Mount Zion Temple

Departure from the United States.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance by a Makor representative.
• Ascend to Jerusalem via the Judean Hills.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Enter the Old City and continue to the rooftops for a “Welcome to Jerusalem”
• Dinner at Eucalyptus restaurant,* which boasts “Eretz Yisrael” cuisine, including wild herbs and plants that grow on the Judean Mountains and recipes developed by different ethnic and religious groups that have settled in Jerusalem. (*or another “Andrew Zimmern-favorite” restaurant)
• Optional short walk into the Old City for a glimpse at the moonlit Old City from atop the Old City market rooftops as the city comes to life on Thursday night, like no other, concluding at an all-night Challah Bakery.

• SETTING OUR INTENTION: The Land and its People
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Our Jewish Roots in this Land: text study with Rabbi Meir Schweiger at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies.
  • Designing Memorial Space: Explore art, architecture and open space at Yad Vashem’s Museum of Art and Sculpture Garden and selected memorials at Mount Herzl, including the new National Memorial Hall.
  • Lunch on your own in Beit HaKerem.
  • Nature Hike to the Sataf Spring in the Judean Hills, for a foray into the nature outside of Jerusalem and a glimpse at the renewed Biblical agricultural terraces.
  • Return to Jerusalem for a processing conversation followed by dinner on your own and free time in Jerusalem.

• • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Early morning visit to the Dome of the Rock, built on the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif, a site holy to Jews and Muslims.
  • Mountain bike ride from Jerusalem through the Judean Hills, beginning at Kol Haneshama on the old railway tracks and continuing on the Round Jerusalem Bike Path, from the First Station into the Refaim Valley, through the Judean Hills and concluding at Yozma Congregation in Modiin (possibly joined by Israeli IMPJ members)

  Alternative route:  Bike ride from first Jerusalem train station along the route of the old train tracks to the Malha train station.  Board the train to Beit Shemesh and be taken to meet the rest of the group in Abu Ghosh for lunch.

  • Lunch in Abu Ghosh, an Israeli Arab town just outside of Jerusalem.
  • Dinner celebration at Yozma with community members then return by bus to Jerusalem.
  • Depart for the Machane Yehudah Market complex for Beer tasting at Beer Bazaar, followed by a night on your own to explore Jerusalem’s night life.

• JERUSALEM: Layers of Complexity
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Walk through the Menachem Begin Heritage Center that portrays the life, work and achievements of Menachem Begin, presented in state-of-the-art audiovisual technology.
  • The Geopolitics of Jerusalem: Explore the realities on the ground along the boundaries between Jewish and Arab neighborhoods and experience first-hand how these realities influence international diplomatic dialogue.
  • Visit the Machane Yehuda market in search of Jewish delicacies from all over the world, with lunch on own.
  • Free time for personal exploration and time to prepare for Shabbat.
  • Kabbalat Shabbat at Kol HaNeshama, one of the IMPJ Congregations in the Jerusalem area, followed by Shabbat dinner at the home of Rabbi Bill and Batya Berk. (Rabbi Berk is a nephew of Don and Rhoda Mains and has spoken at Mount Zion).

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Shabbat morning services at Tziyon, Shira Chadasha, and/or HUC-JIR.
• Where Jerusalem and Israeli Literature Meet: Guided tour of sections of Jerusalem using excerpts from the works of classic Israeli authors such as Amos Oz, S.Y. Agnon, Haim Baer and Yehuda Amichai.
• God is in the Details: Guided walking tour of the Christian and Muslim Quarters to explore their histories through design patterns of diverse national, religious and ethnic cultures. Also continue to the Jewish Quarter including the Hurva Square, the Batei Machase Square, hidden alleyways and the Kotel (Western Wall.)
• Havdalah overlooking the Old City.
• Experience the Jerusalem Night Spectacular Sound and Light Show at the David Citadel Museum and then a free night and dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• My Home in Palestine, visit Bethlehem and meet with a leading Palestinian political figure, to discuss some of the realities of living under Israeli occupation and her hopes and dreams for the future.
• Lunch on own en route.
• My Home in Judea, the Land of Israel, visit Efrat and meet with Mayor Oded Revivi to discuss the personal and national fulfilment of living in the Land of Israel and his hopes and dreams for the future.
• Meet the Israelis and Palestinians of Shorashim – Judhur (Roots), a grassroots project which brings together Palestinians and Jewish settlers in a realistic and unique coexistence dialogue/living project, with Noor Awaad, and Shaul Yudelman.
• Drive through the Negev to Yerucham and check in to the hotel.
• Processing conversation.
• Home hospitality dinner with one of the Mevashlot Yerucham (the Yerucham Cooks) – a project geared to empowering the women of Yerucham.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Early morning drive to the Ramon Crater for a full morning in the Ramon Crater, including:
• A Jeep Ride through the Crater.
• A Hike through the Nekarot Horseshoe and the Sahronim Spring.
• Lunch: Field “shakshouka” cooking workshop
• Visit the graves of David and Paula Ben Gurion at Sde Boker, overlooking the Wilderness of Zin.
• Continue to Tel Aviv and check in to the hotel.
• Meet with artist Ohad Shaltiel, director of special programming for the Tel-Aviv Museum’s Meyerhoff Art Education Center and former art director of the URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute, followed by a visit to the studio of photographer, Tal Shochat.
• Dinner on our own.
• Celebrate Purim, Tel Aviv style!

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Stop at the Jaffa Overlook for an introduction to Tel Aviv-Jaffa
• Living Coexistence: Meet with leaders of a Jaffa organization that aspires to Jewish-Arab co-existence.
• Tel Aviv’s New Central (that is neither new nor central!) Bus Station is one of the craziest places in the country housing a Yiddish cultural center, Israel’s largest graffiti and art installation, a host of social justice NGO’s, a Filipino grocery store, a breakdancing studio…and even a bat cave.
• 12:00 pm Travel to Holon to watch the “Adloyada procession,” a tradition that dates to early Tel Aviv, in 1912.
• Return to Tel Aviv with time for personal exploration.
• Wrap-up discussion.
• Festive farewell dinner at the Malka chef’s restaurant or Anastasia, rated the best vegan restaurant in Tel Aviv.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flight(s) to the United States

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.