JEWISH HERITAGE PROGRAM

DAY 1 : (WEDNESDAY): BEN GURION AIRPORT / TEL AVIV
Arrival to Ben Gurion airport where you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight Tel-Aviv .

DAY 2 : (THURSDAY): INDEPENDENCE HALL / MINI ISRAEL / AYALON INSTITUTE
Start the day with a visit to the Independence hall where the establishment of the state of Israel was declared. Next, drive to Latrun to visit the Armored Corps Museum, one of the most diverse tank museums in the world. Visit the new “Mini Israel” miniature park including miniature replicas of the most important landmarks and buildings in Israel. Continue to the Ayalon Institute, once an ammunition factory for the Hagana, an underground movement before May 1948.
Overnight Tel-Aviv.

DAY 3 : (FRIDAY): TEL AVIV
Visit the Diaspora Museum.  Drive around the main streets of Tel Aviv, center of business and entertainment of Israel. Stop at Rabin’s Square, where Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin was assassinated. Continue to Old Jaffa, an 8000 year old port city; visit the ancient ruins and walk along the restored artist’s quarter. Visit Neve Tzedek, the first neighborhood outside the walls of Jaffa built in 1887 and Nahalat Benyamin, the pedestrian mall of the city with its musicians, hand made jewellery and artifacts.  Next, stop at Sheinkin, the lively and colorful street especially known for its unique shops, café life and youthful ambiance.
Overnight Tel-Aviv.

Saturday: at leisure

Overnight Tel-Aviv

Sunday
Drive north to Caesarea, once the Roman capital of the region.  See the excavations of the Crusaders city, the aqueduct and the amphitheater which has been restored as a concert venue. Proceed to Haifa for a panoramic view from Mt. Carmel and to visit “AF AL PI CHEN” at the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum dealing with the era of the British Mandate.
Drive to Acre; walk along the old harbour and local market; continue to the northernmost point of Israel at Rosh Hanikra.
Descend by cable into the chalk grottoes.
Overnight at a Kibbutz guesthouse.

Monday
Drive to Safed, center of the Kabala movement; visit the Joseph Caro and the Ari synagogues, the most important in the city; stroll around the Artist’s quarter.
Enjoy a Jeep tour at the foots of the Golan.
Continue to the Golan Heights. Stop at an observation point over the city of Kuneitra, and Syrian territory.
Stop at Tel Facher, a former Syrian army camp. Visit the Banias Springs.
Next, to Tel-Hai where you will see the “Roaring Lion” monument and learn about the heroic battle of Josef Trumpeldor and his comrades in 1920 .
Overnight at a kibbutz guesthouse.
Meet with a Kibbutz member and learn about their unique lifestyle.

Tuesday
Drive to Tiberias to visit Rambam’s grave. Proceed to Beit Shean, once known as “Scythopolis”, the biggest archeological park in Israel with beautiful excavations from Roman and Byzantine periods.
Stop at Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a synagogue from the Byzantine period.
Onto Gan Hashlosha, (Sachne) where you will have an opportunity to enjoy in the spring waters located at the foots of the Gilboa mountain, the famous mountain on which King Saul was killed in the battle against the Philistines.
Continue via the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem; stopping on Mount Scopus for a blessing as you enter the city.
Overnight Jerusalem.

Wednesday
Tour the Old City of Jerusalem .
Start with a visit of the tomb of King David on Mt. Zion. Walk along the Cardo, the ancient Roman road. Visit the Four Sephardic Synagogues restored in the Jewish Quarter after the Six Days War.
Tour the Western Wall Tunnels, visit the Davidson Center and walk through the Roman Cardo, to the local Arab bazaar. Walk to Jaffa Gate to visit the Tower of David Museum and see the ancient remains of the city beginning with the First Temple period.
Overnight Jerusalem

Thursday
Enjoy seeing the Bar-Mitzvah ceremonies at the Western Wall.
Continue to Mea Shearim and learn about the unique lifestyle of the ultra-orthodox communities. Drive by the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament and see the Menorah with the Biblical emblems. Next visit the Israel Museum, including the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed, and the newly placed Holyland model – a miniature replica of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple Period.
Drive to Mount Hertzel, the military cemetery and Yad Vashem, a memorial to the Holocaust. Visit the Ammunition Hill, a former Jordanian army stronghold conquered by the Israeli army in the Six Day War and converted into a national memorial site and museum.
Overnight Jerusalem.

Friday
Drive through the Judean desert to the Dead sea. Stop at Qumeran , the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Continue to Massada, ascend by cable car and tour the ancient fortress ; visit the remains of the walls, palaces, synagogue, the bathhouses etc. Descend by cable car.
Next stop for lunch and Spa facilities in one of the leading hotels in the area.
Overnight Jerusalem.

Saturday – at leisure
Overnight Jerusalem

Sunday
Transfer to Ben Gurion airport for your departure.