Board of Trustees Source Trip

Activities:

• VIP Arrival - Arrival at Ben Gurion airport. Your VIP agent will be waiting to greet you at the sleeve of the plane. After assisting with arrival procedures and collecting your baggage, you will be taken to meet your driver.

• Transfer to Jerusalem - Check into the Orient Hotel

• Dinner on your own - Recommendations and reservations can be made upon request.

• Jerusalem Orient Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Optional Women of the Wall Rosh Hodesh Adar I

• The Language of Jerusalem- a tour of words with Alden Solovoy - Jerusalem- A Meditation: Together with liturgist Alden Solovy engage in dialogue with the Old City. Hear the prayers Alden has composed and create your own as you explore the corners of the Old City. A liturgist, poet, and lyricist, his work has been used by people of many faiths throughout the world. Alden offers a fresh Jewish voice, challenging the boundaries between poetry, meditation, personal growth, storytelling, and prayer.

• Hummus lunch in the Old City

• See Jerusalem through a new lens - To see Jerusalem in depth and close up, tour Jerusalem's Old City with photographer and guide Simon Beni. Combine visits to historical sites with a workshop in photography.

• Pre-Shabbat musical program at Feel Beit - Feel Beit is a cultural home for creating art, expanding perspectives, and imagining new ways forward for Jerusalem. "We are a group of Israelis and Palestinians who create art and music to bridge divides in Jerusalem."

• Music by Yahala Lachmish - Yahala Lachmish is a musician, Cantor, Paytanit, and Singer. She holds a B.A. in composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music.

• Alternative option- Conversation with Shaanan Street and Karen Brunwasser - Shaanan Street is founder of the legendary Hadag Nachash Band, famous for it's biting political commentary on Israeli society. "Ir HaElohim", a recent song about Jerusalem (The City of God) will be the canvas for a conversation between Karen Brunwasser, Founder of Feel Beit, and Street.

• Kabbalat Shabbat at Kehilat Zion - Kehilat Zion is an emerging community of Israeli Jews of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, and practices, gathering together to re-dream Jerusalem as a meeting point for all.

• Shabbat Dinner in Ein Kerem Chef Ezra Kedem - Ezra Kedem is deeply 'Yerushalmi'- a Jerusalemite- in his roots and has taken this destiny along with the Iraqi- Jewish kitchens of his mother and grandmother and the experiences he shared with him to create Arcadia Restaurant. Arcadia has been at the forefront of New Israeli Cuisine.

• Jerusalem Orient Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Yoga Synagogue ah - Yoga Synagogue Ah followers find themselves all over Jerusalem practicing yoga in inspirational settings. Join the group's founder, Laura Gilinski, for a session to connect you to Shabbat.

• Hike in the Jerusalem Hills

• Shabbat Lunch at Hamatpera- Ingathering of the Exiles - Enjoy the variety of classic ethnic foods that are part of the Shabbat day meal. What Shabbat foods did Jews bring with them to Israel? Why were those foods eaten on Shabbat? How have they evolved in the Israeli kitchen.
  
  Hamatpera is a place where a textile seamstress once stood, in the picturesque village of "Abu Ghosh" in the Jerusalem mountains, The "seamstress" space is designed in an industrial, eclectic style with warm retro touches of furniture and objects with character.

• Return to the hotel, time to rest

• Meet MK Gilad Kariv-Parshat Mishpatim- Jewish Law in a Democratic State

• Havdalah

• Free evening and dinner on your own

• Jerusalem Orient Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• West Bank Tour with Rami Nazzal - Begin by considering how the residents of a refugee camp in the West Bank, are able to survive living under the hardest possible conditions. Meet with residents of the camp and walk through the narrow streets and alleys, while learning of their origins and hearing stories of their life under occupation. Gaining memories to last a lifetime, you will also discover that the Palestinians are still optimistic about the future and continue to hope and pray for peace. Walking towards the Separation Wall we will see the Jacir Palace Hotel, Banksy’s courageous artwork and “The Walled Off Hotel.” Standing steps away from the birth place of Christ at the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square we will make a wish for peace.

• Meet Amy Tohill-Stull, Mission Director to USAID/West Bank and Gaza Mission - Amy Tohill-Stull serves as the Mission Director to the USAID/West Bank and Gaza Mission. In this capacity, she oversees a program valued at an estimated $270 million in FY 2022, aimed at improving the lives of Palestinians and cultivating the conditions for a two-state solution through economic, humanitarian, and peace-building programs. Ms. Tohill-Stull is a career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service, with more than 25 years of development experience in countries characterized by conflict, political transition, and/or humanitarian crisis.

• Return to the hotel to freshen up

• Dinner at Rama's Kitchen - “Rama’s Kitchen” was founded by Rama Ben Zvi 22 years ago, as a unique restaurant in the Jerusalem hills. Over the years Rama’s Kitchen has become a thriving culinary landmark and is consistently ranked as one of Israel’s leading restaurants. The magnificent surroundings enhance a total and uniquely special culinary experience. The menu constitutes a confluence of contemporary western cooking techniques and traditional Arab and Mediterranean cuisine.

• Jerusalem Orient Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel - Check out of the hotel

• Begin the day in Abu Ghosh at Blend.Ar - Learn about the meaningful work done at Blend.Ar and participate in an Arabic workshop. Blend.Ar believes that the best way to study Arabic language and culture is through meaningful personal interaction with native speakers and exposure to an Arabic-speaking environment and community. Their programs help everyone engage in meaningful interaction with Arabic speakers to facilitate language acquisition.

• Text Study at Hinam Center - Mifgash at The Hinam Center, an organization that promotes social tolerance through significant, in-depth meetings between people from different identities. The guiding principle of the center is the promotion of tolerance by really getting to know those different from you.

• Light lunch and wine tasting at Tzora Vineyards - Visit Tzora Winery, a small boutique winery located on Kibbutz Tzora near Beit Shemesh. The winemaker holds the title “Master of Wine.” He is an experienced agronomist and vintner, and is involved in the entire process, from growing and tending the vines, to the harvesting and winemaking, to produce fine wines.

• Visit the Rossing center's Open House in Ramle - The Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue is an interreligious organization based in Jerusalem which promotes an inclusive society for all religious, ethnic and national groups. The Open House is a grassroots, interfaith, and intercultural hub building shared society in Ramle by the city’s residents from its diverse Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities

• Drive to Tel Aviv and check into the hotel

• Dinner at George and John - George & John offers a contemporary menu, corresponding with locality and seasonality, serving refined and creative dishes within a unique atmosphere. The Private Room by George & John is situated in a historic location, previously used as the wine and beverage storage of the original Jerusalem hotel where Mark Twain would visit and write his memoirs during his visit to Palestine. George & John by Head Chef Tomer Tal was voted the Best Restaurant in Israel, and in the top 6 best restaurant in the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 best restaurants 2023 awards.

• The Norman Tel Aviv- Boutique Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Meet the Mayor of Tel Aviv or other City Official - The vision for the future of Tel Aviv- Where are we going?

• Continue to the Schneider Medical Center- Medical Innovation - VIP tour and meeting with staff of the hospital (to be designed with the synagogue)

• Tour of Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel followed by lunch - Asif is a non-profit organization and culinary center in Tel Aviv dedicated to cultivating and nurturing Israel’s diverse and creative food culture, a joint venture of the New York City-based Jewish Food Society and Tel Aviv’s Start-Up Nation Central.

• Visit a TOM Tikkun Olam Makers Hub - TOM - Tikkun Olam Makers - is a global movement of communities that creates and disseminates affordable solutions to neglected challenges of people living with disabilities, the elderly and the poor.

• Meet the Founders of Tishrey Bar - Drink down a story of Israel! Travel the different regions of the country through the drinks. Through local spirits, quality Israeli produce, cultural design, and Israeli innovation, meet the staff of an Israeli cocktail 'start-up' and see how they translate this into amazing cocktails. Cocktails are mixed with Israeli alcohol, fruit in season, and wrapped into the Israeli story. You’ll have a chance to learn to mix the drinks as well.

• Dinner at HaBasta - Small but perfectly formed, HaBasta is located on a street leading off Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, from where almost all its produce is sourced. An extensive daily changing menu is scribbled on a piece of paper on the wall. The dishes, while simple, are satisfyingly complex in execution. The international wine list is equally exceptional. You will be greeted by Maoz Alonim, chef and owner.

• The Norman Tel Aviv- Boutique Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Depart Tel Aviv and drive north along the Mediterranean Coast

• Meet Sarit Zahavi for a briefing on the situation with Lebanon - Lookout over the Israel-Lebanese border hear about the geopolitics of the area 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.

• Drive north to Israel's border with Lebanon

• Time permitting-Talking Walls-Graffiti Project - See the Lebanese border from a new perspective. Talking Walls is a 400 meters long murals on the cement walls located on the Israeli-Lebanese border. This is a corporation of artists from Israel and around the world. The local residents were involved and shared their feelings and thoughts about living on the border, which was translated into art.

• Lunch at Alto Goat Dairy Farm - Ariel Mazan, member of Kibbutz Shomrat, worked as a dairy farmer for many years. Over the years he developed a new passion for cheese making; studied, trained and formed professional ties with leading experts in the dairy field abroad. ALTO- became a family boutique dairy farm and Ariel’s love and passion for cheese making characterized by creativity and precision, made him ALTO’s leading cheese maker developing unique dairy products while all family members join efforts to lead Alto to excellence.

• Continue to Akko

• Akko Historical Tour - Walk through 4,000 years of history in this ancient city and UNESCO World Heritage site. The ancient city of Akko, situated on the Mediterranean coast, is one of the oldest ports in the world, and a city shared by Jews and Muslims. Walk narrow streets past towering ramparts, deep moats, green domes, venerable synagogues, slender Muslim minarets, and secret passageways.

• Drink with Uri and Dinner at Uri Buri - For the past 40 years , the popular Uri Buri restaurant has offered a variety of delicately prepared fresh fish and seafood dishes, and boasts a wine list with over 100 different kinds of fine Israeli wines.

• Return to Tel Aviv

• The Norman Tel Aviv- Boutique Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• "The State of the State" with News Anchor Yonit Levi - Yonit Levi is the Lead Anchor of Channel 2 News, Israel's most popular television station. Levi is one of Israel's most respected voices in reporting today and her vast experience in the field and coverage of major news events over the past twenty years of experience has made her a leader in the field.

• Culture/Innovation Electives- each option will include a tasting tour at one of Tel Aviv's markets

• -The Tel Aviv Museum of Art with specialist Shirel Horovitz - In this dynamic tour we'll figure out what makes Israeli art into what it is, and what’s it relationship with the Zionist narrative as well as the international art world. This tour through the extensive Israeli collection at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an amazing way to visually explore the Israeli narrative from the early 20th century until today. What is the story the Arts Establishment tells about Israeli Art?

• -Israeli Fashion Tour - The tour addresses the relationship Israeli fashion has with the various aspects of living in Israel including identity questions, sub-groups in Israel, immigration to Israel, wars and cultural life and social entrepreneurship. Meet old and new fashion brands, designers who use ancient crafts and other professionals who use the best technology.

• -Start-Up Nation Central - Start-Up Nation Central is an independent non-profit that builds bridges to Israeli innovation. They connect business, government, and NGO leaders from around the world with Israeli innovation, offering Israeli innovators access to high-potential and previously inaccessible markets, through highly customized business engagements, and through Start-Up Nation Finder – an easy to use, up-to-date, free online platform for discovering and connecting with the thousands of relevant innovators.

• Free time and check out

• Final dinner Via Sabra Style- One Hundred Years of Tel Avivian Cuisine - Anglo v'Nina is a stunning space in a historic building from the Ottoman period in the heart of Yafo and was the site of Israel's first bank- Bank Anglo-Palestina. Dinner will be a culinary walk through Tel Aviv's last 100 years, featuring foods from the past and their newer iterations a la Israeli Fusion Cuisine.

• Transfer to the airport