MJF Tikvatenu Volunteer & Solidarity Mission- July 2024

Activities:

• Group arrival at Ben Gurion Airport - Your bus and guide will greet you at the airport.

• Drive to Rehovot where you will check into your accommodations

• Welcome and Opening Session

• "The State of the State" briefing by leading journalist

• Dinner at Gehalim Restaurant

• Reisfeld Residence Guest House

Activities:

• Breakfast at the guest house

• Depart Rehovot and drive south

• Agricultural Volunteering

• Geo-political tour of Otef Aza - Stop at key lookout points for an in-depth discussion of the complexity of the Gaza Border situation.

• Lunch

• Stop at the Nova Festival memorial site - at Re'im Forest stop and bear witness to the tragedy of the Nova Festival.

• Dinner with Soldiers - Participants will help prepare the dinner then eat with soldiers.

• Return to Rehovot

• Reisfeld Residence Guest House

Activities:

• Breakfast at Shavim B'café

• Volunteering in Rehovot - Our volunteer project will be announced closer to our arrival in Israel vased on the current needs at the time.

• Lunch

• Drive to Tel Aviv

• Visit to The Square of the Kidnapped and Missing in front of the Tel Aviv Art Museum. - See the powerful art created by various artists, including the Shabbat Table set for 200 missing Israelis, to show support and shine a spotlight on the importance of rescuing the lives of those abducted to Gaza. (Hopefully, by the time of this mission, all of the hostages will have been released and back home with their families.)

• Graffiti Tour - What stories do these images and words tell about the what has happened in Israel since October 7? What social issues are reflected in the art on the walls? What is unique about graffiti in Israel and Tel Aviv specifically? In this dynamic tour through Florentin, Tel Aviv's best-known neighborhood for graffiti, you will answer these questions, share your interpretations, and gain an appreciation for this expressive form of art.

• Dinner on your own

• Return to Rehovot

• Reisfeld Residence Guest House

Activities:

• Breakfast at the guest house - Check out

• Depart Rehovot

• Volunteering - Our volunteer project will be announced closer to our arrival in Israel based on the current needs at the time.

• Lunch

• Check into the hotel

• Dinner and evening on your own

• Ibis Styles Jerusalem City Center

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Morning volunteering at Metzilot Mazon - The Jerusalem Food Rescuers, aims to create a more Just and sustainable urban food system with less waste. Working with the wholesale market, they divert surplus produce that would have otherwise gone to waste and support communities that don’t have equitable access to food, engage in food literacy focused activities such as lectures and workshops with kids and adults, and run a sustainable catering business.

• Time for lunch at Machane Yehuda Market or Ben Yehuda Street - In the heart of Jerusalem sits this bustling, multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor. Immerse yourself in the world of Middle Eastern cuisine as you indulge in a tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market. Learn about the market's rich history, and meet the vendors who bring this place to life, as you experience the vibrant energy unique to this iconic culinary destination.

• Prepare for Shabbat

• Kabbalat Shabbat with the group - Shabbat begins at 7:08 p.m.

• Options to attend local synagogue services before dinner

• Shabbat Dinner at the hotel

• Ibis Styles Jerusalem City Center

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Optional Shabbat services

• Old City Walking Tour - Tour Jerusalem’s Old City and meet the people and places that make this place so unique. explore Jewish history in the Jewish Quarter, spanning from the First Temple era to the present. Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter and, conditions permitting, visit the Temple Mount, a significant Muslim site. Delve into the complexity of a city sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• Lunch at the hotel

• Free time

• Option- Israel Museum - Visit the Israel Museum, the country’s largest cultural institute and ranked among the world's leading art and archeology museums. Linger over the renowned Israeli art, the Judaica collections in the Jewish Art and Life Wing, and in the Archaeology Wing visit the world's most extensive holdings of the Land of Israel. Among the highlights of the campus is the Shrine of the Book, home to the exceptional archaeological finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest Biblical manuscripts in the world, as well as other rare ancient manuscripts. Tour with your guide followed by time on your own to explore the galleries that interest you the most.

• Seuda Shlishit picnic and wrap up session

• Havdalah - Shabbat ends at 8:30 p.m.

• Ibis Styles Jerusalem City Center

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Transfer to the airport or extension - Extension to the Dead Sea or additional volunteering and touring opportunities can be made available (additional costs will apply.)

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