Birmingham Solidarity – With a Thoughtful Difference – March-April 2025

Activities:

• Welcome to Israel - Shalom! Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport.

• Optional: VIP Transfer to Hotel

• Overnight, No other services besides Julian's presence at the hotel to greet you and to make sure all is in order. Julian's Israeli cell is +972507674260.

• David Citadel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• We will begin our day with the sutes we have been to before in Jerusalem, with new eyes. - From the Haas Promenade take in a wide view of Jerusalem's Old and New Cities and the surrounding Judean Desert as far as the eye can see. See Jerusalem's complex geography, strategic setting, and beauty. Begin the conversation about Jerusalem's centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• Walk through the Southern Wall Archaeological Gardens - Get a glimpse of the glory of the Second Temple, the heart of the ancient Jewish kingdom, and the devastation that followed. Visit the Davidson Visitors' Center and enjoy a modern and interactive virtual presentation. The museum presents a taste of the archaeology of Jerusalem from different eras - covering the First Temple, Second Temple, Byzantine, Islamic, and the Crusades periods.

• Continue to Mount Herzl - As Israel’s national cemetery, Mount Herzl is the final resting place of leaders of Zionism and Israel, including Yitzhak Rabin and Herzl himself, and of thousands of soldiers killed defending the State of Israel. At Mount Herzl you will find a moving monument to the 28,000-odd soldiers and civilians killed in combat or by terrorism since the founding of the state.

• Lunch at Café Shalva - Enjoy a great meal at Café Shalva, a restaurant in the center that is open to the public and run together with graduates of Shalva. Shalva provides services to children with special needs and their families.

• We will end this day early as you will all be dealing with the challenges of a very different time zone.

• Early Opening dinner - Walking distance from hotel (TBD)

• David Citadel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Meet with Itay Flescher - From the New Israel Fund, on the Zionist left of the political spectrum;

• Kfar Etzion Sound and Light Show and Museum - We will visit Kfar Etzion, both for their extraordinary AV presentation about another moment of existential crisis in the Land of Israel, and to talk to a member of their community, one of the settler communities.

• Lunch in Gush Etzion Winery

• Return to hotel and meet Ilan Greenfield - Our pre-dinner speaker will look at some of the books to emerge from this tragic year. (in private room at the hotel)

• Dinner at Touro Restaurant - (night bus)

• David Citadel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Travel north - DPs is not only a post WWII term any more, meet with people displaced from their northern communities

• Meet with Sarit Zehavi from Alma Research and Education Center - If possible: Lookout over the Israel-Lebanese border from Metula and hear about the geopolitics of the area and an in-depth analysis of what happened up north and the threats which still exist with Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, CEO and founder of Alma, a non-profit independent research and education center specializing in Israel’s security challenges on its northern border.

• Lunch en route

• Iksal visit with Eman Darawshe - To learn about what has happened with Israeli Arabs since October 7th.

• Druze Cooking Workshop and Dinner - Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy a meal of the foods you learned to cook. Once again, gain another level of insights into a minority community which has stood steadfast in their commitments to Israel during this time. (Dinner is included.)

• Return to Jerusalem

• David Citadel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Shalem Center - Our final morning in Jerusalem will include two conversations with thought leaders.

• We continue with a short visit to the Israel Museum - For two reasons, one it is beautiful, and two it is a great place to continue to ask our Shabbat question: what does it means to be a Jew, an Israeli, in these times?

• Lunch in Machane Yehuda Market - In the heart of Jerusalem sits this bustling, multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor. Immerse yourself in the world of Middle Eastern cuisine as you indulge in a tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market. Learn about the market's rich history, and meet the vendors who bring this place to life, as you experience the vibrant energy unique to this iconic culinary destination.

• Kabbalat Shabbat at Kol Haneshama Reform Synagogue

• Dinner with Chef Rabbi Josh - Rabbi Josh is a Talmud scholar, a documentary filmmaker, a registered tour guide and specialty chef at Jerusalem’s iconic Tmol Shilshom Restaurant. Over your meal, Rabbi Josh speaks on a wide range of topics from his riveting personal story to an explanation of Jewish tradition and an introduction to the Talmud.

• Late night visit to the Western Wall - Take time to reflect at the Kotel (The Western Wall), sacred because it is one of the last remnants of the Second Temple that was destroyed by the Romans. Feel the stones that have witnessed so much in the history of the Jews. Place your special and personal prayer in the cracks of the stones.

• David Citadel, Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out from hotel

• Home: on to Julian's home on Kibbutz Tzora. - And lunch with Julian's family

• A short tour of the kibbutz

• Meeting with young American Jews who are here as part of Garin Tzabar - Volunteering to serve in the IDF.

• Meeting with young soldiers from the kibbutz - And a few minutes of shooting hoops on the basketball court dedicated to Sahar, a young soldier from our kibbutz killed on October 7th.

• We end with Seudah Shlishit with families with young children

• Transfer to Tel Aviv

• Carlton, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• We head south to visit with the Duvdevani family - A family with strong Birmingham connections.

• Supernova music festival site - The area around the Gaza strip is where it all began on October 7th . We will visit one of the most powerful of the sites from that accursed day with a survivor of the Nova Festival.

• Lunch in Sderot - And visit with George Stevens to talk about Sderot until October 7th and since October 7th .

• Return to Tel Aviv hotel

• Head off to dinner

• Carlton, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Volunteer at Leket - Israel’s food bank - Learn about this important leading organization whose sole focus is rescuing healthy, surplus food and delivering it to those in need. Volunteers go into the fields to pick and gather fruits and vegetables that were not collected during the commercial harvest. You will volunteer at the Logistics Center to help sort and pack the collected produce in preparation for distribution to soup kitchens, food pantries, senior citizen centers, and homeless shelters.

• Join Galit Reismann - Learn about how the world of art and design have responded to the existential
  crisis of this past year and a half.

• Carlton, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Visit Old Jaffa - Explore the enchanting charm of Old Jaffa, where ancient and modern are situated side-by-side and where people of all faiths meet. Jaffa is one of the most ancient port cities in the Mediterranean basin. Visit Jaffa Port, which for centuries was the gateway to the Land of Israel. Today Jaffa is a mixed city, where Jews and Arabs live alongside each other. Tel Aviv, Jaffa's much younger sister, was established centuries later, but the two were united into one municipality already in 1949, yet each part kept its unique feel and atmosphere. visit vibrant artist studios as well as archeological discoveries, while exploring the rich tapestry of cultures and history that defines this timeless Mediterranean gem.

• Visit Kaplan Street area, and ANU Museum of the Jewish People - Both in Tel Aviv to rediscover what Herzl's dream was, became and might be.

• Meet with a member of Israeli Intelligence - A conversation with a thoughtful Israeli formerly a very senior member of Israeli Intelligence about Israel’s defense strategy going forward.

• A very special final dinner at Sir Lasalam - With a number of guests around the table (plan will be to have a 1 to 2 ratio, for every two Americans, one Israeli will be invited, many of them you will have met before.

• Farewell - We will finish in time for you to take any of the late-night flights (from 11pm onwards) home to the USA. For those who want we can arrange an extra overnight at the hotel.

• Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport