ITINERARY
Beth Shalom & Shir Tikvah Israel Tour
Led by Rabbi Arnie and Robert
March 31st- April 12th, 2024
Day 0: Saturday March 30th– Arrival in Israel
ברוכים הבאים
Welcome to Israel - Settle in Tel Aviv
Arrive to Israel and settle in Tel Aviv
Overnight: Tel Aviv, on your own
Day 1 Sunday March 31st Drive South
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Breakfast at the hotel
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Meet the guide and bus at a meeting point
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Drive to Sderot
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Lunch on your own in Sderot
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Tour in Sderot: You will start your tour in Israel in a city with the story of the complicated reality of the Gaza strip, you will learn about the 15 second zone, about desert agriculture and about Zionism
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Ben Gurion’s Tomb: · The graves of David and Paula Ben-Gurion overlook a breathtaking view of the Tzin canyon and the Avdat highlands in the heart of the Negev. The path from the parking lot to the tranquil grave site goes through a garden of carefully nurtured local flora that can thrive in the arid climate and saline conditions of the local soil.
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Ein Avdat National Park: · Canyon in the Negev Desert of Israel. Archaeological evidence shows that Ein Avdat was inhabited by Nabateans and Catholic monks. Numerous springs at the southern opening of the canyon empty into deep pools in a series of waterfalls. The water emerges from the rock layers with salt-tolerant plants like Poplar trees and Atriplexes growing nearby.
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Check in to hotel
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Dinner at the hotel
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Overnight: Mitzpe Ramon, Ramon Suites or similar
Day 2 Monday April 1st The Ramon Crater
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Breakfast at the hotel
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Jeep Ride: We will have an unforgettable 2-hour Jeep ride in the crater, allowing us to explore the crater from a different angle.
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Ramon Visitor Center: Opened in 2013, the new Mitzpe Ramon Visitor Center, is set on the northern cliffs of the Ramon Crater, the world’s largest Machtesh, and tells the geological story behind this unique and amazing work of nature. Aside from the Machtesh, the Mitzpe Ramon Visitor Center also serves as a museum and memorial for Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut who died in 2003 when the Shuttle Columbia disintegrated when re-entering the earth’s atmosphere.
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Bedouin Hospitality Including Lunch: · Ride a camel through a desert trail to see the crater view and then back to our tent and we will be served a Bedouin meal. See how Bedouin bread is made under the fire, how they take out chicken that was cooked several hours in the ground under the fire and we will be served it on rice with a few fresh salads that are prepared on the spot. Sit on the ground with pillows while you sip on tea and coffee and enjoy the famous Bedouin hospitality.
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Tzur Sheizaf Winery: · Kerem Shezaf lies in the upper part of the Zin valley in the high Negev plateau. The vineyard is organic. The grapes and olives are fed by compost and not sprayed, thus they have the highest percentage of good insects in the Negev and the highest quantity of natural water possible. The high quality grapes and olives are pressed to give exhalent wine and the olive oil is sharp and strong.
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Dinner at the hotel
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Star Gazing: · At night, we'll have a mesmerizing experience – looking at the stars in the dark clear sky of the desert with an astronomy expert.
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Overnight: Mitzpe Ramon, Ramon Suites or similar
Day 3 Tuesday April 2nd Drive to Eilat and cross to Jordan
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Breakfast at the hotel and check out
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Drive to Rabin Border Crossing
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Cross to Jordan
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Drive to Wadi Rum
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Tour Wadi Rum: Meet our experienced local English speaking Bedouin guide and explore Wadi Rum by 4x4 for 2 hours. We shall pass the famous seven pillars of wisdom, described by Lawrence of Arabia, and the Famous Ghazaly Gorge with its ancient rock inscriptions. We continue the desert-adventure with a short view of the “Small Arch” and the Great Sand dunes. At the end of the tour, Lunch will be included at a local camp.
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Glamping and dinner in Wadi Rum
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Overnight: Wadi Rum, Glamping
Day 4 Wednesday April 3rd Jordan-Wadi Rum and Petra
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Breakfast at the campsite
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Drive to Petra
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Tour Petra: · We will see the highlights of the Rose Red Nabatean city. We will enter the city through the Siq and be rewarded with the most famous monument in Jordan: The Treasury. We will also visit the theatre, the tombs and façades, the colonnaded street and more… After our visit to Petra, we will have lunch at a local restaurant.
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Check in and dinner at the hotel
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Petra By night
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Overnight: Petra, Old Village Hotel
Day 5 Thursday April 4th Jordan- Petra and cross back to Israel
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Breakfast at the hotel and check out
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Wadi Ibn Hamad: · Enoy a beautiful nature walk through a sand stone Canyon with a little hot spring
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Mt Nevo Observatory: · Visit a beautiful observatory over the Jordan Valley from the same place Moses and the people of Israel stood before entering the promised land.
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Drive to Allenby Crossing
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Meet your guide on the Israeli Side
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Lunch en-route on your own
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Drive to Jerusalem
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Shehechyanu ceremony: Celebrating your arrival at this Holy City, drink a toast an overlook from the Mt. of Olives.
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Check in to your hotel in Jerusalem
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Dinner on your own
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Overnight: Jerusalem, Harmony or similar
Day 6 Friday April 5th The Modern City of Jerusalem
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Breakfast at the hotel
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Yad Vashem: Local professional guide at the national holocaust memorial.
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Machne Yehuda Free time for Lunch on your own at Israel’s most famous outdoor market, Mahane Yehuda.
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Nachlaot Neighborhood Tour: Tour through the historical neighborhood, listening to the fascinating stories off the early days of modern Jerusalem.
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Kabbalat Shabbat at the Western Wall (Shabbat enters 6:22PM)
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Dinner at a local Restaurant
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Overnight: Jerusalem, Harmony or similar
Day 7 Saturday April 6th Masada and the Dead Sea
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Breakfast at the hotel
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Masada: Learn about this amazing archeological wonder, where King Herod built his summer palace and the Zealots from the Great Revolt spent their final days.
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Dead sea spa including lunch: Have a float at the Dead Sea, use the famous mud or just enjoy an outdoor pool. Enjoy day at Vert Hotel, including lunch.
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Ein Gedi national park: Enjoy a short walk in the refreshing waters and the beautiful waterfalls.
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Return to Jerusalem
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Dinner on your own
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Overnight: Jerusalem, Harmony or similar
Day 8 Sunday April 7th Jerusalem of 3 Religions
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Breakfast at the hotel
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City of David: The place where the Jewish nation began their special relationship with the magical city of Jerusalem. Here we will walk in King David’s palace and enter the biblical version of a “water ride” through the pitch-black Hezekiah Tunnels, armed with our flashlights.
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Davidson center: Offers the visitor an in-depth archaeological and historical introduction to the Jewish Archeological Park, located 100 meters south of the Temple Mount complex in the recently excavated and restored underground storage complex belonging to a seventh century CE Umayyad Palace.
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Lunch in the Old City On your own
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Old City Tour - Dual Narrative: Discovering the significant sites at each quarter, including the Muslim Quarter (security permits) with the colorful Arab market, the Christian Quarter with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Via Dolorosa, and the Jewish Quarter to see the Cardo and the Western Wall.
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Dinner on your own
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Overnight: Jerusalem, Harmony or similar
Day 9 Monday April 8th On the Way North
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Breakfast at the hotel and check out
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Tzippori National Park: The home of "Mishna" and Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, a fascinating city which once was occupied with a mix of Jews, Christians, Pagans and Samaritans. Some of the most beautiful ancient mosaics ever discovered can be seen here, some assume that the Jewish community here was very advanced for their time almost like the reform movement of those times.
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Lunch in Zarzir (Bedouin Meal)
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Nazareth
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Time permitting – Capernaum: We will visit Capernaum, a fascinating village once inhabited by Jews and early Christians, where we will find a church and synagogue standing side by side as well as many other important archeological findings.
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Time permitting – Swim in the Sea of Galilee
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Check in to your hotel
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Dinner at the hotel
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Overnight: North, Amiree HaGalil Boutique Hotel or similar
Day 10 Tuesday April 9th The Magical Golan Heights
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Breakfast at Hotel
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Tel Dan: Enjoy a short hike on one of Israel's prettiest streams, encompassing beautiful outdoors and a fascinating biblical story.
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Majdal Shams Druze Hospitality: We will enjoy a delicious Druze meal in this Druze town located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, price includes a workshop where we will learn to make the most famous Druze desert "knafe"
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Geopolitical Jeep ride: We will ride on 4WD jeep with a security expert and a member of a local Kibbutz. We will drive along the Syrian border passing all the important army posts that overlooking into Syria, and understand from our guide the current situation in Syria and the new challenges that the IDF border security and the local community need to face. After, we will stop for an amazing view of Mt. Hermon and the valley of tears.
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Pelter Winery: Enjoy wine tasting at a local winery
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Time permitting Mt. Bental: From this 360 overlook we’ll have stunning views of Mount Hermon, the Israeli and Syrian Golan, Upper Galilee and the Jordan valley and will have a wonderful opportunity to learn firsthand about the Six Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the situation in Syria today. You will also have the opportunity to walk through an Israeli Bunker that sits on top of the mountain.
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Time permitting – Swim in the Sea of Galilee
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Dinner at the hotel
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Overnight: North, Amiree HaGalil Boutique Hotel or similar
Day 11 Wednesday April 10th The Mystical Galilee and Drive to Tel Aviv
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Breakfast at the hotel and check out
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Tzfat + Meet Kabbalah Artist: · We will visit the colorful city of Tzfat, the old city, the famous Kabbalah synagogues and the artist quarter. We will have an opportunity to meet with a kabbalah artist and understand the idea of kabbalah through his works.
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Lunch on your own in Tzfat and time for shopping
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Akko: One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, dating back to the time of the Pharaoh Thutmose III (1504-1450 BCE). Here you’ll visit the underground world of the Hospitallers.
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Time permitting- Caesarea National Park: We will discover the ancient roman aqueducts; an amazing water system that supplies the water for the regional capital Caesarea. Here we will visit the excavations including an ancient Roman Theater breathtakingly located on the Mediterranean beach, and the roman bath house, the Hippodrome and the famous amazing port.
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Drive To Tel Aviv
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Check in to your hotel
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Dinner on your own in Tel Aviv
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Overnight: Tel Aviv, Tal by The Beach or similar
Day 12 Thursday April 11th Tel Aviv – Digging in the past and Tel Aviv on market day
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Breakfast at the hotel
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Drive to Beit Guvrin
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Archeological Dig at Maresha National Park: Here, we will have a "Dig-for-a-Day" activity – an archeological seminar, in which we will join the archeologists for a real dig opportunity to learn about the community who lived underground in these beautiful caves.
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Beit Guvrin National Park: Visit and learn about this unique area where people lived 2000 years ago, and under their houses they had a whole underground world where every family had their own business.
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Lunch on your own at the Carmel Market: The most colorful food market of Tel Aviv, where we will have the chance to walk around and enjoy the smells and the colors of this special market.
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Time for some shopping and swimming in the Mediterranean
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Dinner on your own in Tel Aviv
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Overnight: Tel Aviv, Tal by The Beach or similar
Day 13 Friday April 12th - The City of Innovation
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Breakfast at the hotel
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Jaffa Walking Tour: The ancient port city was the gateway to the Holy Land. We will walk through the ancient port, down the small alleyways visiting the artist colony and all the beautiful galleries. We’ll visit the enchanting flea market, where we might find a few bargains and have an amazing overlook of the first Hebrew city of Israel: Tel Aviv.
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Peres Center: The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, founded in 1996 by the late President of Israel, Shimon Peres, develops and implements impactful and meaningful programs with a focus on promoting a prosperous Israel nurturing and highlighting Israeli innovation, and paving the way for shared-living between all of Israel's citizens and lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors
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Lunch on your own at Sarona Market
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Rabin Square: Visit the place that became a memorial for Yitzhak Rabin Assassination
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Independence hall: Where Ben Gurion declared the independence of Israel in 1948-a story worth hearing.
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Kabbalat Shabbat on the beach (Join the public service)
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Farewell dinner
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Drive to the Airport
