Monday, June 19 (Rosh Hodesh Tammuz)

Depart USA.

Tuesday, June 20 – When You Come Into the Land (Deut. 26:1)(Rosh Hodesh Tammuz)

• Arrive in Israel to be met and assisted by

  your ITC representative at Ben Gurion Airport

  (today’s program depends on arrival time)

• Visit the ruins of Caesarea, including its Roman Theater, Amphitheater, Hippodrome and Promontory Palace, and 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.

• Check-in to the Kibbutz Lavi Hod/Hadar Wing in the Galilee.

• Dinner at hotel

• Overnight: Kibbutz Lavi Hod/Hadar Wing

  Wednesday, June 21 – Mystical Tzfat and the Sources of the Jordan

• Walking tour mystical Tzfat’s old

  synagogues and picturesque alleyways. Tzfat was the cradle of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in the 16th century. Judaism’s Friday night service, Kabbalat Shabbat, and the hymn Lecha Dodi originated in Tzfat a that time.

• Visit the neighboring Tzfat Candles Factory to see how havdallah candles are made.

• ITC Touch: Visit the studio of a Kabbalistic artist Avraham Loewenthal and hear how Jewish spirituality influences his work.

• Free time to explore marketplace and browse in galleries on own.

• Lunch on own in Tzfat.

• Enjoy Donkey rides, try ancient crafts and

  send a message by carrier pigeon at Kfar

  Kedem.

• Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee followed

  by a lakeside dinner at Decks Restaurant.

• Overnight: Kibbutz Lavi Hod/Hadar Wing

  Thursday, June 22 – Sources of the Jordan and the Strategic Golan Heights

• Walk in the lush Tel Dan Nature Reserve,

  one of the sources of the Jordan River, where you’ll discover biblical intrigue, enjoy refreshing wading pools and see one of the oldest arches in the world.

• Kayak down the Jordan River – Great way to cool off on a hot day.

• Packed lunch from Lavi.

• Tour to the Golan Heights for a special

  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 Bahat

• Dinner at hotel
• Overnight: Kibbutz Lavi Hod/Hadar Wing

Friday, June 23 – Jordan River Valley

• Learn about kibbutz life on a walking tour of Lavi led by a local kibbutznik.

• Travel south through the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem.

• Look out over the Old City of Jerusalem and Temple Mount.

• Visit the bustling Machane Yehuda Market to take in the frenetic atmosphere as Jerusalemites prepare for Shabbat.

• Lunch on own in Machane Yehuda Market. • Check-in to the King Solomon Hotel in

Jerusalem.

• Free time to relax and prepare for Shabbat. • 6:30pm Special early candlelighting. This is the ‘latest’ Shabbat of the year, so we will

bring in Shabbat early in consideration of

families with younger children.
• Festive Shabbat Dinner at hotel
• Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem

Saturday, June 24 (Parshat Hukat) – And on the Seventh Day…in Jerusalem
• Shabbat morning services at a local

synagogue.
• Pre-Lunch L’chaim with Rabbi Cohen –

BYOB
• Traditional Shabbat Lunch at hotel.
• Free time to relax and enjoy nearby Liberty

Bell Park.

• Late afternoon walking tour to the historic Montefiore Windmill to discover the first neighborhood 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 (Birkat Kohanim) ever found.

• Seudah Shlishit at hotel.
• Havdalah with Rabbi Cohen.
• Free evening
• Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, June 25 – The Old City of Jerusalem: An Ancient Jewish Legacy
• 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. Hear about a new archaeological discovery connected to the Chanukah story.

• Walk through the Western Wall Tunnels to discover underground Jerusalem, as you walk alongside the Kotel’s massive foundation stones and possibly stand opposite Kodesh Hakodeshim.

• Lunch on own in Jewish Quarter.
• Tour of Jewish Quarter including the Broad Wall, Rooftops and Cardo, followed by free

time to shop and explore on own.
• Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem

Monday, June 26 – Masada and the Dead Sea

• Set out across the Judean Desert and ascend Masada by cable car to tour the ruins of Herod’s palace and the last outpost of Jewish independence. Discussion: Which Jewish Legacy – Masada or Yavne? Which decision did our ancesters make?

• Swim in the Dead Sea, the lowest place

on earth, at a local resort. The resort also has a fresh water pool and spa facilities. Massage and spa treatments available by prior reservation at own expense.

• Lunch at Dead Sea resort.
• Walk in Ein Gedi Nature Reserve

opportunity to bathe in waterfalls and hear

how David hid there from King Saul.
• Stop off at “Abraham’s Tent” for a Camel ride and biblical dinner before returning to

Jerusalem.
• Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem

Tuesday, June 27 – 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
• Discover the story of Theodore Herzl,

Zionism’s founding father, at the dynamic Herzl Museum, followed by a meaningful visit to Mt Herzl Cemetery to discover chapters in the history of Israel while visiting the graves of Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir, Theodore Herzl and Hannah Senesh.

• Free evening. Dinner on own.
• Overnight: Orient Hotel, Jerusalem

Wednesday, June 28 – 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.

• Packed lunch
• Dedication of a Torah scroll donated by

Congregation Agudath Sholom to the IDF at an army base. Please note: The schedule for the Torah dedication may change this day’s itinerary.

• Late check out.
• Farewell Dinner at Medita Restaurant. • Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport.

Thursday, June 29 – Arrive in USA: A Temporary Departure
• Begin planning your next Israel trip with

Rabbi Cohen and ITC Tours!

Tour Package Includes:

• Hotels: Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, Galilee and Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem

• All Breakfasts, Friday night “Shabbat” Dinner and Shabbat Lunch, 6 weekday dinners and lunches as per itinerary

• Touring with Rabbi Daniel and Diane Cohen and one of Israel’s Top Tour Guide educators in a WiFi enabled deluxe touring Motor Coach

  A Few Tour Highlights:

• Visit the ruins of Caesarea, including its Roman Theater, Amphitheater, Hippodrome and Promontory Palace, and ponder a rabbinic debate over Jews attending gladiator games.

• Visit the former Atlit Illegal Immigrant Detention Camp where the British held Holocaust refugees.

• Tour mystical Tzfat’s old synagogues and picturesque alleyways. Tzfat was the cradle of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism).

• Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee followed by a lakeside dinner at Decks Restaurant.

• Tour to the Golan Heights for a special perspective on Israel’s complex geopolitics as we visit former Syrian bunkers overlooking

  Israel and strategic Mt. Bental.

• Learn about kibbutz life on a walking tour of Nof Ginosar led by a local kibbutznik.

• Discover the archaeological story of the Western Wall and episodes of Jewish life 2,000 years ago.

• Walk through the Western Wall Tunnels to discover underground Jerusalem, as you walk alongside the Kotel’s massive foundation

  stones and possibly stand opposite Kodesh Hakodeshim.

• Greet Shabbat at the Western Wall together with hundreds of other Jews from around the world.

• Traditional Shabbat Lunch and Havdalah with Rabbi Cohen.

• Set out across the Judean Desert and ascend Masada by cable car to tour the ruins of Herod’s palace and the last outpost of

  Jewish independence.

• Swim in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. Stop off at “Abraham’s Tent” for a Camel ride and biblical dinner before returning

  to Jerusalem.

• Tour of Yad Vashem – Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum, including the Historical Museum and Children’s Memorial.

• Hands-on tzedakah at Yad Ezra Veshulamith preparing food packages for distribution to some of Israel’s neediest people.

• Yad Leshirion Tank Memorial in Latrun to learn about the Armored Corp, climb on tanks and hear about the struggle for the road to

  Jerusalem during Israel’s War of Independence.

• 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.

• Visit Yad Lakashish, a unique employment project helping Jerusalem’s elderly, a stop in its shop “where shopping is a mitzvah!”

• And much, much more!