory.
• OR:  Wine tasting at the boutique Pelter Winery (Kosher line to be requested) on Kibbutz Ein Zivan.
• ITC Touch:  Barbeque dinner with young Israeli soldiers who are giving some of the best years of their lives to the defense of Israel.
• Overnight:  Ramot

Wednesday, 28 June – Complex Encounters:  Israel and the Roman World

• Adventurous hike on Mt. Arbel to discover 2,000 year old Jewish rebels’ hideouts, a cliff-hanging fortress and a mishna attributed to Nitai the Arbeli.
• OR:  Visit the ruins of Caesarea, including its Roman Theater, Amphitheater, Hippodrome and Promontory Palace.  Ponder a rabbinic debate over Jews attending gladiator games.
• Lunch on own
• Guided tour of the former Atlit Illegal Immigrant Detention Camp where the British held Holocaust refugees, who tried to enter the country “illegally”. Then board an “illegal immigration ship” to watch a multimedia presentation about the heroic pre-State immigration.
• Travel to Tel Aviv
• Check in to the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Tel Aviv’s Mediteranean Coast.
• Free evenng
• Dinner on own
• Overnight: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Thursday, 29 June – New and Alternative in Tel Aviv

• Visit the new Anu – Museum of the Jewish People (prior to renovation Beit Hatfutzot), which reflect the Jewish people today by celebrating pluralism and Jewish diversity.
• Lunch on own
• Discover Tel Aviv’s remarkable street art on a graffiti tour of the hip Florentine neighborhood – The Soho of Israel.
• Remainder of afternoon free to explore on own, swim and get in last minute shopping.
• Late check out
• Farewell dinner at Liliyot, a gourmet restaurant which trains at risk youth for culinary careers.
• Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport – See you again soon!

Friday, 30 June – Arrive in USA

• Begin planning your next Israel trip with Rabbi Raskin and ITC Tours!

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