Sunday, 30 October – Depart USA

Monday, 31 October – 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 the alleys of Old Jaffa, the ancient port city, once known as the Zion Gate, through which Jonah fled and Solomon brought the Cedars of Lebanon.
• Shehekhiyanu-Welcome ceremony on top of Tel Jaffa overlooking modern Tel Aviv.
• Check-in to the Carlton Hotel or Crowne Plaza Hotel on Tel Aviv‘s Mediterranean Coast.
• Welcome dinner at Meatos Restaurant.
• Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv

Tuesday, 1 November – Tel Aviv:  A New City and a Nation Reborn

• Walking tour of historic “Little Tel Aviv” – Discover the quaint Neve Tzeddek neighborhood 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 Nachum Gutman.
• ITC Touch: 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 see the Bauhaus architecture for which central Tel Aviv’s “White City” was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Lunch on your own and free time to explore the Nahalat Binyamin crafts fair. While there checkout the nearby Carmel Market (great street food) and bohemian Sheinkin Street.  All three of these Tel Aviv icons meet at the “Magen David” junction.
• Visit the Palmach Museum in Ramat Aviv to learn about the elite  underground organization which played a critical role in the founding of the State of Israel.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv

Wednesday, 2 November – Cradles of Jewish Civilization in the Galilee

• Depart for northern Israel.
• Explore the ruins of Tzippori, the city where Rabbi Judah Hanasi sealed the Mishna.  Discover Tzippori’s remarkable ancient mosaic pavements, including Mona Lisa of the Galilee, Nile Flood Festival and Orpheus, who looks like King David (?). What do the ruins of Tzippori reveal about Jews and Hellenism?  Then ponder why an ancient synagogue floor features a wheel of the zodiac.  Why does the Menorah on the mosaic have seven branches instead of nine?
• Lunch on own.
• 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.
• Free time to browse in galleries and explore Tzfat’s Artists Colony on own.
• Check in to the Kibbutz Lavi Hotel in the Galilee.
• Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Kibbutz Lavi Hotel, Galilee

Thursday, 3 November – The Jordan River 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 and one of the oldest arches in the world.
• 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.
• Touring and tasting on nearby Kibbutz Ein Zivan:
• Chocolate making workshop at the De Karina Chocolate Factory.
• Guided tour of the boutique Bahat Winery including wine tasting.
• Kosher barbeque dinner with young Israeli soldiers who are giving some of the best years of their lives to the defense of Israel.
• Overnight:  Kibbutz Lavi Hotel, Galilee

Friday, 4 November – Across Israel:  Many Faces of the Jewish People

• Walking tour of Kibbutz Lavi led by a local kibbutznik to learn about kibbutz life.
• Discover Ethiopian Jewish culture at the Germachin Center in Beit Shean.  Hear a personal account of this community’s modern day Exodus story and about the challenges facing the Ethiopian Israeli community today.  Did the Jews in Ethiopia know about Hanukka?  When did they lose contact with the rest of the Jewish people?
• Lunch on own
• Continue south through the Jordan Valley and ascend to Jerusalem.
• Shehekhiyanu/Welcome ceremony overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Check-in to the David Citadel Hotel or Dan Panorama Hotel in Jerusalem.
• Free time to relax and prepare for Shabbat.
• Attend Friday night services at a local Jerusalem synagogue.
• Festive Shabbat Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  David Citadel Hotel or Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Saturday, 5 November – And on the Seventh Day… in Jerusalem 

• Shabbat morning services – TBD with Rabbi Wolk.
• Traditional Shabbat Lunch at hotel.
• Late afternoon walking tour to the historic Montefiore Windmill to discover the first neighborhood 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.
• Havdallah with Rabbi Wolk
• 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:  David Citadel Hotel or Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, 6 November The Old City of Jerusalem:  An Ancient Jewish Legacy

• Briefing on Religious Pluralism in Israel and the Masorti (Conservative) Movement by Rabbi Andy Sacks, Deputy Director of the Masorti Movement.
• Discover the archaeological story of the Western Wall and episodes of Jewish life in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago at Robinson’s Arch and the Southern Wall Excavations.  Hear about a discovery beneath Robinson’s Arch that is connected to the Chanukah story.
• Walk through the Western Wall Tunnels to discover underground Jerusalem.
• Lunch on own
• Tour of Jewish Quarter including the restored Hurva Syangogue, Cardo, Broad Wall and Rooftops.  Then hear about the remarkable discoveries under the ruins of the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue.
• 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:  David Citadel Hotel or Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Monday, 7 November – Masada and the Dead Sea: Freedom Fighters or Fanatics?

• Set out early to travel across the Judean Desert, passing en route Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
• 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 Hod Hamidbar 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 Hod Hamidbar  resort.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Recommendation for the evening:  Check out downtown Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda Street Pedestrian Mall.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Overnight:  David Citadel Hotel or Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

 Tuesday, 8 November – Holocaust, Remembrance and Continuity 

• 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).
• Tour of Yad Vashem Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, including tour of the Holocaust History Museum and a moving visit to the Children’s Memorial. 
• Meaningful visit to Mt Herzl Cemetery to discover chapters in the history of Israel while vidsiting the graves of Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir, Theodor Herzl and Hannah Senesch.
• 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.
• Read Yehuda Amichai’s poem ‘Tourists’ and discuss its relevance to the day’s experience.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own, if still hungry
• Recommendation for the evening:  Experience the Machane Yehuda Market at night, when it becomes a hip eating and drinking venue and see the murals painted on the doors of market stalls.
• Overnight:  David Citadel Hotel or Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Wednesday, 9 November – Lasting Memories 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 the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Model of ancient Jerusalem in the first century.  Free time to explore additional exhibits on own.  Recommendations:  Modern Israeli art, Synagogue interiors in the Judaica Section and the Archaeology Wing.
• 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, 10 November – Arrive in USA.

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

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