Olive, Vine & Palette- March 2023

Activities:

• Gather together at meeting place (TBD) - Start your journey by travelling north

• Rooting-At the Bird Mosaic in Caesarea - Begin your seminar with a Seven Species "Seder"
  Place yourselves in the elements that are native to the land. Through tasting, learning and experiencing the Seven Species with the mosaic as a backdrop, consider the role of the natural landscape on influencing the cultural complexities of the country today. The mosaic was originally part of a large 6th century mansion. In 1955, archaeologists excavated this hilltop 500 meters outside of the Byzantine city walls of Caesarea.

• Toast the trip at Kishor Winery - Kishor Winery is located in Kishorit, a village for adults with special needs. The members of the community enjoy a full life, including meaningful employment. In conjunction with the professional staff, the members take an active part in the grape cultivation, bottling, and marketing of the wines. The Visitors’ Center also employs Kishorit members who host guests, interact with members of the general community, and give guided tours.

• Check into the hotel

• Dinner at the beautiful home of Chef Gadi Elias

• North - Bayit Bagalil Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Drive to Akko - Akko is an ancient port city built and influenced by the Crusaders, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and the British. 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.

• Start with the city's Tunisian Synagogue - The Ohr Torah Tunisan synagogue in Akko is unique even in a land of synagogues. Built by a community of Tunisian Jews from Djerba, it offers four stories of glorious mosaics and stained-glass windows both inside and out, showing a varied range of stories, flora, and fauna.

• Tour Akko - Walk through 4,000 years of history in this ancient city and UNESCO World Heritage site. The Old City of Akko, or Acre, has been lived in continuously for 4 millennia

• Tour the market with the women of Beit Elfarasha - At Beit Elfarasha meet the true gems of the city, the local women. This program empowers women of Akko through cooking workshops, and gives visitors an intimate take on the Old City of Akko.

• Continue with a cooking workshop and lunch at Beit Elfarasha

• Buza Ice Cream - Buza, the Arabic word for ice cream, is owned and operated by Alaa Sweetat, a local Muslim and Adam Ziv, a Jew from Kibbutz Sasa. A delicious Co-Existence venture. Taste their unique flavors.

• Dinner at the hotel

• North - Bayit Bagalil Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Agamon HaHula on 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.

• Foraging and learning about Sustainable Eating with Uri Mayer-Chissick - Get to know local, wild food from nature– and dishes prepared today from food that has been grown here throughout history with Dr. Uri Mayer-Chissick, an expert on the history of local food and nutrition in the Middle-East. Uri is the author of the Israeli guide to foraging for wild edible plants. Hike and cook outdoors.

• Shehechiyanu - Stop to say Shehechiyanu and bless your arrival in Jerusalem.

• Check into your hotel and get settled

• Dinner on your own

• Jerusalem - Mamilla Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• To see Jerusalem in depth and close up, tour Jerusalem's Old City with photographer and guide Simon Beni - The tour combines visits to historical sites with a workshop in photography. Walk down the alleys and explore hidden corners while learning to create good compositions with the ambient light.

• Meet the Jerusalem Food Rescuers - 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.

• Short tour of Machane Yehuda Market - In the heart of Jerusalem, a 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. After dinner you'll have more time to experience the Thursday nightlife at the 'shuk'.

• Dinner at Cafe Shalva - Shalva is a Jerusalem based organization that provides services to children with special needs and their families. The café’s profits go back to the center and graduates of Shalva work at the café.

• Bakery Tour of the 'Shtisel' Neighborhoods - On a busy Thursday night, when people are preparing for Shabbat, have a taste of the Ultra-Orthodox world and walk the streets of these neighborhoods.

• Jerusalem - Mamilla Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Travel Jerusalem's light rail from the center of town to Mt. Herzl

• Explore the Jerusalem Hills at the beautiful Sataf forest for an easy hike - Sataf is on the site of ancient agricultural terraces that date to the time of the ancient Israelites. If it’s warm enough, there’s even an option to take a dip in some of the natural springs. Along the way - forage for edible plants.

• Stop in Abu Ghosh at Al Yasmeen Halva and Tahini heaven to taste some of Israel’s best!

• Ein Kerem with time for lunch on your own - Tucked into the hills of Jerusalem is the biblical Ein Kerem, whose name means "the spring in the vineyard." Step into another world while you visit this quaint neighborhood.

• Free time and prepare for Shabbat - Lunch on your own

• Lekha Dodi Likrat Kallah- Welcoming remarks towards our Melton Shabbat Celebration

• Candle-lighting and Evening Services

• Traditional Shabbat dinner - Se'udat Shabbat with participants of the "Exploring Israel" program - Group discussion and reflections

• Jerusalem - Mamilla Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Morning Services at Synagogue(s) of choice

• A Look at the Weekly Torah Portion, closing the Book of Leviticus

• Indulge in a Jewish Shabbat Brunch - Enjoy the variety of classic ethnic foods that are part of the Shabbat day meal. These dishes are brought directly from the homes in which the food was cooked by families that share their heritage and flavors.

• OPTIONAL WALKING TOUR - 1. The Poetry of Yehuda Amichai OR
  2. Along King David Street: Three Buildings, Three Faiths, Three Agendas

• Se'udah Shlisheet - late afternoon snack and schmooze

• Havdalah

• Dinner and evening on your own

• Jerusalem - Mamilla Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Israel museum - Visit the unique collections and expansive grounds of the Israel Museum, the country’s national museum. Linger over the renowned international and Israeli art, the world’s most complete Judaica collections and the charming Billy Rose Sculpture Garden. You can also visit the Shrine of the Book, home to the exceptional archaeological finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other rare ancient manuscripts.

• 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.

• Kaima Organic Farm - Tour Kaima Farm and meet with a one of the interns to understand some of the challenges Israel faces and take a small role in addressing these challenges.

• The Lives and Recipes of Beit Shemesh-Mate Yehuda Women - Eat lunch in the home of one of the women who is part of the area’s Women’s Empowerment program designed to harness the strength of women’s skills, backgrounds, and interests to help them achieve their dreams. These women have entered the world of business entrepreneurship through sharing and cooking their ethnic meals.

• Wine- tasting at Tzora Vineyards - Visit Tzora Vineyards, a small boutique winery located on Kibbutz Tzora near Beit Shemesh. The winemaker, Eran Pick, holds the title “Master of Wine.” He is an experienced agronomist and vintner, and is involved in the entire process, from growing and tending the vines, to the harvesting and winemaking, to produce fine wines.

• Drive to Tel Aviv and check into your hotel

• Dinner to be confirmed

• Tel Aviv - Carlton Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• 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.

• Bauhaus tour - Tel Aviv has more Bauhaus buildings that any other city in the world, so many that it is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The buildings were designed by Bauhaus architects who immigrated to Israel from Europe in the 1930s and were influenced by the work of Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. Some 4000 Bauhaus buildings were built in the 1930s – a development which turned the city center into a quasi "open air Bauhaus museum" and earned Tel Aviv the nickname “White City.”

• Hatikva Market Tasting tour lunch - Hatikvah Market is a lesser-known gem. Since the market's renovation it has become a joyful, colorful place. Many say this is Tel Aviv's best market for variety, price, people-watching, and authenticity. The Hatikva Market was built in the mid-1930s as a response to the Arab Revolt, when residents of the village of Salama stopped coming to the neighborhood to sell their goods. What began with a few produce stalls put up by local residents of Iraqi, Yemenite, Syrian and Iranian background grew into a sprawling market spread out along the triangle of Ha’Etzel, Hahagana and Hatikva Streets.

• Tel Aviv Museum of Art with Shirel Horowitz - In this dynamic tour we'll figure out what makes Israeli art into what it is, and what’s its relationship with the Zionist narrative as well as the international art world. This tour through the extensive Israeli collection at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an amazing way to visually explore the Israeli narrative from the early 20th century until today. What is the story the Arts Establishment is telling through Israeli Art?

• Dinner on your own - Reservations will be made at several restaurants for you to choose from.

• Tel Aviv - Carlton Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Graffiti Tour - Enjoy a creative Graffiti workshop 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.

• Meet the amazing people of KitePride - KitePride creates functional bags from used high quality upcycled fabrics in order to provide jobs to women and men exiting human trafficking and prostitution. In addition to learning about KitePride’s amazing work.

• Visit Kuchinate - Your visit to Kuchinate African Refugee Women’s Cooperative will include a coffee ceremony and tour of this incredible social start-up. Meet founders Diddy Mymin Kahn and Sister Aziza, who have turned the lives of refugee women around by empowering them to find their voices and regain their dignity after very difficult life circumstances.

• Free time

• Option-Nahalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Market - Visit Nahalat 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, various metals with most if not all containing materials or themes found only in Israel.

• Dinner at Gueta - On Jaffa's Jerusalem Boulevard, across from the Gesher Theater, Gueta restaurant keeps to its traditional Tripoli style of cooking, using old recipes that have been passed through generations.

• Tel Aviv - Carlton Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Yaacov Agam Museum of Art - The Yaacov Agam Museum of Art is in Rishon LeZion, the hometown of internationally acclaimed Israeli artist Yaacov Agam. The museum will showcases six decades of Agam’s groundbreaking artistic research, presenting temporary exhibitions and permanent displays of some of his most important artworks, coming from prestigious collections and museums worldwide.

• Levinsky Market - The Levinsky Market specializes in spices and Mediterranean delicacies. It is, in many ways, the best market in Tel Aviv, known for its variety, freshness, and special atmosphere. Whether you are looking for a rare Indian spice or some good quality saffron - this is the place. Shops offer a cornucopia of excellent cheeses, smoked fish, wines, and other delicacies. Tour the market and have "tastings" throughout.

• Untold Jaffa Tour of the Ajami Neighborhood with Avihai Tsabari - Tour Ajami, a predominantly Arab neighborhood in Jaffa, and you’ll hear a challenging narrative about the city and its history. Continue your tour through Jaffa, enjoying the beauty of the winding streets and the beautiful port with its biblical reference.

• Tour and Tasting at the Milk and Honey Distillery - Visit Israel's first Whiskey Distillery and enjoy this unique 'Start-Up'

• Dinner on your own

• Tel Aviv - Carlton Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel - Check out of the hotel.

• Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel - Asif is a non-profit organization and culinary center in Tel Aviv dedicated to cultivating and nurturing Israel’s diverse and creative food culture, a joint venture of the New York City-based Jewish Food Society and Tel Aviv’s Start-Up Nation Central.

• The Evolution of Israeli Street Food with Ronit Vered - Explore the seven species of Israeli street food “hopping” between street food restaurants. Ronit Vered is Israel's premiere food righter and writes for Haaretz newspaper.

• Creative Workshop with Kol HaOt - 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 has meant to us

• Trip Reflections

• Final Dinner with "Exploring Israel" Seminar group

• TRANSPORTATION WILL BE PROVIDED TO BEN GURION AIRPORT FOR ALL THOSE FLYING ON THURSDAY NIGHT ON FLIGHTS FROM 11 P.M. ON.