DAY ONE: Saturday, March 17, 2012
DEPARTURE

• Depart Memphis on US Airways flight #2642 at 2:25pm to Charlotte. Connect on US Airways flight #734 to Philadelphia at 5:55pm. Connect on US Airways flight #796 at 9:15pm arriving to Tel Aviv the next day.

Overnight: Flight

• 2:05 p.m. Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport.
• Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.
• Drive through Tel Aviv, known as the “city that never sleeps” and pass by centers of culture and recreation such as the Habima Theater, sprawling beaches, Dizengoff Street and Rabin Square.
• Check into the hotel.
• Opening Dinner 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: Carlton, Tel Aviv

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit to Independence Hall, site of David Ben Gurion's monumental proclamation of the State of Israel in May 1948.
• Guided walk down Bialik Street in Tel Aviv, including a visit to the recently renovated Rubin House, the former residence and studio of one of Israel's pioneering modern artists, Reuven Rubin and delve into his special world of modern Israeli art, including a wide array of interactive presentations.
• Ethnic Tasting Tour through Tel Aviv's famous Levinsky Market, where you'll find a combination of foods and sweets from all over the Mediterranean and enjoy 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. 
• 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, Tel Aviv

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel and depart Tel Aviv along the coastal plain
• Stop briefly at the aqueducts which brought water to Caesarea.
• Guided visit to Zichron Ya'acov, one of the first communities established by the early Zionist pioneers, including a walk along the colorful Pedestrian Mall.
• Lunch on your own.
• Visit Acre (Akko), a UNESCO Heritage Site, for 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 Ottoman Fortifications around the city.
• The Templar Canal to the port of Acre.
• The famous Acre Shuk (Market).
• Drive to Haifa and stop of Mount Carmel for a scenic overlook of Haifa Bay
• Check into the hotel.
• Dinner on your own and evening at leisure.

Overnight:  Dan Carmel, Haifa
 

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Visit the Or Hadash Reform Congregation in Haifa for a dialogue with Rabbi Edgar Nof and congregants.
• 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.
• Explore Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artists' colony, including:
• Guided visits to the Ari, Caro and Abuhav Synagogues with their great stories and mystical messages.
• A dialogue with David Friedman, an artist inspired by Kabbalistic messages.
• A stroll through the quaint Art Galleries and shop in the artists' colony.
• Drive to Tiberias and check into the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight: Rimonim Galei Kinnereth, Tiberias

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Explore Israel's security situation on the Golan Heights from Mt. Bental, overlooking the abandoned Syrian town of Kuneitra, for a first-hand view of Israel's security position along the Syrian Border; visit a former Israeli bunker and gain further insight into the challenges Israel faced during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
• Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and the Biblical settlement of Dan.
• Lunch on own en route.
• Visit Misgav Am for a security briefing overlooking the Southern Lebanon border and a dialogue with a local resident.
• Tour of Kibbutz Yiron followed by a visit to the Galil Mountain Winery, located on the kibbutz grounds and a young offshoot of the Golan Winery which has quickly developed its own wine identity, with wine tasting.
• Dinner at Roberg, known for its Israeli, Middle-Eastern delicacies with flavors from around the world, and a breathtaking view of the Galilee.
• Return to the hotel.

Overnight: Rimonim Galei Kinnereth, Tiberias
 

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• LaDa'at  Kinneret Cemetery - Enter the world of the early Zionist pioneers, their hopes and dreams, their trials and tribulations and the vision of their ultimate success through visits to the graves of great Zionist personalities such as Rachel the Poet, Ber Borochov and Noami Shemer.
• Visit the Beit Shean National Park, one of Israel's largest archaeological sites with its biblical period archaeological mound and on-going excavations exposing the vast Roman-Byzantine City.
• Drive through the Jordan Rift Valley, stopping for lunch on your own en route.
• Stop at Mount Scopus to say the traditional shehechiyanu blessing.
• Time permitting, experience the sites, smells, and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda Market as Jerusalemites prepare for Shabbat.
• Experience the special energy at the Western Wall as hundreds of people gather to create a unique atmosphere in welcoming the Shabbat.
• Kabbalat Shabbat services at the hotel with the Rabbi.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel with social scientist Paul Liptz of Hebrew Union College and Tel Aviv University: Israeli Society @ 2012.

Overnight: Inbal, Jerusalem

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Shabbat Morning Services at Yemin Moshe overlooking the Old City.
• Proceed to the Old City and lunch on own.
• Walk along the Ramparts of the Old City and then walk through the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other Christian sites.
• Walk through the famous Jerusalem Arab Shuk (Market).
• Ben Kodesh Lechol Havdallah overlooking the Old City.
• Enjoy dinner on your own in Jerusalem, at a choice of a wide array of restaurants.
• The Night Spectacular at the Tower of David Museum: The walls of the Citadel serve as a stage for a nighttime show which is a celebration of sight and sound, depicting the story of Jerusalem.

Overnight: Inbal, Jerusalem

• Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Enter the Old City via the Dung Gate.
• Visit the Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall alongside the Temple Mount.
• 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
• Visit to the Burnt House.
• Lunch on own in the Jewish Quarter.
• LaDa'at  The Geopolitics of Jerusalem - Travel through the city of Jerusalem exploring some of the political and diplomatic complexities of recent years, including the ‘Security Barrier' for further insight into the ramifications of current developments.
• 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 and enjoy dinner on your own in Jerusalem, at a choice of a wide array of restaurants.

Overnight: Inbal, Jerusalem

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit the Yad LaKashish Project, a multifaceted workshop for senior adults and people with special needs.
• 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
• Experience the sites, smells, and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda Market, with lunch on your own.
• Visit the renewed 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 and the Shrine of the Book and the Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem.
• Return to the hotel.
• Enjoy dinner on your own.

Overnight: Inbal, Jerusalem

• 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 at the hotel.
• Time Permitting: 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.
• Return to Jerusalem and time for last minute shopping, relaxing and packing.
• Late check out from the hotel.
• Festive Farewell Dinner at Olive & Fish, a meat and fish restaurant located across from the Liberty Bell Gardens.
• 7:00 p.m. Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport.
• 10:55 p.m. Departure on US Airways flight #797 at arriving to Philadelphia the next day.

Overnight: Flight

• Connect on US Airways flight #1087 at 8:20am to Charlotte. Connect on US Airways flight #2611 at 1:01pm to Memphis arriving at 1:55pm.