Jewish Clergy Mission to Northern Israel

• Departure from North America.

• Various arrivals throughout the day (or group flight).
• Depart for a group volunteer effort with Leket (an NGO that addresses food insecurity, https://www.leket.org/en/; or a rebuilding effort in the north (depending on availability)
• Conclude volunteering and drive to Haifa.
• Opening circle and introductions, followed by: “2023-2024: A Year of War in Israel’s North,” addressing the impact of the war with Hizbullah on Israel’s northern citizens and communities, with guest speaker and dinner. Possible speakers: Yona Yahav, (Mayor of Haifa), Lt. Col (Ret) Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Center, among others.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Full day exploring Israel’s North.
• Visits will be determined based on security considerations.
• If Upper Galilee and Lebanese border ARE accessible, possibilities include:
  • Visit hard hit sites on Northern border (Rosh Hanikra,

Metulla, Kiryat Shmona)

• Lunch on own en route.
• Visit to Druze community for a conversation about the role of the Druze in the war effort and the war’s impact on the Druze.
• IDF briefing at forward position.
  • All above visits will be accompanied by local residents and local government officials and social service professionals
• If Upper Galilee and Lebanese border ARE NOT accessible, possibilities include:
  • Haifa, Akko and Nahariya, Daliat El Carmel
  • Lunch on own en route
  • Carmiel and Misgav Region, Tiberias
    • All above visits will be accompanied by local residents and local government officials and social service professionals.
  • Dinner with evacuees living in Haifa, or if evacuees have returned home, with local activists who worked with evacuees.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
• Defining the Other in Times of War, special program at Givat Haviva, including an introduction with Mohammad Darawshe, Director of Planning, Equality & Shared Society at Givat Haviva, followed by an open exchange with students and teachers from the GH International School, Younited.
• Drive to Ramat Aviv.
• Lunch on own, en route.
• 18 Months of War – Israel and the Middle East, briefing at the INSS (Institute for National Security Studies). Possible speakers: Gen (Ret.) Tamir Heiman, former head of Military Intelligence, Sima Shien, former deputy director of the Mossad, Prof. Uzi Rabi of Tel Aviv University, and others.
• Drive to Tel Aviv.
• Visit Tel Aviv Museum Plaza, Hostage Square, which is the focal point of the families’ efforts to BRING THEM HOME.
• Check in to hotel.
• Processing conversation.
• Free time and dinner on own in Tel Aviv, or program TBD.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Meet with activists from Shared Society organizations that promote full and equal participation of both Jewish and Arab citizens, and who can be thoughtful and productive partners with group participants after the mission. Possibilities include the Jaffa Arab-Jewish Community Center, Rabbis for Human Rights and Standing Together.
• The Amazing Concept of Miluim (reserves) and the Price Paid by Reservists and their Families During the War, with HaOgen (the Anchor; https://www.ogen.org/) founder and former MK Rachel Azaria and Reservist Spouses.
• Return to Tel Aviv.
• Guided walk and Tasting Tour of Businesses owned and managed by reservists while meeting people who dedicate themselves to Israeli society, with lunch.
• The State of Israeli Society: What societal challenges and opportunities has October 7 and its aftermath created for the future of Israelis? Possible speakers: Journalist and Hartman Scholar, Yossi Klein Halevi, Former MK and public intellectual Einat Wilf, Podcast Host Noa Efron, and others.
• Free time for personal exploration and packing.
• Check-out of the hotel.
• Wrap up Conversation and farewell dinner at Malka Restaurant.

• Arrival

Western Negev (Gaza Border)

DAY-TRIP

Sunday, March 2, 2025

• Breakfast at the hotel (those not staying at hotel will meet at hotel for departure).
• Depart for the Western Negev.
• Visit the site of the NOVA Festival, where close to 400 people were killed and many were taken hostage on October 7, 2023, and meet with one of the survivors.
• Stop at one of the Kibbutzim in the Western Negev, which were brutally attacked in the Hamas onslaught, for a guided walk through the kibbutz with one of the survivors.
• Continue to Sderot.
• Lunch on your own in Sderot.
• Visit Sderot, which has become a symbol of Israel’s longstanding conflict with Hamas – drive through the town, stopping at the new October 7 memorial at the site of the former Sderot police station, which was demolished in the aftermath of the attack.
• Visit the Tekuma Car Cemetery, where hundreds of destroyed vehicles were brought after October 7.
• Return to Jerusalem/Tel Aviv.

Cost: $250 per person (minimum 10 people)