Temple Israel Westport, CT Family Israel Adventure

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance from a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
• Proceed to Tel Aviv
• From atop the Azrieli Tower* with its 360º view of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, see how the dream and vision of a Jewish State has developed physically.
• (*Depending on arrival time, there may be time to stop at the Old Jaffa Visitors Center 
• Check-in to the hotel
• Opening dinner and introduction to the program TBD

• Breakfast at the hotel
• “Israel Today” with social historian Paul Liptz– a look  behind today’s headlines for a peek into Israeli society.
• Guided tour The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation promotes peacebuilding between Israel and its neighbors (particularly between Israelis and Palestinians) as well as between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel and presents the journey from the early days of the State to the Startup Nation of today and beyond.
• Lunch on own in the Nachalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts
• Return to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat
• Kabbalat Shabbat at TBD
• Shabbat dinner TBD

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Shabbat services, morning at leisure or Shabbat Torah study
• Visit ANU the Museum of the Jewish People, which conveys the fascinating narrative of the Jewish people and the essence of Jewish culture, faith, purpose and deed.
• Proceed to Ramla
• Lunch on own at Samir’s Restaurant in Ramla, a mixed Arab-Jewish city
• Travel to Kibbutz Gezer for a program to be arranged by Temple Israel clergy with Kehilat Birkat Shalom
• Havdalah
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
• Social Justice in Action, visit a Leket Farm in Rishon L’Tzion and participate in field gleaning to collect produce for those in need.

In case of inclement weather, pack food at the Ra’anana Leket Distribution Center

• Continue to Kibbutz Ein Shemer
• At the Old Courtyard at Kibbutz Ein Shemer, get a sense of what kibbutz life was like years ago. Experience being a pioneer and enjoy a tractor ride of the kibbutz to visit a number of different stations connected to the past and present of the kibbutz.
  • A “pioneer’s lunch” is served in authentic tin dishes with a taste of days gone by

• Participate in a program at the Ein Shemer Ecological Greenhouse, a mainstay of shared society and dialogue in Israel for close to 40 years, hosted by Avital Geva.
• Check-in to the hotel
• Dinner at the hotel

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Walking tour of Safed, starting at the highest point in the city, the strategically placed 12th century Crusader Citadel (Metsuda). Descend through the Old City with stories and sites about this holy city, from the 16^th to the 21^st centuries.
• Lunch on own in Safed
• Ascend to the Golan Heights and travel by jeeps along the Golan Volcanic Way down a route with some spectacular results of geological activity.
• Conclude at Bental, a dormant volcano from whose vantage point there are magnificent views of Mt. Hermon, the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and the mountains of southern Lebanon.
  • Discuss the current Middle East geopolitical situation
• Proceed to Kibbutz Ein Zivan for a chocolate-making workshop
• Dinner at Hotel

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
• Visit Sindyanna of the Galilee, an organization led by a team of Arab and Jewish women which works to create social change through Arab-Jewish cooperation. It promotes fair trade and economic opportunities for both Arab and Jewish communities.
• Drive through the Carmel Mountains for a visit in Daliyat al Karmel with Druze home hospitality lunch.
• Continue along the Trans-Israel Highwaywith selected overlooks into the Palestinian Authority and discussion on the Seam Zone Barrier.
• Guided visit through Caesarea, including the Roman Theater, Hippodrome, Promenade and Palace, concluding at the remains of the Crusader city …exploring the relationship between Romans and Jews.
• Continue to Jerusalem
• Stop at the Goldman Promenade,overlooking the Old City, for an opportunity to recite the traditional Shehecheyanu blessing, upon arrival in Jerusalem, followed by a short introduction to the city (time and weather-permitting)
• Check-in to the hotel
• Dinner on own

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Visit the workshops of Yad Lakashish,  which provide meaningful, creative, and serious artistic and craft expression to Jerusalem’s elderly.
• Guided visit through the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including:
  • The Avenue of the Righteous
  • The Holocaust History Museum
  • The Children’s Memorial
  • Life-affirming concluding ceremony in the Valley of the Communities
• Explore the Mahane Yehuda open-air market, where one can see Jerusalem’s human tapestry and culinary variety.
• Lunch on own in Mahane Yehuda with “Shuk Bite” meal tickets.
• From Yemin Moshe along the Jerusalem Seam Zone: A guided walking and bus tour that starts in Yemin Moshe, the first Jewish neighborhood outside the Old City and continues to some of the civilian neighborhoods that became part of Jerusalem’s “security belt” after the 6-Day War.
• Meet Kids 4 Peace, one of the most successful co-existence projects in the Middle East.
• Dinner on own
• Night walk through the Old City, concluding with a guided visit through the Western Wall Tunnel, concluding at the Kotel (Western Wall)
• Return to hotel

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Proceed to the Dead Sea Region
• Short hike to Ein Gedi Synagogue for B’not Mitzvah ceremony* (*or at Masada, pending confirmation)
• Continue to Masada and ascend by cable car for a guided visit through the site and explore the symbolism and questions that arise from the Masada story and their implications for Jewish life today.
• Continue to an Ein Bokek hotel for an opportunity to float in the Dead Sea and swim in the hotel pool
  • Lunch at the hotel
• Return to Jerusalem
• Dinner on own
• Meet with an organization composed of Israelis and Palestinians seeking an end to bloodshed through dialogue.

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Drive to the Kidron Valley for a guided visit through the new excavations in the City of David, concluding with a walk through the new tunnel from the City of David to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park
• Guided visit through the Jewish Quarter, including the Cardo, Hurva Square, the 4 Sephardi synagogues and the Broad Wall
• Lunch and afternoon on own
• Kabbalat Shabbat TBD
• Shabbat dinner TBD

• Breakfast at the hotel

Morning at leisure or One of the options below:

• Option 1: Guided walk exploring the multi-ethnic weave of the Old City, including a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter and concluding at the Austrian Hospice on the edge of the Muslim Quarter
• Option 2: Guided walking tour through some of the early neighborhoods of Jerusalem’s “New City:” Yemin Moshe, German Colony, Talbieh, Rehavia
• Lunch on own
• Visit the Israel Museum to see the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and the miniature Model of Jerusalem, as it was during the Second Temple period, among other fascinating exhibits.
• Havdalah
• Farewell dinner TBD
• Depart for Ben Gurion International Airport for the return flight home.

“Next Year in Jerusalem!”