JARCFL Israel Trip 2023

Activities:

• Welcome to Israel - 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.

• Overlook Old and New City from Mount Scopus - Mount Scopus, or “tzofim” in Hebrew, is one of the tallest hills surrounding Jerusalem. The name “scopus” means a vantage point, and the lookout post on the edge of this hill is the place to go for the finest views of the Old City, the Dome of the Rock, and the sprawl of New Jerusalem. We will stop and say a shehehiyanu as we are arriving to Jerusalem for the first time as a group.

• Check into hotel

• Dinner in Jerusalem - Dinner in Jerusalem - either at hotel or local restaurant (included)

• Inbal Hotel - Overnight - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Old City, Jerusalem - Tour Jerusalem’s Old City and meet the people and places that make this place so unique. In the Jewish Quarter, uncover the layers of Jewish history from the time of the First Temple until the present day. In the Christian Quarter, visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and, if conditions permit, visit the one of the holiest Muslim sites, the Temple Mount. Throughout the tour explore the complexity of a city that is holy to these three major religions.

• Davidson Center - 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. (museum currently under renovation)

• 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.

• Lunch on Own - Lunch break in the Old City in Jewish Quarter (not included)

• Afternoon program - The group will split -
  Clients/Staff will go to Israel Elwyn
  Donors will have afternoon on own.

• Welcome Reception - The group will head to Elywn Israel where they will have a welcome reception with their friends at this counterpart organization. We'll have a chance to meet members of this special community, and have dinner together.

• Travel back to hotel.

• Dinner on Own - We are happy to make suggestions and/or reservations

• Inbal Hotel - Overnight - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Special in Uniform - Special in Uniform is an innovative program that integrates youth with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and helps prepare them for careers. Visit a Special in Uniform base and meet the young recruits.

• Picnic Lunch - Enjoy a special picnic lunch in nature.

• Beit Guvrin - Explore Beit Guvrin National Park where you will be able to take part in an archeological dig. The caves of Beit Guvrin hold a rich trove of artifacts that visitors like you have uncovered over the years. Don’t forget to check out the amazing Bell Caves too.

• Head back to Jerusalem

• Dinner on Own

• Inbal Hotel - Overnight - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• The Group will Split this Day - On this day, the clients and their staff will head to Elwyn Israel where they will spend the day with their Israeli peers. The rest of the group will spend the day in Tel Aviv

• 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.

• Lunch break at Carmel Market (Shuk HaCarmel) - The Carmel Market (Shuk HaCarmel), is the largest market in Tel Aviv. Touring the market reveals the taste of the ages of Tel-Aviv in the youthful atmosphere of the city's central market. The Polish, the Persian, and the Yemeni...in this case, it is not the opening line of a joke, but the fascinating culinary traditions that mix in this place. The established market that was founded over 90 years ago, can now reveal its secrets, stories, and legends to you. Enjoy tastes throughout the tour.

• Independence Trail - Inspired by the Freedom Trail in Boston, the new Independence Trail leads to 10 of Tel Aviv’s heritage sites teaching visitors the history of this great city along the way. The trail begins at the intersection of tree-lined Rothschild Boulevard and Herzl Street, home to Tel Aviv’s first kiosk. The trail ends across the street at Independence Hall, where on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion read aloud the Declaration of Independence as Israel was declared an independent Jewish state.

• Neve Tzedek - This is the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside of Jaffa and currently one of the most beautiful and desired locations in Tel Aviv. It was built by some of the dignitaries of the old Jewish community of Jaffa in 1887. Looking to head out of the ever-growing and over-crowded Jaffa, they built, what was considered back then, modern and comfortable housing. In recent years, after a period of neglect, the neighborhood was restored and has become a trendy fun beautiful part of the city and a good place to try some Israeli Gelato!

• Time on Own

• Dinner at - TBD - The group will enjoy an early dinner in Tel Aviv before heading back to Jerusalem

• Inbal Hotel - Overnight - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Activities:

• Inbal Hotel - Breakfast at the hotel.

• Adventurous Israel - Go on a fun jeep/ATV tour in the Judean mountains. See the mountains, hear the stories of the biblical land from a special angle.

• Abu Ghosh - Abu Ghosh is an Israeli-Arab town in the Jerusalem hills that is well known for its hummus, music festival, beautiful churches, and history of friendly relations with Jews and Zionism. Enjoy an authentic lunch! (not included)

• Rest before Shabbat

• Shabbat dinner - We will head to Elwyn to enjoy Shabbat as a community with our friends at Elwyn.

• Inbal Hotel - Overnight - Inbal Hotel Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• 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.

• Head back into Jerusalem

• Dinner on Own - We'd be happy to assist with recommendations and reservations.

• Inbal Hotel

Activities:

• Inbal Hotel

• Special visit to the Knesset - The Knesset, Israel's parliament, was named after “Haknesset Hagedolah,” the Great Assembly of the Second Temple period. Today it stands as a symbol of both Jewish sovereignty and dedication to democracy. In lively, often heated, debates, its 120 elected members reflect the divergence of Israeli public opinion, legislate and oversee the workings of the government. We will have a tour and a presentation by the members of Elwyn Israel who work here.

• Machane Yehuda Market - In the heart of Jerusalem sits this bustling, multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor. A tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market is an adventure for your taste buds! Enjoy the hustle and bustle with all the rich fragrances, colors, and sounds this iconic Jerusalem market offers. The group will split based upon size of the group to ensure the best experience

• Yad Vashem - Visit the museum at Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Memorial to the Holocaust. Tour this memorial to the darkest moment in world and Jewish history, its children’s memorial, and exquisite gardens. Yad Vashem is an unforgettable place of tribute and remembrance. You'll be guided by a member of the Yad Vashem staff. We will have two tracks - in depth in the new historical museum and a second track for the clients of JARCFL

• Dinner at a Local Restaurant - Take the opportunity to explore different areas for dinner.

• Inbal Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out

• Kol Haot - Closing Workshop - Now is your opportunity to reflect on the time you’ve spent in Israel and to share the experiences, sites, and people you’ll want to remember most after you’ve returned home. With the "Kol HaOt" team, we will explore the personal meaning of Israel using colors and symbols to give ourselves and our fellow participants a visual picture of what this journey meant to us

• Lunch on Own

• Tree Planting - Neot Kedumim - Neot Kedumim is the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel which is a unique endeavor to re-create the physical setting of the Bible in all its depth and detail. Neot Kedumim embodies the panorama and power of the landscapes that helped shape the values of the Bible and provided a rich vocabulary for expressing them. As we prepare to end our time together, we will connect to the land by planting trees.

• Evening tour of Old Jaffa - Jaffa is one of the most ancient port cities in Israel and the Mediterranean basin. Today Jaffa is a mixed city, where Jews and Arabs live alongside each other. Tel Aviv, Jaffa's younger sister, was established centuries later, in the year 1909, but the two were united into one municipality in 1949, yet each part kept its unique feel and atmosphere. Jaffa has been regenerated in recent years with the old narrow streets and courtyards becoming a highly popular part of Tel Aviv’s urban tapestry.

• Farewell dinner at Na Lagaat Center - Nalaga’at is one of a kind non-profit arts and cultural centre that represents a meeting place between deaf, blind and deaf-blind individuals together with the public. Thus advancing the needs and aspirations of each person, from the belief that all men are equal and each one has the right to accept responsibility and contribute to society. Here we will enjoy our final dinner together.

• VIP Departure - VIP Departure - head to Ben Gurion for your flight home.

• We look forward to hosting you again in our beautiful country!