Date

Program

Meals/Overnight

Sunday, June 3

Departure from US.

Monday, June 4

Bruchim Haba’aim-Welcome to Israel

Morning arrival to Ben Gurion Airport.  

Travel to Tel Aviv to see Animal Assisted Therapy in action with African refugee children and rescued dogs;

Visit to the “rest station” that provides the only veterinary care for working horses and donkeys in the northern West Bank, funded by an Israeli NGO;

Travel to Moshav Gan Yoshia to visit a donkey and horse rescue center;

Travel to Kibbutz Dalia, our hotel for the next two nights. 

Lunch-on own

Dinner: Kibbutz Daliah Guest House

Overnight:   Kibbutz Dalia Guest House)

Tuesday,  June 5

Travel to the Alexander River to see the indigenous giant soft-shelled turtles.

Visit the Sea Turtle Rescue Center at Michmoret Naval School.

Continue to nearby “Israel National Therapeutic Riding Association” ---- pioneers for therapeutic riding in Israel;

Lunch and swim in the sea;

Visit Caesarea, ancient Roman capital of Judea.  

Continue to the pioneering settlement of Zichron Yakov for dinner with a spokesperson from the NGO “Let Animals Live”.

Lunch-on own

Dinner: Zichron Winery

Overnight:   Kibbutz Dalia Guest House)

Wednesday, June 6

Visit the Mystical City of Zefat for a tour of its alleys and ancient synagogues and meet with mystic artist Avraham Lowenthal.  

Continue for a nature walk along one of the streams of the Golan;

Visit Mitzpeh Gadot, a former Syrian position from which the Syrians bombarded Israel before the 1967 Six Day War. 

Lunch-on own

Dinner at Kibbutz Gonen

Overnight:  Kibbutz Gonen Guest House

Thursday, June 7

Rafting on the Jordan River. 

Visit Tel Amal: “Tower and Stockade” get the feeling for what early pioneer life was like.

See remains of Bet Alpha ancient synagogue with its famous mosaic floor;

Early evening of bird-watching at Kibbutz Kfar Ruppin with ornithologist David Glasner;

Drive through the Jordan River Valley to Jerusalem.  Overnight in Jerusalem.

Lunch:  at “Muza al Hamayim” at Gan ha Shelosha

Dinner:  “Hatzer shel Ela” ---Kurdish food in  home of resident of Moshav Sde Trumot

Overnight:  Jerusalem

Friday, June 8

Welcome to Jerusalem!

We will begin our Jerusalem experience with the sweeping view from the Mount of Olives.. 

We will proceed to “where it all began”---The City of David--- the original spot where Jerusalem was founded by King David to be the eternal Jewish capitol. Tour the famous archeological sites there, such as the thrilling “Hezekiah’s Tunnel”, and match Biblical stories to their hills and valleys.

Continue to the exciting, vibrant market of Mahaneh Yehuda to experience the city as it prepares for Shabbat. 

Walk through historic neighborhood of Nachlaot on the way to a small park where every Friday, volunteers for the city shelter proffer homeless dogs for adoption.

Absorb the atmosphere of Shabbat evening at the Western Wall. 

Return to hotel for group Shabbat dinner.

Lunch-on own

Shabbat dinner in the Old City

Overnight:  Jerusalem

Shabbat,  June 9

Shabbat in Jerusalem

After a chance to rest, we will have Shabbat lunch in the Jewish Quarter with Old City residents.  Tour the Moslem, Christian and Armenian Quarters of the Old City, including walking on the Ramparts, visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Cardo, and more…. Enjoy the “third meal” (dinner).    Free evening to rest, shop, or explore Jerusalem’s many café-lined streets and lanes.

Shabbat lunch on own

Dinner on own

Overnight:  Jerusalem

Sunday, June 10

Travel to the desert fortress of Masada to glean its powerful history from its archeological remains.

Walk in Ein Gedi Reserve, with canyon trails of natural pools and waterfalls, ibex, and rock hyraxes. Swim in the Dead Sea, lowest point on earth. 

 In the evening meet with Rabbi Adam Frank for a discussion on Judaism and the treatment of animals.

Lunch and dinner on own

Overnight:  Jerusalem

Monday, June 11

From Ashes to Redemption

Visit the Theodore Herzl presentation and Mount Herzl. 

Proceed toYad Vashem, Israel’s revered Holocaust Memorial and Museum.

At our hotel: Gila Manolson gives an eye-opening talk on traditional Jewish dating, love, and marriage. Evening: Attend an uproarious religious Jewish Wedding (upon availability) and learn the meaning of the ceremony.  (Bring your dancing shoes.).

Lunch and dinner on own

Overnight:  Jerusalem

Tuesday, June 12

Travel to Gush Etzion:

Pina Hama (Cozy Corner): Brief stop at free volunteer coffee/snack shop for soldiers. 

At Kibbutz Kfar Etzion,

hear the dramatic story of these settlements’ history in the War of Independence as portrayed in the audio-visual show;

Visit the home of Gershon Ferency and taste the wines in his own start-up winery.

Explore one of the many ancient Bar Kochba hideout caves.

In the evening meet with internationally renowned Bill Clark, a major driving force behind wildlife conservation.

Lunch and dinner on own

Overnight:  Jerusalem

Wednesday, June 13

Visit the Jerusalem Bird Observatory, a conservation and education center.   

Meet with Member of Knesset involved in barring fur imports.  Visit Afrikef, where monkeys have been rescued, rehabilitated, and placed in natural environments.

Final banquet in the beautiful hills of Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve.  Transfer to the airport for our flight back to the U.S.

Lunch on own

Dinner: Final Banquet