Jewish National Fund JNFuture Ultimate Experience Food, Wine, and Culture Experience

May 19 – 26, 2019 Chairs Sara Armet & Civia Caroline Professional Leila Mikal Tour Guide Doobie Sabbo Saturday, May 18 – Option for Early Arrivals

PM Option for those who arrive before the start of the JNFuture Ultimate Israel Experience: Enjoy a “VIP Screening” of the Eurovision Song Contest taking place in Tel Aviv, following Israel’s victory at the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal with the song “Toy,” performed by Netta.

Sunday, May 19 – Arrival / Tel Aviv

AM Welcome to Israel! Upon individual arrival, meet your arranged transfer and head to the Orchid Hotel in Tel Aviv.

PM Dinner at a local restaurant in Tel Aviv with all tracks of the JNFuture Ultimate Israel Experience. Enjoy an evening outing with the JNFuture members of JNF-Australia.

Overnight Orchid Hotel, Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Itinerary is subject to change. Monday, May 20 – Tel Aviv / North

AM Breakfast at hotel and check out. Together with JNF-Australia and other mission tracks, visit Special in Uniform (SIU) at a nearby army base with Tiran Attia, Director of SIU, and IDF soldiers. SIU is a unique initiative that integrates youth with special needs into the IDF and prepares them for career placement following army service.

PM Enjoy lunch together and hear from Rabbi Leor Sinai, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Muss High School in Israel-Jewish National Fund. Head north via the coastal route to tour the Hod HaSharon campus of AMHSI-JNF, the only non- denominational, pluralistic, accredited academic program in Israel for English speaking North American High School students. Visit the village of Ein Hod, a picturesque artists’ colony that was rebuilt following the 2010 forest fires that devastated the Carmel Region. Take a tour through the village, meet local artists and stroll through the art galleries. Free time to shop/explore. Druze dinner at Sami House in Usafiya and meet local Druze community members. Check into hotel in Nahariya.

Overnight Erna Shtarkman Hotel, Nahariya

Special in Uniform

Itinerary is subject to change. Tuesday, May 21 – Western

Western Galilee Visitor Center

AM Breakfast at the hotel before departing for Akko. See the new Western Galilee Visitor Center, a multimedia facility that showcases the vast array of activities and attractions in and around the Western Galilee. The center is one of many JNF initiatives that aim to increase economic and tourist opportunities in the area with the goal of attracting and retaining 300,000 new residents. Learn about JNF’s strategic partnership with Western Galilee Now (WGN), an innovative network of small entrepreneurial businesses revitalizing the region by increasing tourism and employment opportunities. Free time in the Shuk.

PM Lunch at nearby restaurant. Visit the Kishor Winery to taste Kishor wines and learn about the process of wine making at with its owners. Visit Chef Hagit Lidror’s interactive Culinary Workshop in Clil and learn about the tastes, smells, and colors of the Galilee’s cuisines over a delicious dinner.

Overnight Erna Shtarkman Hotel, Nahariya

Itinerary is subject to change. Wednesday, May 22 – Galilee / Lag Ba’Omer

AM Breakfast and hotel departure. Druze Program with a local MAKOM community in Maghar. MAKOM communities are led by groups of young people who move to underprivileged parts of the country and empower those places from within. Visit an Olive Oil Factory on Farod owned by a Christian and Arab family, Saba Habib. Learn about the oil making process and its nutritional values, sample tastings, watch tahini making in millstone, and hear about local herbs and their use in traditional medicine.

PM Walking Tour of Tzfat, a city steeped in the history and mysticism of the Jewish people. Lunch on own. Create vibrant art during a Glass Blowing Demonstration at a local gallery. The city of Tzfat in Israel’s Upper Galilee, has always been known as the “Capital of Kabbalah,” and for many long historical periods was the home of Judaism’s greatest mystics and masters of Kabbalah, who you will have the opportunity to meet. Make Ice Cream at the Buza Ice Cream Parlor at Kibbutz Sasa. Meaning “ice creaming” in Arabic, this charming ice cream parlor is run by Adam Ziv, an Israeli Jew, and Alaa Sawitat, an Israeli Arab. Have dinner and experience Kurdish Home Hospitality at Shula M’Shtula with Shula Giladi. Located in the small village of Shtula on the Israeli-Lebanese border, Shula welcomes visitors in her home for homemade Jewish Kurdish food. What began as a dream to start a small business has now become a thriving success. Visit Western Galilee Now partner Kibbutz Keshet Eilon on the Lebanese border. Speak to a resentative about Jewish National Fund’s future plans for creating a state-of- the-art world-class Institute of Culinary Arts and a Food Innovation and Technology Center in the city of Kiryat Shmona, in the Upper Eastern Galilee. Enjoy a Concert where music is viewed as a bridge between people, cultures, and religion at the Keshet Eilon Music Center in Kibbutz Eilon. As the leading musical destination in the Galilee, Keshet Eilon hosts concerts, festivals, and classes, drawing thousands of visitors from Israel and abroad.

Overnight Erna Shtarkman Hotel, Nahariya

From left: Ice cream at Buza, artisinal glass

Itinerary is subject to change. Thursday, May 23 – North / Jerusalem

View of the Kotel in the Old City of Jerusalem

AM Breakfast at hotel and check out. Take part in an Interactive Oil Making Class with LOTEM-Making Nature Accessible, a one of-a-kind organization that helps people with special needs maximize their enjoyment of nature through outdoor activities. Visit Afula with Hadas Goldman, founder of the Tarbut Movement and a member of MAKOM. See the artist community and meet with Tarbut artists-in-residence in the Ein Kerem neighborhood.

PM Lunch in Afula with MAKOM community members. Proceed to Jerusalem. Experience Yemenite Home Hospitality in the Ein Kerem neighborhood in Jerusalem with Mazal Motel. Meet one of the original founding families who moved to Ein Kerem from Yemen. Taste authentic food and learn Yemenite dancing. Check into Dan Panorama Hotel.

Overnight Dan Panorama, Jerusalem

Itinerary is subject to change. Friday, May 24 – Jerusalem (All Tracks)

AM Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the JNF 9/11 Memorial, the only site outside of the United States that lists the names of the people who were killed on 9/11. Visit Ammunition Hill, site of the pivotal battle of the Six-Day War. Walk through the battlegrounds and bunkers to follow in the footsteps of the soldiers who fought here. End at JNF’s Wall of Honor, which commemorates Jewish veterans from around the world.

PM Catered lunch at Ammunition Hill at the conclusion of the visit. Afternoon activity in Jerusalem to be determined. Celebrate Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel, followed by Shabbat dinner at the hotel with all mission participants.

Overnight Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

JNF 9/11 Memorial

Itinerary is subject to change. Saturday, May 25 – Shabbat

AM Day at leisure in honor of Shabbat. Optional visit on your own: the Israel Museum, the largest cultural institution in Israel, where you can see the Jerusalem Model of the Second Temple period and the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts in the world, are housed.

PM Lunch and dinner on own.

Overnight Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Model of the Second Temple at the Israel Museum

Itinerary is subject to change. Sunday, May 26 – Jerusalem / Departure

AM Breakfast and hotel checkout. Participate in a Painting Workshop with Art Ba’Aretz in the First Station at Terminal Tarbut.

PM Lunch on own and free time in the First Station. Get your hands dirty during a bread-making workshop at Pat BaMelach Artisan Bakery in the heart of Gush Etzion. Meet with the other mission participants for a Farewell Dinner on the beautiful, outdoor patio at Gush Etzion Winery. Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for return flights to the U.S.

View of the vineyards at Gush Etzion

Itinerary is subject to change.