Tel Aviv, Galilee, Jerusalem, Masada

Sunday. Depart the USA to Israel. Your flight includes meals, drinks and in-flight entertainment for your journey

Monday. Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport. Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities. Transfer through Tel Aviv, known as the "city that never sleeps", passing by centers of culture and recreation, from the Mann and Habima Theaters to sprawling beaches and Dizengoff Street. Check into your hotel on the Mediterranean and the rest of the day at leisure: TEL AVIV

Tuesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Begin your tour with a stop at Rabin Square, named after slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and continue to the Old City of Jaffa and stroll through the renovated artists' colony and the ancient port. Drive to Rehovot and visit the Ayalon Institute, site of a clandestine munitions factory during the British Mandate. After lunch on your own en route 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. Dinner and orientation at a local restaurant with a Rabbi from the Reform Congregation, Beit Daniel(B, D): TEL AVIV

Wednesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out of the hotel begin your trip with an introduction and special visit to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel was signed in 1948. Depart Tel Aviv and drive along the Trans-Israel Highway for a close up view of the 'Security Fence' erected along the separation zone between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Visit the new Stars of Caesarea touring program at Caesarea, with it's Roman and Crusader cities and a new interactive audio-visual complex. Lunch on your own in the quaint town of Zichron Ya'acov, one of the first communities established by the early Zionist pioneers. Continue to the Upper Galilee and look into Southern Lebanon.  Discuss some of the issues relating to the security of communities in Northern Israel. Check into your kibbutz guesthouse. After dinner there will be an optional evening of Israeli folk-dancing with Israelis (B,D): GALILEE

Thursday. After breakfast at the hotel depart for a walk in a nature reserve at the base of the Golan Heights. Next explore Israel's security situation on the Golan Heights while overlooking the Hula Valley from former Syrian fortifications, including a jeep tour climbing to the Golan Heights in the footsteps of IDF soldiers' and  battles in the Six Day War. After lunch on your own, proceed to Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artists' colony. Conclude the day (summer months only) by rafting down the Jordan River and then Return to the guesthouse for dinner followed by a meeting with representatives of the kibbutz to hear about the changing nature of the kibbutz in Israel today. (B,D) GALILEE

Friday. After breakfast at the guesthouse depart the Upper Galilee and drive south through Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, to the Kinneret cemetery where Rachel the Early Zionist Poetess and Naomi Shemer, the contemporary Israeli songwriter are buried. Continue to the archaeological excavations at Beit Shean, one of the largest Roman-Byzantine cities uncovered in Israel (winter) or swim in the warm waters and natural springs at the Gan Hashlosha Nature Reserve (Sachne) situated at the foot of Mt. Gilboa (summer) . Lunch on your own en route. Drive to Jerusalem and stop at an overlook over the Old City to say the traditional "shehechiyanu" blessing recited upon entering Jerusalem. Check into your hotel and attend Shabbat services at one of the Reform congregations in the Jerusalem area (Kol Hanshama, Mevasseret Zion or Har-El). Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel (B, D): JERUSALEM

Saturday. Breakfast at the hotel. Optional Shabbat services at one of Jerusalem's synagogue. After lunch on your own take a guided tour of the Museum of the History of Jerusalem at David's Citadel, for a walk through Jerusalem's past from the time of Abraham 4,000 years ago to the end of the British Mandate over Palestine. Then walk along the rooftops of the Old City for a behind the scenes look at the various communities in Jerusalem. Continue with a walk through the streets of Jerusalem using the writings of Israel's Nobel laureate for literature, S. Y Agnon as a guide. Conclude the day with a walk through the unique Yemin Moshe neighborhood, followed by Havadallah and a free evening in downtown Jerusalem. (B): JERUSALEM

Sunday. After breakfast at the hotel, depart for Merkaz Shimshon for a special program with representatives of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, the Israel Religious Action Center and the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Proceed to the Old City to visit the Herodian Mansions and Cardo in the Jewish Quarter, followed by the Davidson Center, located at the Southern Wall excavations, and the Western Wall (Kotel). After lunch on your own go to the Yad Vashem complex for a guided visit through the newly renovated historical museum, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, followed by a visit to the graves of Theodor Herzl and Yitzhak Rabin at Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem. After dinner on your own return to the Old City for a special night tour of the Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount (B): JERUSALEM

Monday. Breakfast at the hotel and meet with a leading journalist or political commentator. Depart for the Dead Sea. Visit Masada, Herod's mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the Roman Legionnaires. Then take a 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. After lunch on your own experience the weightlessness of the Dead Sea as you float in its waters. Return to Jerusalem for free time and festive dinner, followed by free time in Jerusalem. (B,D): JERUSALEM

Tuesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Travel through the city to explore some of the political and diplomatic complexities of recent years, including Har Homa, Gilo and the new Security Fence in the Jerusalem area. "Jewish Responsibility," special social action volunteer program . Lunch on your own followed by a possible VIP visit to the Knesset, including meetings with Parliament members – pending confirmation. Concluding program in Jerusalem followed by free time to relax and pack with dinner on your own. (B): JERUSALEM

Wednesday. Following breakfast, depart for the airport for your flight which arrives in the USA the same day (B).

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