Alexander’s Bar Mitzva Israel Trip – Roth Family | August 2023

Activities:

• 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 Tel Aviv

• Day at leisure - To relax and acclimate

• Dinner on own - We can make suggestions and reservations

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - Every morning you will enjoy a delicious Israeli breakfast at your hotel

• Surfing lesson with Hagal Sheli (My Wave) - An NGO that uses surfing as a vehicle for personal development and advancement. In 2012 Omer and Yaron, educational entrepreneurs and avid surfers, developed a unique surfing program for transforming the lives of youth-at-risk. Their mission: Empower youth to never give up, to continue to pursue their dreams and to ultimately succeed: ‘In the ocean, as in life’. Must be age 11 and up to participate.

• Optional: The squadron - The Squadron functions in accordance with the typical agenda of an active IAF combat squadron which includes donning a flight suit, professional flight instruction, mission and objective reception and acceptance, simulator flight, and a flight debrief in accordance with The Squadron’s research methodology.

• Optional: ANU Museum of the Jewish People - In June 2021, after ten years of planning and construction, the largest Jewish museum in the world opened its doors. You’re invited to join a fascinating journey that portrays the story of the Jewish people through the generations and up to the present time. The Museum represents all parts of the Jewish people and highlights the creative works and cultural riches of a variety of communities in different periods of history. This story is about all of us and each and every one of us is part of it.

• Afternoon at leisure OR Graffiti tour and workshop - Tour the dynamic neighborhood of Florentine, Tel Aviv’s most bohemian and upbeat neighborhood and learn about contemporary Israeli culture through the writing on the wall, graffiti, bumper stickers and even painted garbage bins. In recent years Tel Aviv has become Israel's capital of urban art.
  Take part in an interactive fun graffiti workshop, where you'll make something on your own and take it with back home.

• Dinner on own - We can make suggestions and reservations

• Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check-out from hotel

• Travel north to Caesarea - Guided snorkeling tour of the inner bay of King Herod's sunken harbor. See the ruins of King Herod’s magnificent harbor and sunken archeological artifacts amidst the Mediterranean marine life.

• Continue to Akko and lunch on own

• Akko historical tour - Tour of town of Akko, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site, an ancient port city built and influenced by the Crusaders, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and the British. Many tourists visit the Old City of Acre without realizing that there is a complete city beneath the ancient streets. The Acre Crusader City was built during the 12th century and destroyed in 1291 when the Mamluks conquered Acre and built their own city on the Crusader ruins. See some of the most impressive remains from the Crusaders era in the Knights' Halls, a fascinating series of gothic vaulted halls part of an enormous Fortress, built by the Knights Hospitaller (AKA Knights of Malta or the Order of Saint John) that vowed to assist and tend to the Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. The Crusader Tunnel subterranean passage would have originally connected the harbor with a Templar palace, providing a secret escape route to the sea in case of attack.

• Travel to hotel - And check-in to hotel

• Dinner at hotel

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Go on a fun tornado boat ride! - We leave for our marine tour on Tornado speedboats. During the marine tour, we will anchor by one of the five islands to snorkel using the masks, snorkels, and flotation vests that we provide. Bask in the glorious sun and swim in the warm Mediterranean waters before jumping back on the boat.

• Travel to Rosh Hanikra ("Head of the Grottos") - With the stunning chalk-white cliffs at Israel’s northernmost coastal border. Enjoy the view of the Mediterranean coastline stretched out before you, then take the cable car down beneath the cliffs to the grottos below and tour the system of underground marine caves eroded by pounding waves over thousands of years.

• Lunch on route

• Rappelling from Keshet Cave - The Keshet Cave (also known as the Rainbow cave or Arch cave) in the Galilee, is one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the land of Israel. Not only is the large natural arch with the shallow cave beneath it a pleasure to see, it also attracts hundreds of extreme sports enthusiasts who like to rappel from the arch down to the cave floor below. For those really looking for a thrill, dropping off the side of the cave and swinging under the arch with just the rope between you and the forests way down below is an unforgettable experience!

• Dinner at hotel

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Take a geo-political tour of the Golan with an expert - While traversing the rich landscape, learn about the history, flora, and fauna of the area. Stop for a lookout over the border with Syria from Mt. Bental to get a better understanding of the geography and strategical role this region has for the State of Israel. Your local guide touches on the nuances of living so close to the Syrian border and what that has meant for Israel as it relates to security and humanitarian issues.

• Kids Track: Chocolate Workshop - DeKarina Chocolate workshop on Kibbutz Ein Zivan in the Golan Heights: Taste some of the finest chocolate in Israel and then make some of your own to take home.

• Adults Track: Wine Tasting at Pelter Winery - The Pelter Winery was established in 2005 and is a study in Terroir. Taste the wines made from grapes grown on the rich Golan soil and hear the story of the winery. Together with the wine, enjoy a lunch of local cheese.

• Dinner at Gilli's

• Optional: Lantern Tour in Ein Keshatot - Ein Keshatot is is one of about 30 Jewish villages that existed in the Golan during the Talmudic Period, which was period of great growth in the area. The synagogue building was constructed in the 6th century CE (approximately 500 years after the destruction of the Second Temple), and was the center of local communal life. It served as a place for prayer, reading of the Torah, and various public activities.

• North

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check-out from hotel

• Safed - Safed, pronounced Tzfat in Hebrew, sits at a higher altitude than any other city in Israel and has been known since the 16th century as a major center of Kabbala, Jewish mysticism. Safed’s mystical aura adds to its special status as one of Israel’s four holy cities, along with Jerusalem, Tiberias and Hebron. The old synagogues, narrow alleyways and artists’ studios add to the hilltop city’s unmistakable charm.

• Rafting Adventure - Rafting adventure along the Jordan River. Row through one of the most beautiful spots in Israel, amongst the plants, trees, and waterfalls in the middle of this beautiful Galilee nature reserve.

• Lunch on own in Rutenberg - Rutenberg restaurant is situated on the banks of the Jordan, next to the old Gesher conservation site. The three bridges over the river and 10,000 years of human history attest to the fertility of the flora and fauna of the Jordan Valley. "We believe in seasonal local cuisine and are constantly in the process of discovering the region." (Meal not included, we can make reservations)

• Continue to Jerusalem

• Lookout from Mount of Olives - The Mount of Olives offers a panoramic lookout over the city. There are countless Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions about Mt. Olives, including that from here the Messiah will come, and from here the dead will be resurrected in the vision of the End of Days. Enjoy a beautiful lookout of the Holy Basin, the old and new city of Jerusalem.

• Dinner on own - We can make suggestions and reservations

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Ramparts Walk - Discover the Old City on the Rampart Walls which were built in the 16th century for patrolling by the Ottomans. Today you can enjoy a bird's-eye view of the Old City and the surroundings.

• Old City Tasting Tour - Walk through the Muslim and Christian Quarters of the Old City seeing the historical and religious sites. See some off-the-beaten track sites in the winding alleyways and enjoy some Jerusalem delicacies. We will have a “taste of history” that interweaves stories and anecdotes, historical information, and, of course, combines the senses of smell, taste, and sound.

• Western Wall - Proceed to 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.

• The Western Wall Tunnels - Explore what’s under the Kotel through the Kotel Tunnels Tour. The Western Wall is impressive, but its greatness is truly discovered when you descend underground to the Western Wall Tunnels. The tunnels run along approximately 488 meters (1601ft) of the Western Wall, giving visitors a taste of the challenge that stood before Herod the Great during the biggest of all his immense building projects - the expansion of the Temple Mount.

• Dinner on own - We can make suggestions and reservations

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Explore Deer Land Park - At the Deer Land extreme park go on the longest zipline in Israel, located in Gush Etzion.

• Lunch on own en route

• Are You Ready For An Unforgettable Adventure? - Caliber 3 offers the ultimate tourist experience.
  You can choose from your ultimate army activity: shooting adventure, paintball, survival training, self-defense/krav maga, or a customized event.
  
  All the instructors are weapons experts, have seen combat, and are still active reservists in the Israel Defense Forces. Interact with them and hear their stories about places and operations that you have read about in the news.

• Return to Jerusalem - And get ready for Shabbat

• Kabbalt Shabbat At the Kotel - Just before sundown we gather at the Western Wall for unique and inspiring experience, as we watch the various, modern Jewish communities gather to usher-in Shabbat. Following ancient traditions, each community blesses the 'Sabbath Queen'.

• Shabbat dinner at a local restaurant (TBD)

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Travel south to the Dead Sea Region

• Masada National Park - Ascend the mountain from the east to explore Masada, scene of the epic stand by Jewish rebels at the end of the Great Revolt against Rome nearly 2,000 years ago. The new museum at the Visitor Center reveals the secrets of the daily life of the rebels, the story of the excavations, and how the site became one of Israel’s most important symbols.

• Dead Sea Resort for swim and lunch - Israel’s Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, a stunning, other-worldly landscape of shimmering blue water ringed by bare, orange and yellow hills. The waters of the Dead Sea hold a potent solution of minerals and salts that have strong healing properties. Together with its ethereal beauty, these health-giving minerals make the Dead Sea’s beaches and spas popular vacation spots for Israelis and tourists alike. At one of the local hotels, have lunch and 'float' in the Dead Sea.

• Return to Jerusalem

• Afternoon at leisure

• Dinner on own - We can make suggestions and reservations

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check-out

• EZ Raider Emek HaElah - Guided tour on a self-drive ATV vehicle, drive along the Elah Valley. While traversing the rich landscape, learn about the history, flora, and fauna of the area.

• Light Lunch at Iza Pziza Goat Farm - In Moshav Tal Shahar at the foot of the Jerusalem Mountains and the heart of the agricultural fields is a family goat farm called "Iza Pziza" which includes a small herd, a dairy and a visitors' center with a cheese shop. Eat a meal or just taste cheese, do a cheese-making workshop and meet the goats.

• Travel to Tel Aviv

• Farewell dinner - At a local restaurant (TBD)

• Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport

• Farewell - We hope to host you again in our beautiful country!