Bnai Havurah, Rabbi Evette Lutman July 1-14, 2014 Itinerary as of January 8, 2013

Day 1: Tuesday, July 1 Depart U.S.

Day 2: Wednesday, July 2  Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, where you will be met by your guide and an IsraelExperts representative  Drive to  Dinner at hotel  Evening welcome with guide and Rabbi Evette Overnight: Mitzpe Ramon (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 3: Thursday, July 3  Begin the day at the renovated Ramon Crater visitors’ center, named after the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. The visitors’ center tells the geological story of the formation of the mighty crater with a new state of the art exhibition.  Visit the home and grave of ’s first Prime Minister- David Ben Gurion - at Sde Boker.  In Ramon take a sunset hike including a spiritual Havdalah under the sky  Dinner – Cookout in the crater  Star gazing Overnight: Mitzpe Ramon (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 4: Friday, July 4  Travel through the Western , stopping at Gerar, the Black Hawk memorial, the ANZAC story, and the Maon Synagogue. View the borders of Egypt and the Gaza Strip and gain insight into this complicated border area.  Continue to  Make your way through the lively Carmel Market to enjoy delicious Falafel with the locals, and to pick up some Israeli snacks for Oneg Shabbat.  Browse the nearby Nachalat Binyamin art fair and enjoy the typical Tel Aviv afternoon scene.  Check into the hotel to rest and prepare for Shabbat.  Kabbalat Shabbat at the Tel Aviv Port with Beit Tefila Israeli  Dinner at hotel and Oneg Shabbat Overnight: Tel Aviv (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 5: Saturday, July 5

USA Contacts: International Contacts: Web Contacts: Tel.: 212.796.4111 / 800.218.9851 (Toll Free) Tel: +972-72-2774444 www.israelexperts.com Fax: 480.287.8661 Fax: +972-8-8573813 [email protected] 2

 Morning Tefilot  Walking tour of Jaffa - tour one of the world's ancient ports. Modern Jaffa has a heterogeneous population of Muslims, Christians and , with an exciting combination of old and new.  Lunch at The Old Man & The Sea restaurant or the hotel  See a different side of Tel Aviv on a Graffiti Tour with Guy Sharett, linguist extraordinaire, who will guide you through the streets of the Florentine neighborhood and tell you about the city and the country by deciphering the graffiti on the walls.  Dinner and evening on own Overnight: Tel Aviv (Meals included: breakfast, lunch)

Day 6: Sunday, July 6  Drive up north  Ein Shemer Ecological Greenhouse and Co-Existence project- An innovative educational center where Jews and Arabs engage in projects together.  Continue to Caesarea Maritima, King Herod’s masterpiece city, built to impress the emperor in Rome as well as the local population. See the ancient theater, Hippodrome for horse and chariot races, and Herod's private palace, as well as the Crusader City.  Leket- gleaning produce for Israel’s hungry- in Nahalal  Stop at Kinneret Cemetery- learn about the chalutzim who built the State in the early years  Check into hotel  Dinner at hotel Overnight: Kibbutz Guesthouse (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 7: Monday, July 7  Breakfast at the hotel  Drive up to the and enjoy the panoramic view from Mount Bental, overlooking Mount Hermon and into Syria. Discuss the strategic importance of the Golan Heights and the borders with Israel’s neighbors  Visit Tzfat – Explore this fascinating city regarded as one of the four Holy cities in Judaism along with , Tiberias and Hebron, and a center for Kabbalah, an esoteric form of Jewish mysticism. Tour together the ancient synagogues and artists’ square and meet with a local artist.  Galileat- cook dinner in a Druze or Arab home in the area- eat with your hosts and get to know their food and culture  Return to hotel Overnight: North Kibbutz Guesthouse (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 8: Tuesday, July 8  Drive through the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea  Continue to Massada. Ascend Massada by cable car and tour the ancient fortress. Visit the remains of the walls, palaces, synagogue, the bathhouses and more. Descend by cable car.  Stop for lunch at the Hotel  Swim at the Ein Gedi Spa.  Continue to Jerusalem USA Contacts: International Contacts: Web Contacts: Tel.: 212.796.4111 / 800.218.9851 (Toll Free) Tel: +972-72-2774444 www.israelexperts.com Fax: 480.287.8661 Fax: +972-8-8573813 [email protected] 3

 Drive to Jerusalem and check into hotel.  Dinner at hotel Overnight: Jerusalem (Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner)

Day 9: Wednesday, July 9  Tour the Old City of Jerusalem- Visit Jerusalem Archaeological Park and its Davidson Center before approaching Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall, and tour the Western Wall Tunnels excavations, which follow the full extent of the Western Wall.  Ir Amim tour of Jerusalem – tour the city with experts for an engaging introduction to the complexities of the Jerusalem borders  Return to hotel  Dinner at the hotel Overnight: Jerusalem (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 10: Thursday, July 10  Start the day at the Biblical Landscape Park of . Learn about the significant connection between the Bible and the land. You’ll also have a chance to test your sheep-herding skills while you learn something about yourself!  Biblical lunch at Neot Kedumim, including pita baking  Drive to Derech Burma  Educational program at Burma Road by Joe Perlov. Learn about the role Jews from the Diaspora have in the narrative of the Jewish People in Israel. Encounter the Palestinian ‘right of return’ issue.  Return to Jerusalem  Dinner on your own  Tower of David Sound and Light Show (optional) Overnight: Jerusalem (Meals included: breakfast, lunch)

Day 11: Friday, July 11  Visit Yad Vashem, Israel's national memorial to the Holocaust. The museum presents the historic events that befell Europe following the Nazis’ rise to power in Germany and the fate of the Jews under Nazi rule in the occupied countries.  Visit Mount Herzl, Israel's military cemetery, and burial place of great Israeli leaders such as Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir and Theodore Herzl as well as thousands of soldiers killed in the line of duty.  Stop at the Machne Yehuda Shuk, where we can experience the way locals prepare for Shabbat.  Kabbalat Shabbat with group or at local synagogue or at the Tachanah Rishonah, the Jerusalem Train Station  Dinner at the hotel Overnight: Jerusalem (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 12: Saturday, July 12 Expressions of Sovereignty  Shabbat Tefilot or other TBD  Walking tour of the Christian Quarter of the Old City  Lunch at the hotel USA Contacts: International Contacts: Web Contacts: Tel.: 212.796.4111 / 800.218.9851 (Toll Free) Tel: +972-72-2774444 www.israelexperts.com Fax: 480.287.8661 Fax: +972-8-8573813 [email protected] 4

 Museum options or walking tour  Changing Map of Israel with Joe Perlov. An experiential program on the Changing Map of the Middle East, focusing on the political and demographical issues of yesterday and today and engaging participants in a discussion about the future.  Free evening and dinner on own Overnight: Jerusalem (Meals included: breakfast, lunch)

Day 13: Sunday, July 13  At Yad L’Kashish (Lifeline for the Old) visit the artisan workshops providing work and feeling of empowerment to Jerusalem’s elderly community. Interact with the residents and hear the stories of the people who have built the country.  Tour and explanation of Rakevet Kalah, Jerusalem’s light railway.  Visit the Israel Museum and see the Shrine of the Book and the exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, then a visit to the beautifully renovated Model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem, dating back to the time of the Second Temple  Return to hotel to freshen up  Farewell dinner at Eucalyptus, where the menu focuses on the foods indigenous to the land of Israel and dishes are made with natural local ingredients including the seven species  Transfer to airport (Meals included: breakfast, dinner)

Day 14: Monday, July 14 Arrive US

USA Contacts: International Contacts: Web Contacts: Tel.: 212.796.4111 / 800.218.9851 (Toll Free) Tel: +972-72-2774444 www.israelexperts.com Fax: 480.287.8661 Fax: +972-8-8573813 [email protected]