Stand for Israel- by standing in Israel Travel to the Holy Land with the ACLJ The ACLJ is assembling a group to Leaders. Members of the Israeli travel with Chief Counsel Jay Knessel (Israeli Parliament) and Sekulow to from June 21, 2007 others to give you an in-depth view through July 1, 2007. The best of what is taking place in the way to stand with is to stand in. Middle East. Jay Sekulow, along with other key leaders of the This is much more than a ten-day American Center for Law & tour! This is an unprecedented Justice, will provide analysis and opportunity to experience in a way current information on what the that is not available to most ACLJ and our worldwide affiliates visitors. In addition to touring the are doing not only in the and Biblical sites, we will spend time Middle East but also globally. with government officials, military Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow CALL 1-800-662-5406 TODAY! Tour Highlights: ¾ Reception with top officials in the city government, academics, and community leaders in beautiful Haifa, the capital of the North. Meetings with Middle East experts and briefings on current situation and complexities. ¾ Travel to the holy places and enjoy the scenic vistas of the Galilee and experience Jesus' ministry (Learn about the Talmudic laws, sit at the sight of the Sermon on the Mount). ¾ Absorb the history of the area while you travel along the northern border and visit with Northern Command Army Units. View the film “OZ77” which focuses on the strategic tank battles which took place during the Yom Kippur War and the victory over the Syrians – 1 tank battalion against 22! Learn first-hand about life along the borders between Israel, Lebanon and Syria, and the impact of events in Iraq on the region. Be baptized in the Jordan River and visit Degania, Israel’s first kibbutz and birthplace of Moshe Dayan. ¾ Tour the holy sites in Jerusalem. Visit Maale Adumim, the largest city on the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), overlooking Jerusalem and the Judean Desert, for a tour and meeting with its mayor and city government leaders before continuing to the Dead Sea (lowest point on Earth), Masada, and Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered). ¾ Tour the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) and meet with a leading member who is a specialist on the politics of the Middle East. Plant a tree in the hills of Jerusalem with your own hands. ¾ Walk where HE walked, taught, died and rose again. ¾ Sightseeing will include a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, Elijah’s Cave, Mt. of Beatitudes, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Bethlehem, Garden Tomb, Calvary, Capernaum, Jaffa, Mt. Zion, Via Dolorosa, Kursi, Tabgha, Banias –Caesarea Phillipi, Valley of Armageddon, Persian Gardens of the Bahai Temple, Druze Village, and much much more. ¾ Price includes roundtrip airfare from New York area gateway, hotel accommodations, all meals, all sightseeing, entrance fees, taxes, and gratuities. Day by day itinerary Day 1-Thursday, June 21 NEW YORK Depart from NY area gateway on overnight flight to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Dinner and breakfast served on board. Day 2 –Friday, June 22 TEL AVIV TO HAIFA Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, we will be met by our guide and board our bus for the drive northward and the transfer to our hotel in Haifa, Israel’s third largest city and capital of the North. Welcome dinner and reception by the city leaders, academics, and other interesting members of the Haifa community. Overnight: Haifa. Day 3 – Saturday, June 23 HAIFA Drive to Caesarea, the ancient Roman capital built by Herod the Great in 22 B.C. Visit the the most recent excavations. Continue to Rosh Roman Theater, the Aqueduct and Herodian Hanikra which is on the edge of Haifa Bay and Port. Continue to Muchraka on the side of Mt. the international border between Israel and Carmel, the location of Elijah’s Altar during his Lebanon. Enjoy the sunset over the bay before confrontation with the false prophets of Baal. returning the Haifa for dinner and overnight. We’ll stop at the Druze village of Daliat El-Carmel for lunch. Day 4 – Sunday, June 24 NAZARETH OR TIBERIAS Return to Haifa for a view of the spectacular The day begins with a visit to the campus of Persian Gardens at the Bahai Temple and world Haifa University, located atop Mt. Carmel with shrine. its spectacular view of beautiful Haifa Bay, the Lebanese border, and the Jezreel Valley. We’ll Take a short drive to Akko (Acre) to visit and be briefed by Middle East specialists on the explore the restored old underground crusader current situation in Israel with a focus on the city. Recognized as a World Heritage Site by Lebanese, Syrian and Hezbollah connectio n. UNESCO, we’ll have a chance to explore some of We’ll also learn about the complexities facing Israel, including issues concerning Arab Israelis, Palestinians, Hamas, and the PLO. Continue via the Valley of Armageddon to the excavation at Tel Megiddo. We'll travel up the mountains to the Lower Galilee, arriving in Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation and Mary’s Well. Visit Cana of Galilee. Dinner and overnight: Nazareth or Tiberias. Day 5 – Monday, June 25 TIBERIAS Visit Kiryat Shmona, a town that was very hard hit during the war. We’ll visit an army base along the border and be briefed by an officer of On to Beit Shean to visit the spectacular the Northern Command. We’ll learn about the archaeological finds. Drive along the Gilboa complexities of protecting Israel on its northern mountain range to Prophet Gideon’s Spring, border from Lebanon in the North which has a and then on to the Tel of Jezreel, the location of weak central government. It also has a strong Queen Jezebel’s summer palace where we hear Hezbollah element representing Iranian about the site’s intimate connection with Old interests. We will have a chance to understand Testament events. Heading further south, we the level of readiness required by the Israeli arrive in the holy city of Jerusalem. army and the lessons learned from the last war. Dinner and overnight: Jerusalem. Continue to Caesarea Phillipi, now called Banias, one of the main sources of the Jordan River. Day 7 – Wednesday, June 27 JERUSALEM Drive to the Golan Heights which is the Syrian- We start our day with a visit to the Knesset, Israeli border. We’ll start the visit at Kibbutz El- Israel’s Parliament, for a briefing by one of its Rom with a viewing of the film “OZ 77.” This members on national security. Here we’ll get a emotional film focuses on the strategic tank battles which took place during the Yom Kippur War and the victory of the Israelis over the Syrians. One battalion against twenty two! This presentation will be followed by a briefing from an IDF officer on the situation on the northern borders of Israel. Travel to the southern part of the Golan Heights and the ancient hot springs of Hamat Gader is located close to where the borders between Israel, Jordan and Syria meet, overlooking the Yarmuk River, which is also a source of the Jordan River. Dinner and overnight: Nazareth / Tiberias. political overview of the challenges facing the country and the importance of US/Israel Day 6 – Tuesday, June 26 JERUSALEM relations. Take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to Ginosar where we'll visit the fisherman’s boat found and Continue to the Jewish National Fund Forest in dated to the time of Jesus. Continue to the Mt. the Jerusalem Hills and enjoy the experience of of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount. planting a tree in the Holyland with your own Continue to Kursi, site of the Miracle of Demons hands. A short drive away is the grave of the and Swine. Drive to Yardenit, the Baptismal late Yitzhak Rabin, where we will stop before Center on the Jordan River. our visit to the new Yad Vashem Museum - Israel’s national memorial to those who Cross the river and visit Degania, the oldest perished in the Holocaust. kibbutz in Israel and birthplace of Moshe Dayan. We’ll watch a short movie about the history of Dinner and overnight: Jerusalem. the Kibbutz and have a quick visit, which will be followed by lunch in the Kibbutz dining room. Day 8 – Thursday, June 28 JERUSALEM Leave Jerusalem in the morning traveling via Maale Adumin, the largest town in Judea and Mount of Olives for an outstanding view of Samaria, where we will be greeted by the Jerusalem. We’ll see the Chapel of the mayor. There will be an opportunity to meet with Ascension, Garden of Gethsemane, and Church some of the settlers before continuing our drive of All Nations. See the Kidron Valley and Tomb past the “Inn of the Good Samaritan,” along the shores of the Dead Sea (the lowest point on Earth) to Masada, the fortress where the Jewish Zealots held off the armies of the Roman Empire before choosing suicide over surrender. Continue to Ein Gedi, where King David found shelter from the wrath of King Saul. Enjoy a short “float” in the Dead Sea. Return via Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 in a cave and then return to Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight: Jerusalem. Day 9 – Friday, June 29 JERUSALEM We'll start the day with a drive to the Old City, and walk through St. Stephen’s Gate of Absalom, Zechariah and James.