Travel Dates: May 16-26 (8 day tour)
Day 1: Arrival, Thursday, May 17, 2018 (no bus, no guides)
Arrive at Ben Gurion airport and transfer to hotel on your own for check in and welcome dinner with the group. Mejdi can give suggestions in arranging transfers.
Hotel: Grand Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv (D)
Day 2: Friday, May 18, 2018 – Dimona and Sderot
Meet your MEJDI guides this morning. Travel through the town of Dimona, a controversial city that is the site of Israel’s nuclear weapons program. Meet with member of Black Hebrew Israelites, an African American Jewish community in Dimona. Afterwards, drive to Sderot, a city on the border of Gaza and site of frequent site of missile attacks, to talk with residents about life in the area and the issue of Hamas. End the day in Jerusalem with dinner at the hotel.
Hotel: Holy Land Hotel, Jerusalem (B, L, D)
Day 3: Saturday, May 19, 2018 – Jerusalem
Begin the morning with an overview of Jerusalem’s religious history from the Mount of Olives. Take a full day alternative tour of the Old City’s Jewish, Christian, and Muslim holy sites with two guides, one Arab and one Jewish. Descend the road of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and visit the Holy Sites on the route – Dominus Flavit (where Jesus wept), the Garden of Gethsemane and the Kidron Valley. Walk up toward the Old City through the Shepherd’s Gate and visit the Pool of Bethesda (John 5) at the church of St. Anne. Traverse the Via Dolorosa and have lunch at a hummus restaurant in the Old City of Jerusalem. Meet with a local imam for a discussion on Islam and the politics of the site, and then explore the Muslim Quarter. Next, visit the Western Wall and Jewish Quarter. Finally, tour the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to learn about its many sectarian conflicts.
Hotel: Holy Land Hotel, Jerusalem (B, L, D)
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Day 4: Sunday, May 20, 2018 – Jerusalem
Worship with local church community in Jerusalem alongside of members of One Voice - Christian Palestinian and Messianic Jewish Women, Leadership & Peace Movement. After church have lunch with the women and learn more about the One Voice movement and what this group of women are seeking to do to advocate for peace. (Note: Since you will be in Jerusalem, it is unlikely Palestinian Christians from the West Bank will be able to attend, but we can do our best to try to make this happen. It will depend on if they have permits from Easter to enter Jerusalem). In the afternoon, meet with members of the Israeli activist community such as Sahar Vardi and others engaged in issues such as demilitarization, issues surrounding Israeli Defense Force (IDF) conscription, and other issues affecting Israeli society. Have dinner at your hotel in Jerusalem.
Hotel: Holy Land Hotel, Jerusalem (B, L, D)
Day 5: Monday, May 21, 2018 - Jerusalem (Israeli Narrative)
Begin the day with an early visit to the hotly contested Temple Mount, to see the Dome of the Rock and al Aqsa Mosque. Then explore Jerusalem’s political history from an Israeli perspective. Pay a sobering visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum. Then, take a quick tour and have lunch in Ein Kerem to learn different narratives about Zionism and Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. Following lunch, learn about Israel’s wars and have a conversation with an Israeli soldier at Mt. Hertzl. Afterward, meet with an Israeli politician, artist, scholar, or activist (depending on the group’s interests). Finally, enjoy an optional trip after dinner to see the bustling nightlife of Ben Yehuda Street in West Jerusalem.
Hotel: Holy Land Hotel, Jerusalem (B, L, D)
Day 6: Tuesday, May 22, 2018 – West Bank – Bethlehem (Palestinian Narrative)
Journey south and cross the checkpoint into Bethlehem. Walk the separation wall and learn about the effects of the barrier on the communities in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Tour of the Church of the Nativity to see the traditional place where it is believed Jesus was born. Spend the afternoon meeting with Daoud Nasser from the Tent of Nations and have a home cooked fresh Palestinian meal for lunch on the Nasser farm. Visit the Aida Refugee Camp to briefly learn about the villages that were destroyed in 1948 and the significance of the key at the refugee camp’s entrance. Later in the afternoon, head over to Beit Sahour toward Shepherd’s Field to savor fresh local cuisine at a Bedouin tent restaurant while enjoying a special dinner with Sami Awad from Holy Land Trust.
Hotel: Holy Land Hotel, Jerusalem (B, L, D)
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Leaving Jerusalem, stop in Jericho to see the ruins of the ancient city, the oldest inhabited city in the world. Visit Herod’s mountaintop fortress of Masada, with its breathtaking views of the Judean Desert and Dead Sea. Take a dip in the mineral rich waters of the Dead Sea and walk the ruins at Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and home to the ancient Essene community. Meet with Friends of the Earth Middle East at your hotel in Ein Gedi and hear about their joint Arab/Jewish environmental initiatives. End the day with time for reflection as the sun sets across the Negev desert.
Hotel: Ein Gedi Kibbutz (B, L, D)
Day 8: Thursday, May 24, 2018 – Lower Galilee
Take a morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, and see the Jesus Boat Museum at Ginosaur, where scientists have reconstructed a 2,000-year-old fishing boat. Then, explore Capernaum, home of Peter and site of Jesus’ ministry. Enjoy a hilltop prayer in the gardens at the Mount of Beatitudes, and then choose between free time for swimming or a trip to Tzippori or Hamat Gader to see the synagogue mosaics.
Hotel: Lavi Kibbutz, Tiberias (B, L, D)
Day 9: Friday, May 25, 2018 – Upper Galilee
Head north through the Golan Heights, stopping for coffee at Mount Bental. Continuing on, discover the temples and altars of Caesarea Philippi, location of the Great Confession. Then, take a short walk down to the Banias Waterfall. Afterward, hike Tel Dan, and see the site of Jeroboam’s altar. End the day with a dinner of Saint Peter’s fish overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and some time for enjoying the evening breezes and nightlife along the pier. In the evening, enjoy the ancient Roman hot springs in Tiberias.
One group transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for late evening flights home to the United States.
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