800-247-7235 info@israeltour.com

We are joining: Join Temple Beth Sholom’s Exploring Israel Adventure

Led by Rabbi Benjamin Scolnic

May 7–18, 2023

Don’t miss out! Space is still available.

Sunday, May 7 – Depart USA

Monday, May 8 – Going up into the Land

  • Arrive in Israel to be met and assisted by your ITC representative (today’s program depends on arrival time)
  • 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.
  • Tour the alleys of Old Jaffa, the ancient port city once known as the Gate of Zion. Shehecheyanu-Welcome ceremony on top of Tel Jaffa overlooking modern Tel Aviv.
  • Check-in to the Dan Panorama Hotel on Tel Aviv’s Mediterranean Coast.
  • Welcome dinner at Maganda Restaurant in Tel Aviv’s old Yemenite Quarter.
  • Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

Tuesday, May 9 – The Hebrew City and the Jewish State

  • Stroll down Rothschild Boulevard to view the Bauhaus architecture for which central Tel Aviv was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Lunch on your own and free time to explore the Nachalat Binyamin crafts fair. Then check out great street food in the nearby Carmel Market.
  • Travel to the Negev Highlands.
  • Look out at the majestic Zin Cliffs from Ben Gurion’s Gravesite at Sde Boker.
  • Travel to Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev Highlands.
  • Check-in to the Beresheet Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon.
  • Welcome dinner at hotel.
  • Overnight: Beresheet Hotel, Mitzpe Ramon

Wednesday, May 10 – Negev Highlands: Primeval Desert Beauty

  • Learn about the natural history of the region at the multimedia Makhtesh Ramon Visitors Center dedicated to fallen Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.
  • Explore the Negev Highlands on foot and
    by
    Jeep to discover magnificent desert landscapes and a fascinating window into the earth’s past.
  • Lunch on own
  • Guided tour of Mitzpe Ramon led by a local resident to discover the story of a Development Town on Israel’s extreme periphery settled by new immigrants in the 1950’s.
  • Remainder of afternoon free to relax and enjoy the hotel’s spa and recreational facilities.
  • Dinner at hotel.
  • Overnight: Beresheet Hotel, Mitzpe Ramon

Thursday, May 11 – Vision, Defense and Pioneering in the Negev

  • Tour of David Ben Gurion’s House on Kibbutz Sde Boker to learn about his vision for developing the Negev.
  • Travel to the western Negev.
  • Lunch at Kibbutz Alumim.
  • Visit Kibbutz Alumim to meet with a local kibbutznik and hear first-hand about living on the Gaza border, pioneering in the Negev and kibbutz as a community.
  • Travel to Jerusalem
  • Look out over the Old City of Jerusalem.
  • Check-in to the Dan Panorama Hotel in Jerusalem.
  • Free evening. Dinner on own.
  • Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Friday, May 12 – Exploring Jerusalem: A City with a Wall at its Hear

  • Enter the Old City through the Dung Gate.
  • 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.
  • 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 Nachlaot neighborhoods.
  • Free time to relax and prepare for Shabbat. • Shabbat candle lighting together as a community.

Friday/Shabbat evenings options:

  • 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 Kotel”, where men and women can pray together.
  • OR: Attend Friday night services at a local Jerusalem synagogue.
  • Festive Shabbat Dinner at hotel
  • Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem Saturday, May 13 – And on the Seventh Day…. in Jerusalem
  • Shabbat morning services – TBD with Rabbi Scolnic.
  • Shabbat Lunch at hotel
    Shabbat afternoon options
  • 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, where archaeologists found the oldest biblical text ever discovered.
  • Havdalah with Rabbi Scolnic.
  • 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: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, May 14 – The Old City of Jerusalem: An Ancient Jewish Legacy

  • Explore the City of David, including its ancient water systems without getting wet, as we use the Bible and archaeology to make Jerusalem’s stones tell the story of the city’s ancient past.
  • Lunch on own in Jewish Quarter.
  • Tour of Jewish Quarter including the Broad Wall, Rooftops, Cardo and Israel Tower, a closed site which will be opened especially for your group. Visit the Karaite Museum to learn about this unique Jewish community. Then hear about the restoration of the adjacent Teferet Israel Synagogue and the remarkable archaeological and Jewish heritage story lying underneath it.
  • Free time to shop and explore on own. Dinner on own.
  • Watch the Night Spectacular – Sound and light Show at the Tower of David.
  • Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Monday, May 15 – Masada and the Dead Sea: Freedom Fighters or Fanatics?

  • Set out early 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 a waterfall and hear how David hid there from King Saul. Free evening. Dinner on own.
  • Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Tuesday, May 16 – Holocaust, Remembrance and Continuity

  • Guided tour of Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum, including the Holocaust History Museum and Children’s Memorial.
  • 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 time on downtown Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda Street Pedestrian Mall.
  • Dinner at La Guta Restaurant in downtown Jerusalem.
  • Briefing on Israeli and Middle East Politics by Steve Linde, editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Report (and former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post).
  • Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Wednesday, May 17 – Wrapping Up and Departure

  • Visit Yad Lakashish, a unique employment project helping Jerusalem’s elderly, including a stop in its shop “where shopping is a mitzvah!”
  • Visit to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Shrine of the Book and the Model of Jerusalem in the first century. Free time to explore additional exhibitions on own – Recommendations: Modern Israeli art, Synagogue interiors in the Judaica section and the Archaeology Wing. See the Knesset Menorah, a remarkable bronze sculpture featuring scenes from the Bible and Jewish history.
  • Lunch on own
  • Remainder of afternoon free to explore on own and get in last minute shopping.
  • Late check out
  • Farewell Dinner at Medita Restaurant.
  • Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport – See you again soon!

Thursday, May 18 – Arrive in USA

  • Begin planning your next Israel trip with Rabbi Scolnic and ITW Tours!

Tour Package Includes:

  • Hotels: Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv; Beresheet Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev Highlands; and Dan Panorama Jerusalem
  • All Breakfasts, Shabbat Dinner and Shabbat Lunch, 4 Weekday dinners and 5 lunches as per itinerary
  • Touring with Rabbi Scolnic and one of Israel’s Top Tour Guide educators in a WiFi enabled deluxe touring Motor Coach

A Few Tour Highlights:

  • Tour the alleys of Old Jaffa, the ancient port city once known as the Gate of Zion.
  • Shehecheyanu-Welcome ceremony on top of Tel Jaffa overlooking modern Tel Aviv.
  • Guided tour of the Ayalon Institute – an underground bullet factory used by Jewish forces before the founding of the State.
  • Explore the Nachalat Binyamin crafts fair. Then check out great street food in the nearby Carmel Market.
  • Look out at the majestic Zin Cliffs from Ben Gurion’s Gravesite at Sde Boker, Travel to Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev Highlands
  • Learn about the natural history of the Makhtesh Ramon Visitors Center dedicated to fallen Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.
  • Explore the Negev Highlands by jeep to discover magnificent desert landscapes and a fascinating window into the earth’s past.
  • Discover the archaeological story of the Western Wall and episodes of Jewish life 2,000 years ago.
  • Hear about a new archaeological discovery connected to the Chanukah story. Walk through the Western Wall Tunnels.
  • Explore the bustling Machane Yehuda Market and take in a slice of local life as you see Jerusalemites prepare for Shabbat.
  • Join hundreds of other Jews from around the world to Greet the Sabbath at the Western Wall. Option to pray at “Egalitarian Kotel”.
  • Explore the City of David, as we use the Bible and archaeology to make Jerusalem’s stones tell the story of the city’s ancient past.
  • Set out early across the Judean Desert, ascend Masada by cable car to tour the ruins of Herod’s palace. Swim in the Dead Sea.
  • Guided tour of Yad Vashem Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum, including the Holocaust Children’s Memorial.
  • Briefing on Israeli and Middle East Politics by Steve Linde, editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Report.
  • Yad Lakashish, a unique employment project helping Jerusalem’s elderly, including a stop in its shop “where shopping is a mitzvah!”
  • And so much more!

    Print Application for Submission

    Land Only Package $5155 (Discounted rate for payment by check)

    Round trip Land and Air Cost $6455

    Single Room Supplement – $1979 (Discounted rate payment by check)

    Land Only Package $5361 (Full cost for credit card payment)

    Round trip Land and Air Cost $6713 (Full cost for credit card payment)

    Single Room Supplement $2058 (Full cost for credit card payment)

    Reduction for 3rd adult in room – $560

    Reduction Child, age 2-12 as 3rd in a triple room – $775

    Reduction Bar/Bat Mitzvah, 12-13 as 3rd in room – $880