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Home , Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, Tourism in Israel

Camp Kee Tov Family Trip Israel Family Adventure December 20, 2015 – January 1, 2016

Itinerary (As of May 5 ‐ Subject to Change)

Sunday December 20 DEPARTURE FROM USA . Departure from San Francisco

Monday December 21 BRUCHIM HABAIM – WELCOME TO ISRAEL . Afternoon/evening arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel . Head to for our opening program and Welcome to Israel Dinner . Check‐in at our on the shores of the Overnight: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Tuesday December 22 TO BE FREE IN OUR OWN LAND . Breakfast at the hotel . Examine the struggles leading up to the birth of the State of Israel, starting with a dramatic reenactment at Independence Hall where Ben Gurion declared the establishment of Israel in May 1948 . Meet local residents and learn the stories of the Arab and Jewish communities in ancient multi‐ cultural . . Shopping time & lunch on your own at the Nahalat Binyamin Crafts Market & Carmel Shuk outdoor market . “Join” a Palmach unit at the multi‐media museum dedicated to this elite force of the pre‐State Haganah. . Evening and dinner on your own in Tel Aviv Overnight: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Wednesday December 23 UP TO

. Breakfast at the hotel . Early morning departure from Tel Aviv and head to the fields with Project Leket, volunteering to pick fruits or vegetables to be donated to local soup kitchens. . Ascend to Jerusalem; celebrate our arrival with Shehechiyanu and the magnificent views of the city from the Haas Promenade. Begin our exploration of the Jewish love affair with Jerusalem starting with the stories of Akedat Yitzhak & David’s establishment of the city as capital of Israel 3,000 years ago . Packed Lunch . Step back 3,000 years to the days of King David and the days of the First Temple at the latest archeological finds at the (the original Jerusalem); walk through the (dry) water systems built thousands of years ago to secure Jerusalem's water supply from invading armies. . Check‐in at our hotel; dinner and evening on your own in Jerusalem Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem 1

Thursday December 24 JERUSALEM THROUGH THE AGES . Breakfast at the hotel . At the Davidson Southern Archeological Park step back 2,000 years to the days of the Second Temple. Examine the centrality of the Temple experience in Jewish tradition . Private prayer and reflection time at the Kotel () . Lunch and shopping time on your own in the . Explore the restored Jewish Quarter together and examine the life of the city through the ages including the rooftops, the Cardo and the Kotel overlook. . Family scavenger hunt in the Jewish Quarter . At the Kotel Tunnels, continue learning about the Temple experience . Head to the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Culture Center for a dance workshop and dinner with local Ethiopian Israeli youth. Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem

Friday December 25 FROM OUT OF THE CRUCIBLE . Breakfast at the hotel . Visit and stand in solemn memory at Israel’s memorial to including the children’s memorial and the historical museum. Children under 10 years of age will visit the Jerusalem Biblical . . After Yad Vashem, celebrate the vitality of life in Jerusalem. Explore and have lunch on your own at the famous bustling open‐air Machane Yehudah market as the city prepares for Shabbat . . Return to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat . . Depart for our own Kabbalat Shabbat services at the egalatarian prayer area near Robinsons Arch. Then join thousands in greeting Shabbat with song, dance and prayer at the Kotel. OR . Join one of Jerusalem Progressive Congregations (Kehilat Kol Haneshamah or Kehilath Harel) for Kabbalat Shabbat Services. . Walk back to the hotel for Shabbat Dinner Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem

Shabbat December 26 SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM . Breakfast at the hotel . Enjoy the special atmosphere of Shabbat in Jerusalem by exploring the city on your own or participating in Shabbat prayers at one of Jerusalem’s many synagogues. . Midday session at the hotel with Khaled Abu Toameh, Arab Affairs Correspondant for : Can Israel and the Palestinian Authority Make Peace? . Shabbat Lunch at hotel. . Adults: Walking tour to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we will consider the Christian connection to and presence in Jerusalem . Kids: Walking tour with stories, songs and games to the nearby first neighbourhood & windmill built outside the Old City walls by Sir Moses Montefiore in the 1860s. . Havdallah as a group. . Evening and dinner on your own in Jerusalem. Overnight: King Solomon Hotel, Jerusalem

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Sunday December 27 DIG THE PAST . Breakfast at the hotel . Session with IRAC (The Israel Religious Action Center ‐ The public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel) . Saying lehitraot to Jerusalem, head south to Tel Beit Guvrin for an archeological adventure, digging up the past with our own hands! (the dig is appropriate for all ages and takes place in a cave with natural “air conditioning.”). . Packed Lunch . At the Kfar HaNokdim Bedouin Ranch we’ll have a trek, Arab Bedouin hospitality and dinner before getting into sleeping bags for a few hours of sleep before our pre‐sunrise ascent to Overnight: Kfar Hanokdim Bedouin Ranch

Monday December 28 WHAT PRICE FREEDOM? . Wakeup for a pre‐sunrise climb to the fortress of Masada where the last Jewish freedom fighters faced the mighty 2,000 years ago. . Shacharit services and tour atop the mountain as we address the troubling issues presented by the Masada story. . Descend by cable car or Snake Path to a simple breakfast at the Masada Visitors Center. . Head to the for a float in the Dead Sea (weather permitting) and lunch. . Later, head north through the Valley for check‐in and dinner at our hotel Overnight: Kfar Giladi Kibbutz Hotel

Tuesday December 29 MOUNTAINS AND MYSTICS . Breakfast at the hotel . Ascend to Tzfat, city of the Jewish mystics. . Explore the narrow alleyways and synagogues of Tzfat and learn how the mystical traditions that emerged here 500 years ago continue to impact the Jewish world. . Adults: Meet a Kabalistic artist in his studio to learn about Kabalah through the lens of art. . Kids: Challah baking workshop . Take time for lunch on your own and to shop the galleries and shops of Tzfat . Performance and workshop with the Jewish Arab Circus composed of high school students from the Galilee. Return to the hotel for swim time and dinner. Overnight: Kfar Giladi Kibbutz Hotel

Wednesday December 30 LAND OF BORDERS . Breakfast at the hotel . Delve into the complex security and water issues on the , starting with a nature hike at the beautiful Tel Nature Reserve incorporating the headwaters of the Jordan River & ancient Biblical City Dan. . Head to Israel’s border with to better understand the political and security situation. . Chocolate making workshop and picnic lunch at the De Karina Boutique Chocolate Factory at Kibbutz . Visit and stand in solidarity with IDF soldiers guarding Israel’s border with Lebanon. Learn about life on a border Kibbutz. . Continue to for a cruise on the Kinneret and dinner

Overnight: Kfar Giladi Kibbutz Hotel 3

Thursday December 31 ISRAEL: LAND OF MANY CULTURES . Breakfast at the hotel . In meet Israeli Arab Christians. Learn about the complex identity issues they are facing as living as a minority amongst the Jewish majority in Israel and as Christians amongst the Muslim majority in Nazareth. . Head to the top of Mt. Carmel for dramatic views of and the Bahai Gardens. Haifa is the world center of the Bahai faith. . Lunch on your own . At the Mahmood Mosque meet members of Haifa's Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Gain insight to the complicated and conflicted nature of Israeli Arab identity. . Summary Session and Farewell Dinner before heading to Ben Gurion International Airport for your flights to the USA

Friday January 1 SHALOM ULEHITRAOT . Arrive in USA

 Listed activities and speakers are subject to confirmation.  Program will be staffed by a Keshet Israel Tour Educator and a Keshet Youth Counselor

 All underlined meals are included in the package price.  This itinerary is proprietary to Keshet and is intended for the promotion of and to inform those considering joining this Keshet trip. It is not to be transmitted to any other party without prior authorization from Keshet

Keshet The Center for Educational in Israel

PO Box 8540 Jerusalem 91084 Israel Phone: 972-2-671-3518 | Fax: 972-2-671-3624 [email protected] | www.keshetisrael.co.il

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