Tuesday, 9 July – Depart USA

Wednesday, 10 July – 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 and orientation at Maganda Yemenite Restuarant.
• Overnight:  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Thursday, 11 July – A New City and a Nation Reborn

• Discover City of Sand and Sea, a mosaic fountain created by artist and writer Nachum Gutman portraying scenes from the history of Jaffa and Tel Aviv.
• Hear about the establishment of Tel Aviv at the Founders’ Monument.  Then stroll down Rothschild Boulevard to view the Bauhaus architecture for which central Tel Aviv was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Tasting Tour of the colorful Levinsky Market to sample foods, beverage and sweets from around Mediterranean and hear the personal stories of the vendors.
• Lunch on own, if still hungry.
• Discover Tel Aviv’s art on a graffiti tour in the upbeat Florentine neighborhood – The Soho of Israel.  Hungry for more?
• Free time to swim in the Mediterranean Sea and walk along beach side Promenade.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Overnight:  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Friday, 12 July  – The Hebrew City and the Jewish State

• 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.
• Lunch on your own and free time to explore the Nachalat Binyamin crafts fair. While there checkout the nearby Carmel Market and great street food.  Then have a look at bohemian Sheinkin Street – All Three of these Tel Aviv icons meet at the “Magen David Junction”.
• Free time to relax, explore Tel Aviv on own and prepare for Shabbat.
• Shabbat evening services – To be determined with Rabbi Dorsch.
• Festive Shabbat Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Saturday/Shabbat, 13 July

• Shabbat morning services – To be determined with Rabbi Dorsch.
• Walking tour of historic “Little Tel Aviv” – Discover the quaint Neve Tzeddek neighbourhood that gave birth to the “first Hebrew city in 2,000 years”.
• Traditional Shabbat lunch at hotel.
• Visit the “Aliyah Bet” Memorial in London Square to hear the story of the illegal immigration operations which rescued Jewish refugees before the founding of the State of Israel.
• Free time to swim, explore on your own and watch Tel Aviv’s residents folkdance, play raquetball, walk the promenade and enjoy Shabbat afternoon by the sea.
• Havdallah with Rabbi Dorsch.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Overnight:  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Sunday, 14 July  – Cradles of Jewish Civilization in the Galilee

• Depart for northern Israel.
• Visit the ruins of Caesarea, including its Roman Theater, Amphitheater, Hippodrome and Promontory Palace.
• ITC Touch:  Ponder a rabbinic debate over Jews attending gladiator games.
• Lunch on own
• Tour of the Old City of Acco:  Visit the Underground Prisoners Museum in Acco Prison, where the British held and even executed Jewish underground fighters.  A daring escape from this prison is featured in the film Exodus.  Then venture beneath the streets of Old Acco to explore the Crusader Knights Halls.
• Travel to Rosh Hanikra in the northwest corner of Israel.
• Descend by cable car to explore the Grottos of Rosh Hanikra – Beautiful sea caves formed by the forces of wind and water.
• Check–in to the Nof Ginosar Hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
• Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Ginosar

Monday, 15 July  – Ancient and Modern Geopolitics and Israel’s Finest

• Tour mystical Tzfat’s old synagogues and picturesque alleyways. Tzfat was the cradle of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in the 16^th century.  Judaism’s Friday night service, Kabbalat Shabbat, and the hymn Lecha Dodi originated in Tzfat a that time.
• Raft or Kayak down the Jordan River – Great way to cool off on a hot day.
• Lunch on own
• Jeep tour of the Golan Heights for a perspective on Israel’s complex geopolitics as we visit bunkers where the Syrian army “looked down” at Israel.  Then look out at the border region from 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:  Guided tour of the boutique Bahat Winery including wine tasting.
• Barbeque dinner with young Israeli soldiers who are giving some of the best years of their lives to the defense of Israel.
• Overnight:  Ginosar

Tuesday, 16 July – Across Israel: A Multicultural Jewish Society

• Visit the ancient synagogue of Beit Alfa and discover why a wheel of the zodiac appears on its 1,500 year old mosaic floor.

• 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
• Continue south through the Jordan Valley and ascend to Jerusalem.
• Shekhiyanu/Welcome ceremony overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Optional evening: visit to The Israel Museum ( Muze’on Yisrael,) is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel’s largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopaedic museums.
• Check-in to Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Overnight: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem

Wednesay, 17 July  – The Old City of Jerusalem – An Ancient Jewish Legacy

• Visit Yad Lakashish – A unique employment and Tzedakah project serving Jerusalem’s elderly citizens and stop off its store where shopping is a mitzvah.
• Discover the archaeological story of the Western Wall and episodes from rabbinic texts while standing where Jewish pilgrims walked 2,000 years ago at Robinson’s Arch and the Southern Wall Excavations.
• Walk through the the Western Wall Tunnels to discover underground Jerusalem.
• Lunch on own in Jewish Quarter.
• Guided tour of Jewish Quarter including the Cardo, Broad Wall and Rooftops followed by free time to shop and explore on own.
• Explore the City of David using the Bible and archaeology to make Jerusalem’s stones tell the story of the city’s ancient past.  Wade through Hezekiah’s Tunnel – A still flowing ancient water system that saved the city of Jerusalem 2,700 years ago (dry option available).
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Recommendation for the evening: Visit the First Station Compound, Jerusalem’s restored Ottoman railway station turned restaurant – cafe area.
• Overnight: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem

Thursday, 18 July – Masada and the Dead Sea: Freedom Fighters or Fanatics?

• 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?
• 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.
• Time permitting:  Walk in Ein Gedi Nature Reserve opportunity to bath in waterfalls and hear how David hid there from King Saul.
• Stop off at “Abraham’s Tent” for a Camel ride and biblical dinner.
• Free evening.
• Overnight: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem

Friday, 19 July – Holocaust, Remembrance and Continuity 

• Guided 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.  Zoo visit not included in the tour price).
• Lunch on own.
• At the multimedia Herzl Museum, experience the story of Theodore herzl, followed by a meaningful visit to Mt. Herzl Cemetery to find chapters in the history of Israel at the graves of Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir, Theordore Herzl, Hannah Senesch and Mike Levine.
• Explore the bustling Machane Yehuda Market and take in a slice of local life as you see Jerusalemites prepare for Shabbat.  On the way, see the nearby picturesque Nachalaot neighborhoods.
• Free time to relax and prepare for Shabbat.
• 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 egalitarian “Masorati Kotel“, where men and women can stand together.
• OR:  Attend Friday night services at a local Jerusalem synagogue.
• Festive Shabbat Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem

Saturday/Shabbat, 20 July – And on the Seventh Day… in Jerusalem 

• Shabbat morning services at a the synagogue of your choice (Recommendations and directions will be provied).
• Shabbat Lunch at hotel.
• Free time to relax, explore Jerusalem on own and enjoy hotel pool.
• Late afternoon walking tour to the historic Montefiore Windmill to discover the first neighbourhood built outside the walls of the Old City.
• AND/OR:  Walking tour to First Temple period burial site at Ketef Hinnom – Where archaeologists discovered the oldest biblical text ever found.
• Havdalah with Rabbi Dorsch
• Farewell dinner at Medita Restaurant.
• Return to hotel
• Overnight: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, 21 July – Arrive in U.S.A.

• Early morning transfer to Ben Gurion Airport – See you again soon!
• Begin planning your next Israel trip with Rabbi Dorsch and ITC Tours!

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Print Application for Submission