DAY ONE: Tuesday, June 11, 2013
DEPARTURE

• Depart the U.S.A.

Overnight: Flight

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport.
• Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.
• Depart the airport and visit the Old City of Jaffa; ascend from the ancient port through the renovated alleyways to the Jaffa Overlook for an introduction to Tel Aviv at the place where it all began.
• Enter the city of Tel Aviv, known as the “city that never sleeps” with its centers of culture and recreation and national history such as the Habima Theater, sprawling beaches, Dizengoff Street and Rabin Square.
• Check into the hotel.
• 7:30 p.m.  Enjoy a welcome dinner and the elegant atmosphere at Liliyot, which offers an attractive menu mixing Mediterranean and Californian cuisine. Liliyot works together with the Elem association, giving work to youth with difficulties and donating part of their profits to the association.

Overnight: Park Plaza Orchid hotel, Tel Aviv

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• 9:30 a.m. Visit the Ayalon Institute, near Rehovot, for an eye opening tour of a clandestine munitions factory used during the British Mandate.
• 12:00 p.m. Visit to Independence Hall, site of David Ben Gurion's monumental proclamation of the State of Israel in May 1948.
• Lunch on your own.
• 2:15 p.m. Visit NATAL: Israel's Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War.
• Visit the Etzel Museum, which focuses on one of the leading military organization in the history of Israel's struggle for independence (time permitting).
• Visit Rabin Square, a center of Tel Aviv's cultural and political life, named for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who was assassinated here. Take a quiet moment at the Rabin Memorial.
• Return to the hotel.
• Enjoy dinner on your own in the Old Tel Aviv Port, with its wonderful restaurants, cafes and shops, right at the water's edge.

Overnight: Park Plaza Orchid hotel, Tel Aviv

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• 9:00 a.m. Explore two thousand years of rich Jewish culture and community at Beth Hatefutsoth, the Museum of the Jewish People, located on the campus of Tel Aviv University. 
• Drive north 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.
• Visit the Ein Hod artist colony south of Haifa to view some of Israel's best artwork while visiting the numerous galleries throughout the village.
• View the Ba'hai Gardens, one of the holiest sites of the Ba'hai religion, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa while standing atop Mount Carmel.
• Check into the hotel, relax and prepare for Shabbat.
• Kabbalat Shabbat service at Kehillat Or Hadash led by Rabbi Edgar Nof.
• Home Hospitality Shabbat Dinner/Communal Shabbat Dinner with local congregants OR Festive Shabbat Dinner at the hotel (pending confirmation).

Overnight: Dan Panorama hotel, Haifa

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Shabbat morning services at the hotel.
• Descend the cliffs of Rosh Hanikra via cable car to explore the natural grottos and experience the crashing Mediterranean waves against the caves.
• Visit Acre (Akko), a UNESCO Heritage Site, for a multi-layered experience from the days of the Crusades through contemporary Israel, including visits to:
• The newly renovated Crusaders' City.
• The Jezzar Pasha Mosque, one of the most important mosques to Israel's Muslim citizens.
• The Ottoman Fortifications around the city.
• The famous Acre Shuk (Market).
• Lunch on your own.
• Return to Haifa.
• Ben Kodesh Lechol: Havdallah overlooking the Bay of Haifa as group or with Congregation Ohr Chadash (pending confirmation).
• Dinner on your own.

Overnight: Dan Panorma hotel, Haifa

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• 8:30 a.m. Check out of the hotel.
• 9:30 a.m. Visit the Neve Michael Children's Village, the only multidisciplinary children's home in Israel, which provides refuge and a loving home for over 300 children and youth at risk, including lunch.
• Visit the innovative Zippori National Park, site of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi's codification of the Mishna and a renowned mosaic collection.
• Lunch on your own en route.
• Explore Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years and a contemporary artists' colony, including:
• Guided visits to the Ari, Caro or Abuhav Synagogues with their great stories and mystical messages.
• A stroll through the quaint Art Galleries and shop in the artists' colony.
• Continue south towards the Sea of Galilee and check into the kibbutz hotel.
• Dinner at the kibbutz.

Overnight: Hagoshrim Kibbutz hotel, Sea of Galilee

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Short walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and the Biblical settlement of Dan
• Visit an abandoned Syrian outpost and follow in the footsteps of the Israeli combat soldiers who fought here; gain further insight into the challenges faced during the 1967 Six Day War and the power and surprise of its aftermath.
• Visit Emek Habecha, The Valley of Tears, located on the Eastern edge of the Golan Heights and site of one of Israel's fiercest battles during the Yom Kippur War, all the while looking deep into Syria.
• Lunch on your own in the city of Katzrin.
• 2:00 p.m. Visit the award winning Golan Winery, located in Katzrin on the Golan Heights, which launched its first wines in 1984, and have since become world renowned, with wine tasting.
• 4:00 p.m. Enjoy Rafting or Kayaking down the Jordan River.
• Return to the kibbutz.
• Dinner at the kibbutz.
• Making Sense of it all: optional sharing and debriefing session.

Overnight: Hagoshrim Kibbutz hotel, Sea of Galilee

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel and visit the Kinneret Cemetery and hear about the dreams of the early young Zionist pioneers, the challenges they faced and the obstacles they overcame.
• Swim in the fresh water pools and natural springs at the Gan Hashlosha Nature Reserve (Sachne), situated at the foot of Mt. Gilboa.
• Lunch on your own, en route.
• Continue south through the Jordan Valley toward Jerusalem.
• Stop at Mount Scopus for an overlook of the New and Old Cities of Jerusalem and to say the traditional “shehechiyanu” blessing followed by a visit to the western wall.
• Upon entering the city stop at the Kotel (Western Wall along the Temple Mount) to say the traditional shehechiyanu blessing.
• Check into the hotel and dinner on own.

Overnight: Dan Panorama hotel, Jerusalem

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• 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 world's oldest shopping arcade
• The Hurva Square, the central square of the Jewish Quarter.
• Lunch on your own in the Jewish Quarter and continue with visits to:
• The Kotel (Western Wall).
• The Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount
• Guided visit through the City of David's new excavations which have redefined the origins of Jerusalem, followed by a walk through the main (dry) water drainage tunnel of the city of Jerusalem from the Second Temple period to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park.
• Guided visit to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, including a visit to the Davidson Center and the Southern Wall Excavations.
• Return to the hotel.
• Free time in the Mamilla Pedestrian Arcade, a new and contemporary shopping area with a taste of the past, located outside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City, and dinner on own.
• 8:30 p.m.  The Night Spectacular at the Tower of David Museum: The walls of the Citadel serve as a stage for a night-time show which is a celebration of sight and sound, depicting the story of Jerusalem.

Overnight: Dan Panorama hotel, Jerusalem
 

• Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Depart Jerusalem and descend towards the Dead Sea basin.
• Stop en route for a camel ride through the desert in Biblical-style.
• Ascend the cable car to Masada, Herod's mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the Roman Legionnaire; discuss Masada's role as a symbol of Jewish defence and its current significance in modern Israel.
• Bathe in the relaxing and healthy sulfur springs at a Dead Sea Resort Hotel and float in the Dead Sea, including lunch at the hotel.
• 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 (time permitting).
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner on your own.

Overnight: Dan Panorama hotel, Jerusalem

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• 9:15 a.m.  Visit Mt. Herzl, including the Herzl Center dedicated to the life and achievements of the founder of Political Zionism, Theodore Herzl, followed by a visit to his grave and the graves of Yitzhak Rabin and other leaders of the nation.
• 11:30 a.m.  Guided visit through the 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
• 4:00 p.m.  Jewish Responsibility for the Other: Dialogue with Rabbi Michael Schwartz of Rabbis for Human Rights, exploring issues of civil rights and Jewish responsibility.
• Kabbalat Shabbat service at the Kotel.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel.

Overnight: Dan Panorama hotel, Jerusalem
 

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Shabbat Services.
• Free Shabbat in Jerusalem for an opportunity to visit (on own):
• The Old City Ramparts for a walk along the ancient walls of the city
• Visit the renewed Israel Museum, one of the most creative and innovative museums in the world, concluding with a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Shrine of the Book and the Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem.
• The Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem, for a walk through the city's history from the time of Abraham to the end of the British Mandate over Palestine.
• Last minute shopping in the Old City Arab Market or experience the Shabbat quiet of Jerusalem with a stroll through Yemin Moshe neighbourhood overlooking the walls of the Old City.
• Ben Kodesh Lechol: Havdallah overlooking the Old City.
• 9:00 p.m. Farewell dinner at the Little Jerusalem Restaurant in the quaint Anna Ticho House.
• Late check out from the hotel.
• Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for the return flight to the U.S.A.

Overnight: Flight

• Arrival in the U.S.A.