DAY FOUR: Saturday, June 25, 2011
SHABBAT IN TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Shabbat services.
• Depart Tel Aviv and visit the Ayalon Institute, near Rehovot, for an eye opening tour of a clandestine munitions factory used during the British Mandate.
• Return to Tel Aviv and lunch on your own.
• 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.
• Afternoon at leisure to relax and enjoy the beach and hotel pool.
• Ben Kodesh Lechol Havdallah overlooking the Mediterranean.
• Enjoy dinner on your own in Tel Aviv, at a choice of a wide array of restaurants from the Tel Aviv Port to Jaffa, and downtown Tel Aviv.

Overnight: Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv

DAY FIVE: Sunday, June 26, 2011
THE COMMUNITIES OF ISRAEL

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out and depart Tel Aviv, driving along the coastal plain 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 a visit to the 900-year-old crusader city built on the same site.
• Lunch on your own.
• Visit Acre (Akko), a UNESCO Heritage Site, and a multi-layered experience from the days of the Crusades through contemporary Israel, including guided visits to: \
  • The newly renovated Crusaders' City.
  • The Jezzar Pasha Mosque, one of the most important mosques to Israel's Muslim citizens.
  • The renovated Turkish Bath (Hamam) with its unique audiovisual experience.
  • The Ottoman Fortifications around the city.
• Drive to the Upper Galilee
• Visit the Hula Nature Reserve and the Ophoria Interactive Experience, connecting birds, water and the Zionist endeavor.
• Check into the kibbutz hotel.
• Dinner at the kibbutz hotel.
• Where Is My Kibbutz Going? dialogue with kibbutz members on the ever-changing nature of kibbutz life today.

Overnight: Pastoral Kibbutz Kfar Blum Hotel, Upper Galilee

DAY SIX: Monday, June 27, 2011
NATURE & SECURITY IN THE GALILEE

• Breakfast at the kibbutz hotel.
• Take a jeep tour climbing to the Golan Heights in the footsteps of IDF soldiers and their battles in the Six Day War, to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery and gain an insight into the strategic complexity of the Golan.
• Short hike along the Banias River at the base of the Golan Heights.

Or

• Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and the Biblical settlement of Dan.
• Lunch on your own en route.

Option 1: 

• Visit the Pelter Winery, a young family boutique winery in the Golan Heights, including wine tasting.

Option 2: 

• Enjoy the culinary delight of a Chocolate Workshop at the De Karina Chocolate Factory on Kibbutz Ein Zivan.

All: 

• Enjoy Rafting or Kayaking on the Jordan River OR Walk along the Jordan River OR  free time to enjoy the hotel swimming pool or spa facilities.
• Return to the kibbutz.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Torchlight visit to the Nimrod Fortress, overlooking the Hula Valley. 

Overnight: Pastoral Kibbutz Kfar Blum Hotel, Upper Galilee

DAY SEVEN: Tuesday, June 28, 2011
FROM SAFED TO JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out and drive to 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.
  • Dialogue with David Friedman, a Kabbalistic artist in Safed.
• Lunch on your own en route.
• Visit the Kinneret Cemetery and hear about the dreams of the early Zionist pioneers.
• Drive through the Jordan Rift Valley and ascend to Jerusalem.
• Stop at Mt. Scopus to recite the shehechiyanu blessing, traditionally recited upon entering Jerusalem.
• 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.
• Check into the hotel and evening at leisure.

Overnight: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem

DAY EIGHT: Wednesday, June 29, 2011
THE LAYERS OF JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• The Labyrinth of Israeli Politics: dialogue with Prof. Reuven Hazan of the Political Science Department at Hebrew University.
• Depart for the Old City and begin a walking tour through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, for guided visits to some of the sites excavated over the past 40 years, including: :
  • A walk along the Rooftops of the Old City for a behind the scenes look at the various communities in Jerusalem and how they live together.
  • The Cardo, a Byzantine street that is now the world's oldest shopping arcade.
  • Hurva Square, the central square of the Jewish Quarter.
• Lunch on your own in the Old City.
• Proceed to the Kotel (Western Wall) followed by a tour the Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western diversity of Diaspora Jewish traditions.
• Home in Jerusalem: visit the Jewish neighborhood of Maaleh Hazietim in the Arab area of Ras El Amud, including a dialogue with one of the Jewish residents.
• 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.
• Dinner and evening at leisure.
• The Night Spectacular at the Tower of David Museum - a celebration of music and light reflecting Jerusalem's 3,000 year story.

Overnight: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem

DAY NINE: Thursday, June 30, 2011
JEWISH STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL

• Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive 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.
• Bathe in the relaxing and healthy sulphur springs at a Dead Sea Resort Hotel and float in the Dead Sea, including lunch.
• Walk through the Ein Gedi Botanical Gardens, an oasis in the middle of the desert with a spectacular collection and an abundance of rare plants from all over the world. (time permitting)
• Return to Jerusalem for dinner on own and the evening at leisure.

Overnight: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem

DAY TEN: Friday, July 1, 2011
MEMORIES & RENEWAL

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• The Memory of the Holocaust in Contemporary Israeli Society: dialogue with Holocaust scholar, Dr. Rachel Korazim.
• Guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including:
  • The Avenue of the Righteous
  • The new Historical Museum
  • The Children's Memorial
  • A concluding Memorial Service
• Experience the sites, smells, and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda Market with lunch on your own.
• Free time to prepare for Shabbat.
• Kabbalat Shabbat at the kotel.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Private Shabbat dinner at the hotel.

Overnight: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem

DAY ELEVEN: Saturday, July 2, 2011
SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Shabbat Services.
• Morning Shabbat in Jerusalem with optional visits to:
  • The Museum of the History of Jerusalem at David's Citadel, for a walk through the history of Jerusalem from the time of Abraham 4,000 years ago to the end of the British Mandate over Palestine.
  • The Israel Museum, one of the most creative and innovative museums in the world with a wide and eclectic collection, ranging from Judaica and archaeology to Renaissance and contemporary Israeli art, concluding with a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Shrine of the Book and the newly restored Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem.
  • Afternoon walk to the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and other Christian sites.
• Ben Kodesh Lechol Havdallah overlooking the Old City.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Early Farewell dinner at  the Karavan Resturant  in Abu Gosh
• Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for your departure flight.
• 11:35PM Depart Israel on Delta flight #153 to Atlanta.

Overnight: Flight