Jewish National Fund

FIELD OF DREAMS

JNF’s Hardball Mission to the Holy Land

May 8 – 15, 2010

MISSION CHAIRMAN: KENNY FRIED EMISSARY: TALIA TZOUR

SUNDAY MAY 9 • ARRIVAL / Upon our individual arrivals into Tel Aviv, we will be picked up and transferred to the hotel. After checking in, we will have some time to freshen up and unwind from the long flight. This evening, we will enjoy a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Pending confirmation, a representative from the Israel League will share the IBL’s vision for the future of baseball in Israel. Tel Aviv Overnight, Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv

MONDAY MAY 10 • NORTHERN COAST

After a delicious Israeli breakfast, we will depart the hotel and head north along the Western coast. En route, we will visit the Atlit Illegal Immigration Camp, which JNF helped restore with their partners from the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS). Converted into a detention camp by the British

Atlit Illegal Immigration Camp Mandate, Atlit imprisoned thousands of Jewish immigrants upon arriving into Israel. We’ll tour the camp, experiencing the trauma of the immigrants who were subjected to imprisonment, so soon after their release from Nazi extermination camps.

We will continue to Nahal Hashofet, JNF‐KKL’s first totally inclusive park that now serves as a model for future inclusive parks. A KKL Representative will lead us on a walk through park and show us the unique trails, facilities and other equipment designed for people with disabilities.

Afterward, we will continue to a nearby IDF Base for an exclusive tour with IDF soldiers soldiers. After the tour, several soldiers will demonstrate the unique skills they

have learned to use as soldiers before joining us for lunch. During lunch, the soldiers will share what life is like serving in the Israeli army.

Following lunch, we will return to the hotel in Tel Aviv to change and get ready to play baseball. We’ll meet in the hotel lobby and depart for a nearby baseball field where we will host a special clinic for local Israeli youth leagues. We’ll review basic techniques and run practice drills in order to help the players Baseball game improve their skills. After the clinic, we will play a baseball game against a local Israeli league.

Following the game, we’ll return to the hotel for the evening.

Overnight, Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv

Palmach Museum TUESDAY MAY 11 • TEL AVIV

After a delicious Israeli breakfast, we will visit the multimedia Museum to learn more about the fight for Israeli independence and the development of the renowned Israeli army.

We will then continue Ayalon Institute, a secret bullet factory established by the Haganah in 1945. As the largest bullet factory during that time, it produced 2.25 million bullets from 1946 – 1948, completely in secret.

Following lunch, we will return to the hotel in Tel Aviv to change and get ready Ayalon Institute to play baseball. We’ll meet in the hotel lobby and depart for a nearby baseball field. After warming up, we’ll participate in a special clinic that will focus on improving a particular skill. After the clinic, we will play a baseball game against a local Israeli league.

Following the game, we’ll return to the hotel to change and freshen up. Tonight, we’ll have the option to enjoy dinner on our own in .

Overnight, Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv Jaffa

WEDNESDAY MAY 12 • NEGEV

After breakfast, we’ll depart the hotel and head south towards the Negev. En route, we will stop Sderot, a town plagued by frequent rocket attacks that hold life at a standstill for its many residents. During a city tour, we’ll stop at the local police station to see only a few of the thousands of kassams shot into the town. A city representative will brief us on the current situation and review the Sderot Indoor Recreation Center impact of past conflicts with Hamas.

We will then see the new Indoor Recreation Center, the largest indoor playground in Israel and built by JNF. This all‐inclusive indoor recreation center provides Sderot’s youth with a safe, secure place to have fun and simply be children. Here, we will meet with a few Sderot residents to understand how the indoor playground has enriched their daily lives.

We will then continue to the new Sderot Reservoir for a visit. A water expert Givot Bar community from KKL will explain how the reservoir will provide 2 million cubic meters of water to the region.

Following a falafel lunch in Sderot, we’ll drive to Givot Bar, a new community in the Negev developed by JNF and their partners from the OR Movement. During a tour, we will meet with several residents, who will discuss what life is like as true modern‐day pioneers.

From here, we will continue to Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev. We’ll visit Be’er Sheva River Project the Be’er Sheva River Project, the centerpiece of JNF’s efforts to provide a means for a renaissance of the entire city of Be’er Sheva. A representative will explain the current reality of life in the city and how this extensive water, environment and economic development project is focused on revitalizing the Be’er Sheva River.

Later this afternoon, we will return to the hotel in Tel Aviv to change and get ready to play baseball. We’ll meet in the hotel lobby and depart for a nearby

Baseball game baseball field where we will host a special clinic for local Israeli youth leagues. We’ll review basic techniques and run practice drills in order to help the players improve their skills. After the clinic, we will play a baseball game against a local Israeli league.

After the game, we’ll return to the hotel to freshen up. Tonight will be at leisure, providing us with an opportunity to enjoy Tel Aviv’s nightlife at our own pace.

Overnight, Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv

Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv

THURSDAY MAY 13 •

After breakfast, we’ll make our way to Jerusalem. We will spend our morning on a guided tour of Jerusalem’s . We’ll enter through the Jaffa Gate and continue to the , which was the last remaining wall that enclosed the Temple Mount in the Second Temple Period. We’ll see the Southern Wall Excavations to explore the remnants of ancient houses and see where the Kotel original steps leading to the Temple Mount were located.

We will then continue to the Western Wall Tunnels for an exciting tour through an incredible labyrinth of tunnels, arches and passageways that expose Jerusalem’s rich history, archeology and topography. Afterward, we’ll take a leisurely walk down the Cardo, the main street in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, before we enjoy a falafel lunch in the Old City.

After lunch, we’ll continue to Ir David, located in the exact area where the

Western Wall Tunnels Biblical city of Jerusalem was captured by King David over 3,000 years ago. During a tour of the City of David, we’ll see some of the world's most significant archeological finds from the Biblical period in Jerusalem, evidence of the more than 3000 year‐long Jewish presence in the city. We’ll end the tour at Gihon Spring, the major water source for Jerusalem for over 1,000 years and where Solomon was anointed King.

This afternoon we will take a solemn tour of Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum & Memorial. A sprawling complex of tree‐studded walkways leading to museums, exhibits, archives, monuments, sculptures, and memorials, Yad

Cardo Vashem tells the story of the Holocaust from a uniquely Jewish perspective, emphasizing the experiences of individual victims through original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions.

Later this afternoon, we will return to the hotel in Tel Aviv to change and get ready to play baseball. We’ll meet in the hotel lobby and depart for a nearby baseball field where we will host a special clinic for local Israeli youth leagues. We’ll review basic techniques and run practice drills in order to help the players improve their skills. After the clinic, we will play a baseball game against a local

Ir David Tunnel Israeli league.

Overnight, Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv

FRIDAY MAY 14 • TEL AVIV

This morning, we will play a baseball game against a local Israeli league. Afterward, we’ll return to the hotel to change before taking an afternoon walking tour through several of Tel Aviv’s neighborhoods. We’ll take a stroll down Rothschild Boulevard to see some excellent examples of Bauhaus architecture, which was all but destroyed in the bombing of Germany during Bauhaus architecture in Tel Aviv WWII. We’ll then continue along the Tel Aviv Promenade to Jaffa. We’ll explore Old Jaffa’s ancient streets that are now filled with galleries, shops, restaurants and cafes. Next, we will continue to Rabin Square, the place of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, before the final stop in Neve Tzedek, the first neighborhood of Tel Aviv, built in 1909.

Later this afternoon, we may return to our hotel in Tel Aviv to prepare for Shabbat or we may spend the remainder of the afternoon shopping in Tel Aviv. Start at Nahalat Benyamin, the famous pedestrian street filled with musicians, handmade jewelry and artifacts. Continue to Tel Aviv’s own Soho on Shenkin

Neve Tzedek Street, the lively and colorful street especially known for its unique shops, café life and youthful ambiance before ending at the open‐air Carmel Market.

This evening, we are invited to the homes of Israeli baseball players for Shabbat dinner with the players and their families.

Overnight, Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv

Carmel Market SATURDAY MAY 15 • SHABBAT IN TEL AVIV /

Today will be at leisure in honor of Shabbat. Options for the day include attending Shabbat services at the hotel, relaxing at the beach, or taking an optional day tour to Masada.

The tour will go to Masada for a cable car ride to the top of the Herodian Palace Complex. This is the location of the ancient fortress where the made their last stand against the Romans before committing in 73 AD. The tour continues as it descends to the depths of , for an afternoon at Cable Car Ride over Masada leisure. After lunch, take a swim in the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea, indulge in an optional spa treatment or simply relax at the beach.

This evening, we’ll have a closing barbeque at . Israeli baseball players, coaches, and members of the will join us as guests.

Afterward, we will head to the airport for our return flights home.

Dead Sea Overnight, en route