IE Rabbi Alexander David Post-Trip April 2023

Activities:

• 2:00 p.m. Depart Tel Aviv and drive north

• Drive to Akko - The ancient city of Akko situation on the Mediterranean, 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. Discover the subterranean city built in the Middle Ages by the Crusaders beneath Akko. Learn about the city’s ancient history as well as its important role in Israel’s modern history.

• Cooking Workshop - Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy the feast you create. Learn about Druze culture and history from your hosts and from the food you eat.

• Drive to the hotel and check in

• Hagoshrim

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Archeological site at Um el Kanatir - Also known as Ein Keshatot, Um el Kanatir is home to a Jewish village from the Period of the Mishna and Talmud, with a magnificent synagogue in its center. Enter a synagogue that features the original Ark Complex – the most preserved and magnificent ever to be discovered in Israel. The synagogue was excavated and reconstructed with advanced technological methods, and today it stands at a height of one story. The Ein Keshatot site also offers a visit to the village spring, which flows into ancient pools, surrounded by shaded areas.

• Lunch and 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.

• Visit Kaima Farm in Nahalal - Kaima, or “sustainability” in Aramaic is a project with a vision to harness the principles of organic farming and the pride associated with growing, literally and metaphorically. The farm empowers marginalized teens through hands-on organic farming and provides employability skills, offers work experience, and teaches teamwork and community building, encourages leadership development, builds personal awareness, and fosters environmental stewardship.

• Return to the hotel, dinner at the hotel

• Join a local community for an Erev Yom Hazikaron ceremony - Meet with a bereaved family and hear their story.

• Hagoshrim

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Walk to Remember - Walk a portion of the Israel National Trail in memory of Israel's fallen soldiers. The Israel trail traverses the length of Israel and was established as a National Trail in 1995.

• Join the Yom Hazikaron ceremony of a local school - Meet with students to hear from them how they relate to and deal with Yom Hazikaron and they prepare to become part of the IDF.

• Tzippori National Park - Tzipori was once the capital of the Galilee, the seat of the Sanhedrin and the place where the Mishna was completed. At Tzippori, view the ruins and ancient mosaic floor to see how native species have been part of the national iconography for centuries.

• Ceremony of transition from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Haatzmaut with local Masorti community - Kibbutz Hanaton

• Erev Yom Haatzmaut with Kibbutz Hanaton

• Hagoshrim

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Agamon HaHula - Bikes & Golfcarts - The Hula valley sits in part of the northern Syrian African Rift Valley which stretches as far south as Mozambique in Africa. During every migration season over 500 million birds travel through the Hula Lake. This wetland paradise is the perfect stopover for small waterfalls, cormorants, heron, pelicans, raptors, storks, and cranes. Early morning ride through the park.

• Watch the Israeli Air Force Flyover

• Yom Haatzmaut Barbeque

• Transfer to the airport or other