Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon & Warren

• Arrival and assistance at Ben Gurion International Airport
• Depart for Northern Israel.
• From the Four Corners of the World, Stop at the Caesaera Aqueduct for a festive Welcome Ceremony.
• Understanding Jewish Peoplehood, continue to Atlit, site of a pre state detention camp established by the authorities of the British Mandate for Palestine at the end of the 1930s to prevent Jewish refugees from entering Palestine, with Murray S. Greenfield who was one of the US volunteers on the illegal immigration boats in the Pre-State days
• Check in to Galilee Hotel.
• Group dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Israel’s Northern Borders @2018, geopolitical update with Maj. Res. Sarit Zahavi.
• Visit the Tel Dan Nature Reserve for a walk along the Dan River, one of Israel’s major sources of water and the site of the famous Biblical city of Dan.
• Ascend to the Golan Heights.
• Drive along the Syrian border on Jeeps, exploring the complex relationship between Israel and Syria, with intelligence expert llan Shulman.
• Lunch on your own en route in Katzrin, followed by a visit to one of the Golan’s leading Wineries for wine tasting.
• Conclude the day with a visit to Safed,  and explore the quaint alleyways, art galleries, and synagogues of the mystical city of Tzfat, including a dialogue with Kabbalistic artist.
• Dinner at Decks restaurant in Tiberias including a boat ride in the Kinneret (weather permitting).

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Take part in an interactive experience with some of our Israeli partners and the people we touch.
• Get a unique insight into the realities of Arab women in Israel at the home of Amna Kamaana, who founded an organization for the empowerment of Muslim women.
• Lunch on own en route.
• Stop at Neot Kedumim for a special tree planting ceremony.
• Drive to Jerusalem and stop at the Haas Promenade for short Shehechianu overlooking Jerusalem with the traditional bread and wine.
• Check in to hotel, followed by time to freshen up.
• Enjoy a dinner of biblical cuisine at the Eucalyptus Restaurant, including a meeting with chef Moshe Basson, who specializes in preparing foods based on ingredients native to the Land of Israel.
• Optional late night visit to the Machane Yehudah Market, as it comes alive with music and food.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Explore the multi-ethnic weave of the Old City, beginning with the Ramparts Walk along the rooftops from Jaffa Gate to Zion Gate, through the Jewish Quarter, including the Cardo, the Hurva Square and the Herodian Mansions, concluding at the Davidson Archeological Park.
• Lunch on your own.
• All Jews are Responsible for One and Other, JAFI or JDC site visit.
• Optional visits to the Museums of Jerusalem, choose one of the following possibilities:
  • The Israel Museum
  • The Begin Museum
  • The Museum on the Seam
  • The Islamic Museum
  • The Bible Lands Museum
  • The Herzl Museum
• Optional visit to the Israel Museum or free time in Jerusalem.
• Dinner on your own at the Mamilla Mall.
• View the Jerusalem Night Spectacular music and light show on the walls of the Tower of David, telling the story of Jerusalem in animation and music.
• Optional night guided visit through the Western Wall Tunnels. (additional cost)
• See how Jerusalem prepares for Shabbat with an optional late night visit to a challah bakery.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Israel and the Memory of the Holocaust with scholar Rachel Korazim.
• Visit Yad Vashem with options for First Timers and Returnees.
• Free time at Machane Yehudah with lunch on your own, followed by free time to explore Jerusalem as it prepares for Shabbat, and your own Shabbat preparations.
• Kabbalat Shabbat as a community at the Kotel.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel with members of Ruach Chadasha and a Shabbat Scholar.
• Optional evening walk through the streets of Meah Shearim to experience an Ultra Orthodox “Tisch”.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Free morning with an optional Synagogue Hop or services at one of Jerusalem’s Synagogues.
• Lunch on your own with an optional opportunity for Home Hospitality Lunch at additional expense.
• Free afternoon to explore Jerusalem on your own or afternoon guided walks:

Options Include

• The winding alleyways of Yemin Moshe, the first neighborhood built outside of the walls of the Old City, using the poetry of Yehudah Amichai as a guide.
• The German Colony, built by the German Templars in the late 1800s, with their unique buildings and stories that have become part of Jerusalem’s lore.
• The upscale neighborhood of Rechavia, originally modeled after the “garden cities” of Europe.
• A guided walk through the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem.
• The winding alleyways of the eclectic Nachlaot neighborhood.
• The Valley of Hinnom to the top of Mount Zion and continuing to the Jewish Quarter, using the Bible and ancient archaeological remains as guides.
• Mount Zion, the Hill of Three Religions, guided with poetry and midrash.
• Bus Group Tie in Session.
• Havdallah and Israel @70 celebration at David’s Citadel, including a festive Israeli dinner.

Option 1:

• Early morning departure for the Dead Sea Basin.
• Morning relaxation and float in the Dead Sea.
• Ascend Herod’s mountain fortress of Masada and a guided visit through the last stronghold of the Zealots against the Romans. Study the texts of “Elazar Ben Yair and the Zealots of Masada” and “Yochanan Ben Zakai and the Rabbis of Yavneh” for an exploration of the questions that arise from the story and their symbolism in modern Israeli society. Descend via the Roman Ramp.
• Drive to Kfar Hanokdim.

Option 2:

• Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Depart for the south.
• Rebuilding the Zionist Dream in the Negev—socio-ethnic challenges facing the northern Negev, tensions with the Bedouin, balancing tradition and modernity.  Meet Hura mayor Dr Mohammad Alnabari and learn about the extraordinary successes of his small city, the unfinished business that still beckons, and the serious challenges he and his community face, with representatives of Desert Stars hear the story of how they are working together to promote a better, more just and equal, Israeli society in the Negev.
• Continue to Tel Arad in the Yatir Forrest to visit the exclusive Yatir winery for wine tasting and a discussion with winemaker, Eran Goldwasser.
• Drive to Kfar Hanokdim.
• Experience Bedouin hospitality at the Kfar Hanokdim Bedouin Encampment in the Judean Desert for a camel ride and traditional “hafla” lunch, followed by an opportunity to learn about the culture of the Negev Bedouin, their relationship to Israel, and the challenges facing their community.
• Visit to Hatzerim Airforce Base to meet with soldiers. (pending IDF confirmation)
• Drive to Tel Aviv and check into hotel.
• Free night to enjoy Tel Aviv, with dinner on your own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• A Look at Israel 70 Years Young, with scholar Paul Liptz.
• Tel Aviv: the First Hebrew City: Begin with a walk through Neve Zedek, one of the first Jewish neighborhoods outside of Jaffa and today a re-gentrified neighborhood replete with galleries, cafes and trendy shops and continue along Rothschild Blvd, exploring the once small community of Ahuzat Bayit where Tel Aviv began, and its development into both the UNESCO World Heritage White City collection of Bauhaus buildings and one of the great global innovation hubs, concluding with a visit to the Taglit Innovation Center, which showcases Israeli innovation.
• Visit Independence Hall, where the State , of Israel was declared.
• Lunch on your own at the Allenby-Rothschild Market.
• Continue to the Florentine neighborhood for a Graffiti Tour, unveiling some of Tel Aviv’s urban secrets and trends.
• Conclude the day in Tel Aviv at the Sarona and Sarona Market, once a German Templar community and today one of Tel Aviv’s newest and trendiest areas.
• Wrap up discussion, followed by a Festive Concluding dinner and depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flight to the United States.

• Transfer to Airport, after the mission Farwell dinner.
• Flight to Eilat.
• Check in to Eilat Hotel.

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Early morning departure for the Yitzhak Rabin Border Crossing.
• Cross in to Jordan and drive through the Araba Desert to Petra.
• Guided visit through the Nabatean City of Petra, a 2,000 year old city carved out of stone, which once served as one of the main cities on the Nabatean Spice Route, including a walk through the Siq, a viewing of the famed Treasury and a walk in to the Basin past the Roman Theater and Monastery, with lunch in the Basin restaurant.
• Return to Eilat via the Yitzhak Rabin Border Crossing.
• Dinner at the hotel

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Free day in Eilat, possibilities include for additional cost:
  • Underwater Coral Reef Observatory
  • Eilat Dolphin Reef (possible to swim with dolphins from age 8)
  • Full or half day on a Yacht in Eilat Bay.
  • Full range of Water Sports – parasailing, water skiing, banana boating, etc.
• Evening flight to Tel Aviv and departure flight to the United States.

*Program is subject to change.