Amazing Israel! Temple Sholom of West Essex

• Depart USA for Israel.

• Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance by a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
• Travel to Tel Aviv.
• From the four corners of the Earth… WELCOME TO TEL AVIV. Outlook from the Jaffa Slope Park with a view of Tel-Aviv’s shoreline, the Promenade and hotels located along the beach.*
• Lunch on own.
• Check in to the hotel in Tel Aviv.
• Free time for rest and relaxation.
• Welcome Dinner and orientation at a Tel Aviv Restaurant (private room).

*If earlier flight arrival, program will be amended.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Guided walk along Rothschild Boulevard, where Tel Aviv began in 1909 and which is now one of Israel’s leading innovation hubs in the heart of the Bauhaus White City
• Visit ANU, the new Museum of the Jewish People, on the campus of Tel Aviv University for a special program examining the diverse mosaic of Jewish life, with the past serving as a map for the future.
• Lunch on your own.
• Depart for Northern Israel.
• Sort and pack rescued fruit and vegetables at Leket’s Logistics Center in Gan Haim, for distribution to Leket’s non-profit partners.
• Explore the ruins of Caesarea, including its Roman Theater, Amphitheater, Hippodrome and Promontory Palace.
• Check in to the hotel in Northern Israel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided walk through the Tel Dan or Banias Nature Reserves at the base of the Golan Heights.
• Lookout from a nearby strategic lookout point in the Golan Heights for a special perspective on the geopolitical significance of this region.
• Visit the Druze village of Buq’ata and the home of Naseeba Samara for a glimpse into the world of the Druze community on the Golan, with a home hospitality lunch.
• Explore the ancient mystical city of Tsfat, with its narrow streets, ancient synagogues, artist colony, and outdoor market, and hear the stories of the Jews who restored Jewish spiritual life after the devastating expulsion from Spain: Rabbi Yosef Karo, Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, Rabbi Cordovero, Rabbi Chaim Vital, and The Ari (Rabbi Yitzhak Luria).
• Free time to browse in the galleries and explore on own.
• Wine Tasting at Galil Mountain Winery or Dalton Winery.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Visit the recently opened National Park of Sussita (Hippos) on a hill on the slopes of the Golan Heights, and discover impressive archeology from the Roman-Byzantine periods and enjoy a scenic site with views of the Sea of Galilee and the Lower Galilee.

OR

• Guided visit at the ancient synagogue of Beit Alfa, whose 1,500-year-old mosaic floors feature a wheel of the Zodiac together with Jewish themes and symbols.
• Travel to
• Lunch on own en route.
• Shehecheyanu ceremony overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

• Free afternoon with an opportunity to visit the Machane Yehudah Open Air Market, the Ben Yehudah Pedestrian Mall or the Mamilla Mall with time to shop and explore on own.
• Check in to the hotel; time to relax and prepare for Shabbat.
• Friday evening/Kabbalat Shabbat program at a Reform Congregation in Jerusalem.
• Festive Shabbat home hospitality dinner or dinner at the hotel (private room).

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Shabbat morning services or free morning.
• Shabbat Lunch at the hotel in the main dining room.

Possible afternoon touring options include:

• The Poet and the Windmill – Guided walk through the Yemin Moshe neighborhood with the poetry of Yehudah Amichai. Possibility of continuing to nearby Ketef Hinnom, a First Temple period burial site where archaeologists discovered the oldest biblical text ever found.
• The German Colony – Walking tour of this historic neighborhood to discover intrigue, dreamers, unique architecture and little-known chapters in modern history of Jerusalem.
• A Historic Weave of Jerusalem – Walk through the Valley of Hinnom, using the Bible as guide to the top of Mount Zion and continuing to the Jewish Quarter.
• The new Israel Museum on own.
• Jerusalem: A City of Many Traditions – Visit the Old City, beginning with a guided walk, through Mount Zion and continue along the Ramparts, followed by free time in the Old City Markets – The Shuk.
• Christian Jerusalem – Guided visit to the Christian Quarter, including part of the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

• Havdalah.
• Free evening and dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to the Ayalon Institute in Rehovot, for a guided tour of a former clandestine munitions factory that helped the Jewish underground arm itself for Israel’s War of Independence – a precursor of the innovation and ingenuity of the Start-Up Nation.
• Continue to 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 was brutally attacked in the Hamas onslaught, on October 7 (pending confirmation).
• Visit Sderot, which has become a symbol of Israel’ s longstanding conflict with Hamas – drive through the town, stopping at the new memorial at the once-famous police station, which was demolished in the aftermath of the attack, and visit Kobi Hill, to appreciate the town’s proximity to the Gaza Strip and the region’s geopolitical realities.
• Lunch on your own in Sderot.
• Visit the Tekuma Car Cemetery, where many of the destroyed vehicles were brought after October 7.
• Return to Jerusalem
• Free evening and dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided tour of Yad Vashem,Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum.
• Visit the Davidson Archeological Park complex and learn about the history of Jerusalem, understand the architecture of the Old City Walls, and see the ancient ruins of the southern wall excavations.
• Lunch on own
• Continue with a special guided visit through the Western Wall Tunnels, along the base of the Temple Mount, concluding at what is believed to be the Antonia Fortress.
• Free time to explore and shop in Old City (bus can return to hotel for those who wish)
• For those who stay, return on own to the hotel for rest and relaxation.
• Dinner at a restaurant in Mamilla.
• Watch the Night Spectacular– Sound and Light Show at the Tower of David.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Travel across the Judean Desert to Masada and the Dead Sea
• Ascend Masada via cable car for a guided visit through the site, the last outpost of Jewish independence 2,000 years ago, exploring the complex message Masada poses for modern Jewish life.
• Bedouin experience, including camel rides, an explanation about Bedouin culture and lunch in a Bedouin tent.
• Float in the Dead Sea at a local resort, which also has a fresh water pool and spa facilities.
• Time permitting: Walk through the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve to the David Spring.
• Return to the hotel in Jerusalem.
• Free evening and dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided tour of the new National Library, including its rare historic manuscript exhibition, which includes handwritten texts by Maimonides and S. Y. Agnon.
• Visit the newly renovated Tower of David Museum, which tells the story of Jerusalem.
• Free time in the Old (or New) City of Jerusalem and lunch on own.
• Remainder of the afternoon free to pack, explore on own and get in last-minute shopping.
• Late check-out.
• Wrap-up Conversation (meeting room at the hotel).
• Festive Farewell Dinner at a Jerusalem restaurant (private room).
• Depart for Ben Gurion International Airport for return flight home.

• Arrival in USA.

Next year in Jerusalem!

Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.