St. Paul Jewish Federation

• Depart USA for Israel

Please note that the itinerary will be adjusted based on
the reality on the ground prior to the mission.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport (by 4:30 PM), with assistance from a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
• Travel north to Sovev Kinneret, St. Paul Jewish Federation’s P2G Partnership region.
• Late evening Welcome dinner at hotel with P2G representatives.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit Jordan River Village, a camp that provides free programs to foster fun, independence, resilience, and personal growth to children living with serious illnesses.  The camp is affiliated with Paul Newman’s “Serious Fun” network of camps.
• Visit Shikun Aleph, a community center that is providing services to internally displaced Israelis from the north.
• Continue with programming, including visit to “Youth Futures” and an Absorption Center that serves primarily Jews who have immigrated from Ethiopia, with a taste of Ethiopian Culture and Food.
• Return to hotel.
• Dinner

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Full day of programming in Partnership region with P2G staff, including lunch: Volunteer time at Kibbutz Hukok (sustainable farming) /or/ food packaging, visit a school where evacuee children are attending, meet with Rabbi Yaya for a unique Jewish study experience at Kibbutz Degania (considered to be Israel’s first); visit the Peace Room at Beit Gabriel, one of Israel’s most beautiful buildings.
• Meet with the Mayor of Tiberias
• Dinner at Decks.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Travel south to Jerusalem.
• Shehekheyanu/Welcome ceremony overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Visit the bustling Machane Yehuda Market and take in a slice of local life, rubbing elbows with Jerusalemites shopping for Shabbat.
• Check-in to hotel in Jerusalem.
• Free time to relax and prepare for Shabbat.
• Friday evening/Kabbalat Shabbat program – TBD with clergy.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Shabbat morning services or morning at leisure.
• Traditional Shabbat lunch at hotel.
• “The Poet and the Windmill” – Guided walk to the Montefiore Windmill and Yemin Moshe, using the Poetry of Yehudah Amichai as a guide to explore the first neighborhood built outside the Old City’s walls.

Afternoon Options

• First timers: Old City Ramble – Guided walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem to explore its multi-cultural character, while winding through its alleys from the Jaffa Gate to the rooftops of the marketplaces, then down to the Western Wall and on to the roof of the Austrian Hospice for a bird’s eye view of the Muslim and Christian Quarters, Temple Mount and Mount of Olives.
• Returnees: West Jerusalem Ramble – Set out from hotel for a walk across West Jerusalem to explore the multi-ethnic mosaic of the city through its synagogues, churches and ethnically diverse neighborhoods, including Rechavia, Nachlaot, the Machane Yehuda Market (stalls closed on Shabbat), the Street of the Prophets and the Russian Compound.
• Independent option: The New Israel Museum – Visit the newly renovated Israel Museum, its model of Jerusalem during the days of the Second Temple and the Dead Sea Scrolls, followed by an opportunity to visit the Jewish Life and Living, Archaeology, Israeli Art and Design exhibits and much more.

• Free time for rest and relaxation.
• Havdalah overlooking the Old City.
• Dinner on your own, recommendations and directions to be provided.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Meeting with MK Gilad Kariv about Religious Pluralism in Israel at hotel.
• Specially arranged visit to Supreme Court Building to learn about Israel’s legal system which functions without a written constitution, hear about the status of the courts against the background of attempt at judicial reform and view its fascinating architecture.
• Lunch on own
• Guided tour of the Jewish Quarter, followed by free time to shop and explore on own.
• Visit the Western Wall with time for prayer and contemplation.
• Return to hotel.
• Dinner at Touro Restaurant.
• Israelis and Palestinians: A Glimpse into a Complex History with Haviv Rettig-Gur, political correspondent and Senior Analyst at The Times of Israel, at the restaurant.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Geopolitical tour of Jerusalem, beginning with a drive along the former pre-67 cease-fire lines and continuing across the city from north to south to examine several key geopolitical issues impacting on the city, including borders, building and settlement (Jewish and Arab) and the Seam Zone Barrier and facts on the ground security.
• Depart for the Western Negev and visit Kibbutz Kfar Azza/Alumim/Netiv Ha’asara, which was brutally attacked in the Hamas onslaught, in conjunction with the IDF and residents. TBD
• Continue to the site of the NOVA Festival, where close to 400 people were killed and many were taken hostage.
• Continue to Sderot, which has become a symbol of Israel’ s longstanding conflict with Hamas – drive through the town, stopping at the once famous police station, which was demolished in the aftermath of the attack.
• Lunch on own.
• Travel to Jaffa-Tel Aviv.
• Walking tour in Old Jaffa, the ancient port city on Tel Aviv’s southern flank, where artwork has been installed in its alleys. View modern Tel Aviv from the top of ancient Tel Jaffa.
• Check-in to hotel in Tel Aviv.
• Visit the Batae Center for Ethiopian Jewish Heritage for a multi-sensory experience with Ethiopian Israeli community activist Ashager Arraro, including a taste of traditional Ethiopian cooking and dinner.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Israel Post October 7, How do we Move Forward? with scholar Rachel Korazim (at her home).
• 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.
• The Graffiti of October 7th, guided walk exploring the Graffiti Art that reflects Tel Aviv’ famed graffiti artists response to the events of October 7th and their aftermath (in Kiryat Hamelacha or Florentine).
• Lunch on own and opportunity to explore the Nahalat Binyamin Crafts Fair and check out great street food in the nearby Carmel Market.
• Visit ANU – the new Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of Tel Aviv University for a special mission program: using the creativity of the present, explore the story of the Jewish People, with our past as a map toward the future.
• Continue to the Tel Aviv Museum Plaza, now re-named as Hostage Square, which is the focal point of the family’s efforts to BRING THEM HOME.
• Return to hotel.
• Farewell dinner with Fischman Scholars – Location TBD.
• Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for U.S. bound flights.

“Next Year in Jerusalem!”