MJDS 8th Grade Trip- May 2023

Activities:

• Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport - You will be greeted at the Airport by your guide and driver who will welcome you and you'll set off on your journey!

• From the airport go to 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.

• Biblical lunch at Neot Kedumim

• Stop at a spot overlooking Jerusalem - Say Shehechiyanu to bless the beginning of your journey together in Israel!

• Drive to the Dead Sea area

• Dinner at the hotel - After dinner take a night walk

• Masada Hostel

Activities:

• Early snack before setting off for Masada

• Masada National Park - Hike up the snake path and tour King Herod’s private fortress which, following the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 BCE, became a base for a small band of Jewish zealots in revolt against the Romans. Although the rebels held their own, they were eventually overcome by siege, and according to historian Josephus, chose mass suicide over surrender. Masada has come to symbolize the fierce determination of the people of Israel, but its tragic history also raises questions about the price of freedom. Descend by Cable Car.

• Return to hotel for breakfast - Check out and pack bus

• Swim in the Dead Sea and pizur lunch

• Sde Boker Grave of Ben Gurion - Visit the grave of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, whose vision for settling the desert is continues to bloom today. Throughout the day, you’ll see his vision come to life.

• Evening Desert Dinner in the Bedouin-style tent

• Scorpion Hunting

• Sde Boker Field School or Mashabe Sade

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Hatzerim - The Israel Air Force Museum represents huge collection of airplanes and helicopters, which were the parts of standard equipment of the Israel Air defense. There are also models from civil aviation of the country. The museum includes an audiovisual representation and exciting exhibitions devoted to Israel Air Forces survival. On the museum’s central area are placed more than 20 airplanes.

• Lunch stop on the way

• Beit Guvrin Dig - 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.

• Drive to Jerusalem and check into your hotel - Check into the hotel

• Dinner in Abu Ghsh at Caravan Restaurant - Or other

• Montefiore Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Machane Yehuda Market - Students will get pizur money to buy food for Seuda Shlishit.

• City of David - Visit the excavation of the City of David. King David captured a Jebusite citadel to build his capital. Walk through water in Hezekiah’s Tunnel, part of the ancient City of David built around the Gihon spring, which is on the side of the cliff overlooking the Kidron Valley. Because the city was vulnerable to attack, in about 701 BC, a tunnel was built to protect the water supply.

• Pizzur lunch in the Jewish Quarter

• Jewish Quarter - The Jewish Quarter is best known for the Western Wall, but there’s a lot more to see and do here. See archaeological finds from the First and Second Temple periods, Roman ruins, vibrant synagogues, and learning institutions, all jostling for space in these busy stone streets.

• 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.

• Pizur dinner on Ben Yehuda Street

• Montefiore

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Ammunition Hill - Today, as we move freely around Jerusalem from east to west, few signs remain of the bitter battles waged to achieve the unity of the city in 1967, during the Six Day War. A visit to Ammunition Hill reminds us of the fierce fighting and high death toll exacted in these battles. The site, which serves as a memorial to those who fell in the battle for Jerusalem, is where paratroopers began their successful campaign to reunite the city.

• 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.

• 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.

• Kabbalat Shabbat

• Shabbat dinner at the hotel

• Montefiore Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Walking tour in Yemin Moshe or another neighborhood - Yemin Moshe was established with the financial support of British Jewish banker Moses Montefiore in 1891 outside Jerusalem's Old City as a solution to the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions inside the walls. The original houses were built with a wall around them and a gate that was locked at night. Montefiore left an indelible mark on the Jerusalem landscape by building the landmark Montefiore Windmill in Yemin Moshe. Walk through this special neighborhood.

• Lunch at the hotel - After lunch will be afternoon visiting time for guests and park time.

• Havdalah followed by Pizur dinner on Ben Yehuda

• Sacher Park OR

• Old City, Jerusalem - Visit the Muslim and Christian Quarters.

• Pizzur dinner on Ben Yehuda Street

• Montefiore Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out

• Neot Kedumim - Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel, is a unique endeavor to re-create the physical setting of the Bible in all its depth and detail. Try your hand at shepherding a small herd of sheep and goats. Understand why many Biblical leaders, including Moses and David led animals before leading people.

• Caesarea National Park - On the Mediterranean coast, Caesarea National Park is one of Israel’s most impressive archeological sites. Here, amazing ancient harbor ruins, beautiful beaches, and impressive modern residences sit side-by-side. The city was initially built by King Herod in the 1st century BC, who dreamt of a major seaport to connect the Province of Judea with Rome. For this purpose, the king's men designed an entirely artificial harbor that was in use for about a millennium. Caesarea became a central city in Roman and Byzantine times as can be seen from the massive archeological remains on site. View the spectacular Roman amphitheater, still used today as a performance venue, as well as the hippodrome that held 20,000 spectators for chariot races.

• Druze 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 north to Sovev Kinnert for a celebratory welcome!

• Arrive at Kadoori - Meet Avi Raimond

• Welcome and Dinner

• Degania Bet

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Biking with Kadoori partners at 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.

• Day to be coordinated by Partnership

• Degania Bet

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out

• Spend the morning at Kaduri School

• Drive to Tel Aviv and check into your hotel

• Pizur lunch 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.

• Nahalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Market - Visit Nachalat Binyamin, an open-air market in the heart of Tel-Aviv that has become synonymous with quality Israeli crafts and folk art. The market is comprised of over 100 stands representing specialty crafts and folk art in virtually every medium imaginable: wood, stone, sand, glass, ceramics, and various metals with most if not all containing materials or themes found only in Israel.

• Graffiti Tour - Enjoy a creative Graffiti tour in the trendy neighborhood of Florentin, and experience fun and artistic freedom. Discover new and daring Israeli Graffiti Artists that are gaining recognition around the world.

• Pizur dinner

• Embassy Hotel Tel-Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Old Jaffa - Tour Old Jaffa, one of the most ancient port cities in Israel and the Mediterranean basin. This is the port from which prophet Jonah attempted to escape the word of God (Jonah 1:3). For centuries, the port of Jaffa 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, in the year 1909, but the two were united into one municipality already 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.
  
  On a walk through Jaffa, discover the ancient and modern situated side-by-side. Stroll through the alleyways of the Old City filled with artist studios as well as archaeological discoveries. Discover which Jewish and Christian stories took place in the city.

• Peres Center for Peace and Innovation - The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation is a leading non-profit and non-governmental organization focused on developing and implementing unique and cutting-edge programs. The center presents the incredible story of Israel, the "innovation nation", and showcases the diverse fields and people behind Israeli innovation.

• Independence Trail - Inspired by the Freedom Trail in Boston, the new Independence Trail follows 10 stops of Tel Aviv’s heritage sites learning about 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.

• Pizza in the park

• Depart for airport