Israel@75 and the United Arab Emirates

Today’s program depends on arrival time

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance from a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
• Tour Old Jaffa, the ancient port city once known as Zion Gate from which Jonah tried to flee and where Solomon brought the Cedars of Lebanon on the way to Jerusalem.  Today paintings and sculptures have been installed in its ancient alleyways.
• Shehehiyanu–Welcome ceremony on top of Tel Jaffa overlooking modern Tel Aviv.
• Check-in to the Renaissance Hotel on Tel Aviv’s Mediterranean Coast.
• Welcome dinner at Goshen Restaurant.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided visit to Anu – The Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of Tel Aviv University.
• Multimedia tour of the Palmach Museum to follow a virtual Palmach unit and discover the story of the elite underground organization which played a critical role in the establishment of the State of Israel.
• Visit the Levinsky Balkan Market, for a lunch tasting tour and conversations with the shop owners.
• Free time to explore the Nachalat Binyamin crafts fair. While there, checkout the nearby Carmel Market and great street food.  Both of these Tel Aviv icons meet at the “Magen David Junction”.
• Visit to the Joseph Bau House, hosted by his daughters or granddaughter.  Joseph Bau was a Holocaust survivor, the father of Israeli animation and a master forger for the Mossad, whose wedding appears in the film Schindler’s List.
• Dine in the dark at Blackout Restaurant in Jaffa Port to appreciate the sensory deprivation experienced a blind person.
• Watch a performance by blind and deaf actors at the Na Lagaat Theater to discover a world that is sensory deprived, not cut off.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Guided tour of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Jaffa to learn about Israel as the Start-Up Nation and late President Shimon Peres’ vision for a new Middle East.
• Travel to Jerusalem.
• Lunch on own
• Synagogues in the Jewish Quarter:  Guided tour including visits to the Four Sephardic Synagogues, the restored Hurva Synagogue and the Karaite Museum, concluding with a discussion about the remarkable discoveries under the ruins of the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue.
• Guided visit to the Israelite Tower, an ordinarily closed site which will be opened especially for your group, where the Bible, history, archaeological discoveries and modern science come together ‘like a puzzle’ to recreate an event in Jerusalem’s past.
• In depth tour beneath the Western Wall led by a leading archaeologist to explore a new excavation site, which has not yet been opened to the public.
• Free time to shop and explore on own.
• Check-in to the hotel in Jerusalem.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own

• Breakfast at hotel
• Ride along the former ceasefire lines, and current ‘seamline’, which divided Jerusalem between Israel and Jordan from 1948 – 1967.
• Guided visit to the Six Day War Heritage Museum on Ammunition Hill.
• Geopolitical tour across “post ‘67 Jerusalem” from north to south to examine key issues and contrasting narratives, such as changing borders, building vs. settlement, infrastructure, Israel’s security barrier (fence/wall) and the ‘Holy Basin’.
• Lunch on own
• Travel to the Eztion Bloc south of Jerusalem to visit the new Shorashim – Roots dialogue Center, which is dedicated to bringing Palestinians and Settlers together for dialogue and reconciliation, including meetings with founders Ali Abu Awad, a former Palestinian militant who spent time in Israeli jails and Rabbi Hannan Schlesinger, a settler from Alon Shvut.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided tour of Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum, including the Holocaust History Museum, Avenue of the Righteous and Children’s Memorial.
• Lunch on own, possibility of eating in Machane Yehuda Market, if desirable.
• Guided walk through the picturesque Nachlaot neighborhoods to discover a world of Jewish history and folklore just minutes from downtown Jerusalem.
• Free time to relax and prepare for Shabbat.
• Shabbat evening services – TBD with Rabbi Feldman.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Shabbat morning services – TBD with Rabbi Feldman.
• Lunch on own
• Shabbat afternoon walking tour to Jaffa Gate and the Christian Quarter, including a section of the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
• Havdalah with Rabbi Feldman
• Dinner on own

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for a day flight to Dubai.
• Arrive in Dubai and transfer to hotel.
• Welcome dinner at Ellies Kosher Kitchen.
• Watch the Dubai Fountain Show against the background of Burj Khalifa for a first taste of this futuristic city.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building to lookout from the VIP Terrace on the 124^th floor and hear about the amazing engineering solutions which were incorporated into its construction.  Burj Khalifa rises above the world’s largest shopping mall, which also houses the world’s largest aquarium.
• Ride on an Abra water taxi on the Dubai Creek and then explore the markets on the opposite shore – Great opportunity to buy authentic saffron and other rare spices.
• Continue to the historic Al Fahidi Quarter to wander its alleys and see the wind towers, a traditional Emirati air cooling system.
• Visit the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Center for Culture and Understanding for an explanation about Emirati culture and a kosher lunch.
• Guided tour of the standing circle shaped Museum of the Future.
• Dinner on your own.
• Dhow Cruise to watch a Drone Light Show above Arab (Persian) Gulf against the background of Dubai’s skyline.

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Travel to the Emirate of Sharjah north of Dubai.
• Brief tour of Sharjah’s restored historic district and waterfront.
• Guided visit through the Museum of Islamic Civilization in Sharjah to see its fascinating exhibition and artifacts about the Arab world’s contribution to science, especially in the fields of mathematics, astronomy and navigation, including a display of exquisite antique globes, astrolabes and an exhibit of Islamic art and artifacts on the upper floor.
• Afternoon drive to the eastern emirate of Ras Al Khaima for a desert jeep safari and falconry experience through the Arabian Desert Dunes, concluding with a kosher Bedouin dinner and show.
• Return to Dubai (late).

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Tour and discussion about Islam at the visitor friendly Jumeirah Mosque.
• Lookout over Palm Jumeirah – Dubai’s palm shaped artificial island from the View of the Palm.
• Lunch on own
• Depart for Abu Dhabi.
• Tour of the opulent Qasr Al Watan Palace, Abu Dhabi’s working royal palace.
• Look out over Abu Dhabi from the Observation Deck at the Etihad Tower.
• Check in to hotel in Abu Dhabi.
• Early evening visit to the stunning illuminated Shekh Zayed Grand Mosque.
• Dinner on your own.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Visit the Abrahamic Family Center, a unique interfaith initiative in the Middle East, which includes a church, mosque and synagogue together on the same campus and reflects the UAE’s tolerant approach to religion and religious minorities.
• Guided tour in the Louvre Museum, a world class art museum which focuses on human creativity and the nexus of Western Civilization and the Arab World.
• Lunch on own on the Corniche seaside promenade on Saadiyat Island (Kosher lunch boxes will be provided upon request).
• Depart for the airport for return flight. (Please note flight schedules and airline policies may require flying out of Dubai (1:40 minutes from Abu Dhabi) and/or spending an additional night in the UAE – TBD.

• Return to the US with memories of a unique experience in the new Middle East.

Please Note:

All speakers and programs are tentative until confirmed in writing.