1/23/2019 Itinerary_COT.031119.docx - Google Docs

Israeli Tour with Congregation Ohr Tzafon March 11 – 20, 2019

Itinerary:

Day 1: Monday, March 11: Arrival

● Arrive into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport as a group and meet your driver and guide. ● Group transfer from the airport to the hotel in Jaffa. ● Have a welcome dinner with your guide at Onza, Chefs Arik Darhani and Muli Magriso restaurant in the Jaffa Flea Market that gives Ottoman and Turkish cuisine a contemporary twist. ● Optional evening stroll along the seaside Tel Aviv Promenade. Hotel: Market House Hotel [D]

Day 2: Tuesday, March 12: Tel Aviv and Jaffa

● Begin in the historic Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood, the original suburb modeled on Herzl’s vision in Alteneuland that grew into the modern city of Tel Aviv. There, take a walking tour beginning under the fig and Poinciana trees of Rothschild Boulevard to learn to learn about the city’s history and to observe some of Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus style buildings. ● Learn the history of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization that was the forerunner of today’s Defense Forces (IDF), at the Haganah Museum. ● Then take a guided tour of Independence Hall, the site of the signing of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, to learn about the founding of the State of Israel. ● Have lunch on your own. Shuk Allenby/Rothschild is closed but your tour guide will provide suggestions on the ground. ● Browse through the weekly Nahalat Binyamin Art Market. ● Spend the remainder of the afternoon touring the historic port city of Jaffa, highlighting how it has become an incubator for coexistence with a stop at the Tabeetha School’s Museum of Coexistence. Additional possible stops include Physicians for Human Rights-Israel’s clinic, Yafa Coexistence Bookshop, and the Israeli-Palestinian Jaffa Art Salon. ● Have dinner on your own in Jaffa. Hotel: Market House Hotel [B]

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Day 3: Wednesday, March 13: Caesarea, Winery, and Tzfat

● Check out after breakfast and drive north along the Mediterranean coast to Herod’s port city of Caesarea Maritima, whose extensive sandstone ruins overlook the peaceful blue waters of the . There, see the theater, hippodrome, and baths. Learn about the area’s Roman and Crusader histories, and enjoy the ocean breezes along the beach. ● Have lunch on your own in the port. ● Visit the Tulip Winery, a socially responsible winery located on a mountainside in Kfar Tikva (Village of Hope), a small pastoral settlement whose population consists of people with special needs. ● Round out the afternoon in the picturesque town of Tzfat () in Upper . A center of Kabbalah and one of Judaism’s Four Holy Cities, enjoy walking the village’s narrow stone lanes and art galleries, and visit its synagogues. ● In Tzfat, visit Hameiri Cheese Factory, the country’s first dairy. Their Persian recipes date back to the 1800s. ● Check into the hotel and have dinner. Hotel: Hagoshrim Hotel [B, D]

Day 4: Thursday, March 14: Galilee and Golan Heights

● Check out after breakfast. ● Take a leisurely walk through the nature park at Tel Dan, to see the place where Jeroboam built his altar and where the Tel Dan Stele was discovered. ● Next, have lunch in the Druze village of Majdal al-Shams. ● Spend the afternoon exploring desolate volcanic fields of the Golan Heights. See minefields, depopulated villages, military installations, and learn about Israel’s conflicts with Syria in 1948, 1967, and 1973. ● Relax on the bus as you ascend to Jerusalem. ● After checking into the hotel, have a free evening for dinner on your own and some shopping along Ben Yehuda Street and its surrounding area. Hotel: Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem [B, L]

Day 5: Friday, March 15: Southern West Bank

● Be joined by a Palestinian guide who will join with our Israeli guide in guiding the group in the West Bank for the day. ● Stop at the separation barrier up close and discuss its impact on Israelis and Palestinians. ● Continue to Hebron’s Old Town. Walk down Shuahada Street. Visit the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Have lunch there.

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● Then, meet an Israeli settler peacemaker involved in the interfaith peace-building organization Abrahamic Reunion. ● Then travel to Tzur Hadassah to experience an Israeli Reform Shabbat with COT’s first student rabbi, Rabbi Stacey Blank, and her congregation. Following services, congregants will invite the group to join them for home hospitality Shabbat dinners.

Hotel: Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem [B, L, D]

Day 6: Saturday, March 16: Masada, Dead Sea, and Jerusalem

● Travel south to the mountaintop fortress of Masada. There, take in breathtaking views of the Judean Desert, explore the archaeological park, and learn the dramatic story of Masada’s role in the Great Revolt. Have an abridged Shabbat morning service or Torah study with Rabbi Janice. ● Drive to the Ein Gedi Kibbutz and enjoy some free time to float on the Dead Sea, enjoy the spa, and/or explore the botanical garden. ● Enjoy a free evening in Jerusalem.

Hotel: Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem [B]

Day 7, Sunday, March 17, 2019: Jerusalem - Day on Your Own Have an open unguided day to pick an activity in Jerusalem- either on your own or in small groups, i.e. ● Visit Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity, Manger Square, a Palestinian refugee camp, the separation barrier, and/or Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel’s museum and gallery. $100/per person. Book through MEJDI by emailing [email protected] before February 15, 2019. ● Take a free tour of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to see the country’s seat of government in action (tours take place at 8:30 am, 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm): https://knesset.gov.il/tour/eng/evisit.htm ● Take a free tour of the Israeli Supreme Court (tour takes place at 12:00 pm): http://elyon1.court.gov.il/eng/siyur/index.html ● Visit the City of David and journey through the underground tunnels through which the city was conquered and residents fled. Explore the underground mysteries of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, where water has flowed since the time of the prophets. Join the mysterious, magical journey between ancient shafts, walls and fortresses at the City of David, the place where Jerusalem began: http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/en/tours/city-david/city-david-tours-biblical-jerusalem ● Tour the Tower of David in the Old City (guided tour at 11:00 am or self-guided at any other time). Jerusalem’s Citadel, known as the ”Tower of David”, is a historical and archaeological asset of international significance. The Citadel is a medieval fortress with architectural additions from later periods. It is located near the Jaffa Gate, the historical entrance to the city and the point where the East meets the West. It bears cultural and

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architectural values and has been the symbol of the city of Jerusalem for generations.: https://www.tod.org.il/en/museum/visitor-info/ ● Visit the Israel Museum, the country’s greatest collection of art: http://www.imj.org.il/en ● Take an East Jerusalem and Settlement Political Tour that covers Palestinian neighborhoods, checkpoints, settlements, Ma’aleh Adumim, and the separation barrier: https://www.toursinenglish.com/2007/11/greater-jerusalem-tour.html ● Take a private tour of the Mount of Olives, an important burial place since Canaanite times. Kingdoms and empires have come and gone and left their marks on this legendary hill. Today, it is an incredibly popular vantage point with simply breathtaking views of the holy sites of Jerusalem’s Old City. Pilgrims are drawn to sites important to all three Abrahamic faiths, in particular those associated with Jesus’ last week on Earth and where the End of Days was described to the Disciples. For Jews and Muslims alike, the Mount of Olives is where the gates of heaven will open up on Judgment Day.: http://www.neweuropetours.eu/jerusalem/en/private-tours# ● Zip through the city on a Segway tour: http://www.zu-zu.co.il/segway-tours-jerusalem.html ● Visit the S.Y. Agnon House, a museum dedicated to the life and work of a central figure of modern Hebrew literature and the 1966 Nobel Prize laureate for his body of writing: https://agnonhouse.org.il/english/ ● Take a graffiti tour with a street artist and see Jerusalem’s hidden street art: https://grafitiyul.co.il/tours/ ● Visit the Biblical Zoo, famous for its Afro-Asiatic collection of wildlife many of which are ascribed in the Hebrew Bible, as well as its success in breeding endangered species: http://www.jerusalemzoo.org/.

Hotel: Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem [B]

Day 8: Monday, March 18: Jerusalem

● Visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s living memorial to the Holocaust. Lunch on your own on site. ● Travel to Mount Herzl, to learn about Israel’s wars. While there, visit the Memorial of Ethiopian Jews to learn about the waves of immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel via Sudan that started in the 1980s. ● Sample your way through the Machane Yehuda Shuk Market for an early dinner on your own. ● In the evening, hear from Daniel Roth from Pardes.

Hotel: Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem [B]

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Day 9, Tuesday, March 19, 2019: Old City of Jerusalem

● Enter the Old City and visit the Kotel (Western Wall). ● Ascend the Temple Mount/Al-Haram Al Sharif and tour the precinct. Travelers can opt out of this option and spend more time in the Kotel Plaza or at the Davidson Archaeological Center nearby. ● Have lunch on your own in the Old City. ● Explore the excavated hidden layers of the Western Wall tunnels. ● Then learn about the Christian “Stations of the Cross” along the Via Dolorosa and the incense-filled halls of the Holy Sepulchre Church, the place identified as both the site of the crucifixion and the tomb of Jesus. Travelers can opt out of this option and spend more time shopping on your own. ● Weave through the shops and alleyways of the Arab shuk (market) in the Old City, where you can practice your haggling skills. ● Return to the hotel and hear from two representatives from the Parents Circle-Families Forum, an organization of bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones to the conflict and who have come together to work for peace. ● Have a free evening for dinner on your own.

Hotel: Harmony Hotel, Jerusalem [B]

Day 10: Wednesday, March 20: Peacemakers and Social Justice

● Participate in Tikkun Olam project with Pantry Packers, a hands-on opportunity to pack commodity food staples for Israel’s poorest families. ● Have lunch Harutzim Bistro, founded by the organization SHEKEL – Community Services for People with Special Needs. Offering a fresh healthful menu, created by an esteemed Jerusalem chef, Harutzim's specialty is about more than just a great menu – it's about giving people with disabilities the chance to work and develop careers in Israel's thriving restaurant industry. ● Get an opportunity for some last minute shopping at the workshop of Emanuel Judaica. ● Meet an inspiring speaker from the New Israel Fund, Pardes, or Israel Religious Action Center. ● Then have a closing 1-on-1 session with members of the YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus involving discussion, singing, storytelling and more. The YMCA Jerusalem Youth Chorus is a choral and dialogue program for Israeli and Palestinian high school students in Jerusalem. ● Have an early festive group farewell dinner in Jerusalem. ● Group transfer to the airport.

[B, L, D]

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