DAY ONE: Wednesday, June 2, 2010
DEPARTURE

• Depart Memphis onboard Continental Airlines flight #2291 at 11:30AM, arriving in Newark at 3:19PM, with connecting service onboard Continental flight #90 departing at 10:50PM and arriving in Tel Aviv the next day.

Overnight: Flight

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport on flight CO 090.
• Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.
• Ascend to Jerusalem through the Judean Hills.
• Welcome to Jerusalem - Enter the vibrant and colourful 3,000 year old city of Jerusalem and experience the convergence of the old and the new.
• Stop at the Haas Promenade to say the traditional “shehechiyanu” blessing, recited upon entering Jerusalem.
• Welcome dinner at Olive & Fish, a meat and fish restaurant, located across from the Liberty Bell Gardens.
• Check into the hotel.

Overnight: David Citadel, Jerusalem

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Enter the Old City.
• Walking tour through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, for guided visits to some of the sites excavated over the past 30 years, including:
  • The Cardo, a Byzantine street that is now the oldest shopping arcade in the world.
  • The Hurva Square, the central square of the Jewish Quarter.
  • Guided visit through the 2,000-year old Herodian Mansions in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.
  • Visit the Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount.
  • The Kotel (Western Wall).
  • Lunch on your own in the Old City.
• LaDa'at  Jerusalem Erev Shabbat -  Experience the unique atmosphere as Jerusalemites hurriedly prepare for Shabbat as you drive through the city, exploring the numerous traditions Jews have brought with them from the world over.
• Return to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat.
• Kabbalat Shabbat services at the Southern Wall Excavations.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel.

Overnight: David Citadel, Jerusalem

• Shabbat Walk through hidden alleyways to Mt. Zion, including the Temple Mount Overlook and King David's Tomb.
• Return to the hotel.
• Ben Kodesh Lechol Havdallah overlooking the Old City.
• Free Evening in Jerusalem on Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall or on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony, joining the many Israelis out on the town.

Overnight: David Citadel, Jerusalem

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Descend to the Dead Sea Basin.
• Ascend the cable car to Masada, Herod's mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the Roman Legionnaires.  Discuss Masada's role as a symbol of Jewish defence and its current significance in modern Israel.
• Lunch on your own.
• Short hike to Nahal David the freshwater spring at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, a lush oasis in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea.
• Bathe in the relaxing and healthy sulphur springs at the Mineral Beach and float in the Dead Sea.
• Visit Genesis Land, a Biblical style encampment in the Judean Desert, delve into the Bible, experience Biblical Hospitality, enjoy a Hafla feast and take a camel ride through the desert.
• Return to the hotel.

Overnight: David Citadel, Jerusalem

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• B'nai Mitzvah Ceremony on the rooftop of Beit Shmuel - Merkaz Shimshon, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Visit Hadassah Hospital for an in-depth look at this cutting edge medical facility and how it has adapted to ever changing needs, including a Tikkun Olam Project (to be developed).
• Experience the sites, smells, and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda Market, with lunch on your own.
• LaDa'at  The Geopolitics of Jerusalem - Travel through the city of Jerusalem exploring some of the political and diplomatic complexities of recent years, including Har Homa, Gilo and the new ‘Security Fence' in the Jerusalem area.
• Take part in an active dig at the Beit Guvrin Caves and prepare to get your hands dirty as you uncover pottery from the Hellenistic period, 2,300 years ago, followed by a crawl through the Maresha Cave Labyrinth.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner on your own and evening at leisure.

Overnight: David Citadel, Jerusalem 

• A concluding Memorial Service at Yad Vashem.
• Lunch on your own.
• Depart Jerusalem; drive north through the Jordan Rift Valley.
• Swim in the warm waters and natural springs at the Gan Hashlosha Nature Reserve (Sachne) situated at the foot of Mt. Gilboa.
• Continue to the Upper Galilee and check into the hotel.
• Afternoon at leisure to enjoy the hotel's facilities.
• Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight: Pastoral Hotel, Kibbutz Kfar Blum

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Explore Israel's security situation on the Golan Heights while overlooking the Hula Valley from former Syrian fortifications.
• Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and the Biblical settlement of Dan.
• Enjoy Rafting or Kayaking on the Jordan River.
• Lunch on your own.
• Explore Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artists' colony, including:
  • Guided visits to the Ari or Abuhav Synagogues with their great stories and mystical messages.
  • A stroll through the quaint Art Galleries and shop in the artists' colony.
• Jeep ride through the Galilee Mountains and the Biriya Forest, including a stop at the ancient Nevoraya Synagogue.
• Return to the hotel for dinner.

Overnight: Pastoral Hotel, Kibbutz Kfar Blum

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out and depart the Kibbutz.
• Ride the Manara cable car to ascend the Manara Cliff overlooking the Hula Valley and the Golan Heights with optional rappelling and mountain sliding.
• Drive west to the Coastal Plain; lunch on your own en route.
• Guided visit to Caesarea, one of the Land of Israel's most important cities during the Roman Period; visit the Herodian Theater and new excavations along the Mediterranean shore concluding with the new interactive audio-visual program ‘The Stars of Caesarea,' located in the 900-year-old crusader city built on the same site.
• Drive to Tel Aviv, known as the “city that never sleeps” and check into the hotel.
• Free evening in Tel Aviv with an opportunity to:
  • Meander through the Old City of Jaffa
  • Stroll down Rothschild Boulevard with its many cafes and bars
  • Experience the Tel Aviv Port with its restaurants and clubs
  • Explore the newly gentrified Neve Zedek Neighborhood
  • Saunter down the Tel Aviv Beach Promenade 

Overnight: David InterContinental, Tel Aviv

Overnight: David InterContinental, Tel Aviv

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Morning Services.
• Visit Rabin Square, named for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the center of Tel Aviv's cultural and political life, including a visit to the Rabin Memorial.
• Lunch on your own.
• Visit the Ayalon Institute, near Rehovot, for an eye opening tour of a clandestine munitions factory used during the British Mandate.
• Visit the Old City of Jaffa and stroll through the renovated artists' colony and the ancient port.
• Return to the hotel.
• Late check out of the hotel.
• Farewell dinner at Kimmel Restaurant, offering a selection of eclectic food, located in a restored building which formerly belonged to the last Turkish sultan, in downtown Tel Aviv.
• Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport.
• Depart Israel onboard Continental Airlines flight #091 at 11:50 p.m. arriving the following day.

Overnight: Flight