Temple Beth Or

• Departure from the United States.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance by a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
• Ascend to Jerusalem via the Judean Hills.
• Stop at the Haas Promenade for an introduction to Jerusalem and an opportunity to say the traditional Shehecheyanu prayer, upon arriving in Jerusalem.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Festive welcome dinner and orientation at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided visit through the Old City of Jerusalem, exploring the unique weave of various religious and ethnic groups in one square kilometer. Walk through the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Quarters, including the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and an overlook on to the Temple Mount – Haram al Sharif.
• Head underneath the Old City’s chaotic maze of buildings to the Western Wall Tunnel, the extension of the retaining wall built 2,000 years ago by Herod the Great to support the massive compound where the Temple stood.
• Walk in the Machane Yehuda open-air market to experience the human and gastronomic tapestry of Jerusalem. Here, we will find people of all nationalities, religions and ages and see, smell and taste foods of all colors, sizes and shapes.  Enjoy lunch on your own in Machane Yehuda.
• During a hilltop tour of Jerusalem, view residential neighborhoods that, after the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, became part of the city’s “security belt,” and see the Jerusalem Envelope Seam Zone Barrier for a discussion of Jerusalem geopolitics.
• Jerusalem Encapsulated: In Neve Ya’akov, Jerusalem’s northern most neighborhood, accompany urban planner Herschel Katz on an interactive tour to explore how the security, socio-economic, socio-religious, political and diplomatic processes of Jerusalem play out.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• The Memory of the Holocaust in Israeli Society Today, a presentation by Holocaust scholar Rachel Korazim.
• Proceed to Yad Vashem.
• Guided visit through Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center including:
  • The Avenue of the Righteous
  • The Holocaust History Museum
  • The Children’s Memorial
  • Special concluding memorial ceremony in the Valley of Communities
• Lunch on own.
• Depart for Gush Etzion and Bethlehem for a short geopolitical tour along the Seam Zone Barrier.
• Visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, followed by a meeting with political officials in Bethlehem.
• Visit the Gush Etzion Heritage Center, which tells the story of the establishment of Gush Etzion from its pre-State beginnings through its fall during the War of Independence and its rebirth following the 6-Day War. Meet with a resident of Gush Etzion.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Proceed to the Dead Sea.
• Ascend Masada via cable car for a guided visit through the site and an exploration of the symbolism and questions that arise from the Masada story and their implications for Jewish and Israeli life today.
• Ride the cable car down and continue to Ein Bokek for an opportunity to float in the Dead Sea and swim in the hotel pool, followed by lunch.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Proceed to Tel Aviv.
• Walk along the Tel Aviv Promenade to Jaffa, followed by a brief tour through the Old City of Jaffa, tracing its story from the Prophet Jonah until now.
• Browse on your own in Nachalat Binyamin market, which has become synonymous with quality Israeli crafts and folk art.
• Lunch on own.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Travel to Ra’anana.
• Candle lighting and Kabbalat Shabbat with the Progressive community, Kehilat Ra’anan, and Rabbis Tamar Kohlberg and Chen Ben-Or Tsfoni, followed by home hospitality with congregation members.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Morning on own for relaxation or Shabbat services.
• Creating the New Jew: Walking tour along Bialik St., home of famed writer Haim Nachman Bialik and painter Reuven Rubin, including a guided visit in the home/studio of Reuven Rubin, now a museum.
• Lunch on own.
• Visual Sounds of Silence: Guided tour in the Florentine neighborhood, Tel Aviv’s most bohemian and upbeat neighborhood, and learn about contemporary Israeli culture through urban art: writing on the wall, graffiti, bumper stickers and even painted garbage bins.
• Multiple Identities: Visit the Jaffa Salon for Palestinian Art, where Tel Aviv and Jaffa collide. Israeli Arab and Palestinian artists from both sides of the Green Line, as well as Israeli Jewish artists, present their creations.
• Havdallah.
• Dinner and evening on own. An incredibly vibrant nightlife scene, which provides a dazzling array of choices to suit almost any taste or desire has a lot to do with Tel Aviv’s reputation as the city that never sleeps. There is no real unifying theme – on the contrary, anything goes.  Tel Aviv is waiting to be explored.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Begin at Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People, which connects Jewish people to their roots by conveying the narrative of the Jewish people and the essence of the Jewish culture, faith, purpose and deed.
• A guided Rainbow Tour tells the story of the Israeli gay community in Tel Aviv. Encounter the largest LGBTQ community in Israel by walking through the main sites and learning about the events that shaped this community.
• Lunch on own.
• Visit Mesila, a help and information center for the foreign population operated by the Tel Aviv Municipality. Hear a survey of the situation of this population, followed by a tour of the central bus station and Neve Sha’anan – areas with large concentrations of refugees and asylum seekers.
• Leadership and Commitment in the Jewish World: Israel as a Case Study. Participate in a Beit Midrash program with the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) Mechina young leadership program, Telem, in Jaffa.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Travel along the Israel-Gaza border with a stop for an overview into Gaza.
• Resiliency and Normal Life in the Shadow of Gaza, visit Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha with security coordinator and community worker Tal Shamir.
• Depart for Lod.
• Lunch on own in Lod.
• Visit the Ramat Eshkol Jewish Arab Community Center for a special program with the community center director Fatten el Zinati and staff, for a glimpse into the complex and challenging relationships between Jews and Arabs in Lod.
• Travel north along the Trans-Israel Highway, with a security seminar along the Seam Zone between Israel and the Palestinian.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Ascend to the Golan Heights.
• Visit the Druze village of Buq’ata for an encounter in the world of the Druze.
• Drive to Bental to overlook Syria, for an up-to-date briefing on the delicate relationship between Israel and Syria.
• Lunch on own in Katzrin.
• Proceed to Safed.
• Guided tour through the mystical city of Safed: walk the narrow alleyways; peek into ancient synagogues; visit the Artist Colony; hear the stories of the 16^th-century rabbis of Safed, who breathed new life into the Jewish people after the expulsion from Spain in 1492 and who are credited by many with igniting the first flames of passion for a modern return to the Land of Israel.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• A Tale of Two Graves, visit the graves of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess in Tiberias and Rachel the Poet in the Kinneret Cemetery, whose lives help us understand two of Israel’s populations (ultra-Orthodox and secular) and how they view Jewish tradition, the Land of Israel and the State of Israel.
• Proceed to Nazareth.
• A Mosque and a Church, a guided visit through Nazareth, including a visit to the Church of the Annunciation with a discussion about the disputes between the Christian and Muslim communities.
• Lunch on own in the Nazareth market.
• Proceed to Zichron Ya’akov.
• Check in to day-use rooms in Zichron, one of the first Jewish settlements in the country.
• Time on own to stroll down the Zichron Ya’akov Wine Road, “Derekh HaYayin,” which has been recreated to bring back to life the character of the moshava’s early days.
• Wine tasting and farewell dinner at the Someq Winery.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flight home.

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.