UPCOMING ISRAEL EXPEDITIONS

Israel Summer Adventure

led by Rabbi Elyse Goldstein

July 19-28, 2009
Free information night: Monday March 30 at 8 p.m. at BJCC.

A Perfect Tour for families
(and those who haven't been in "too long a time!")

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

DAY ONE, SUNDAY JULY 19: Depart Toronto

DAY TWO: MONDAY July 20
Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport.
Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.
Check into your hotel with time to freshen up.
Visit to Rabin Square and Independence Hall, site of David Ben Gurion’s monumental proclamation of the State of Israel in May 1948.
Lunch on your own (we'll get to a great falafel place!) and then Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar for a quick pick-me-up! After that, Palmach museum.
Back to the hotel to change and a quick swim in the ocean or the pool, then enjoy a middle-eastern style dinner with a Yemenite touch at Maganda, with a varied selection of salads and grilled meats, located in the Yemenite Quarter of Tel Aviv. Overnight: Carlton, Tel Aviv (D)

DAY THREE: TUESDAY, July 21
Breakfast at the hotel. Check out of the hotel.
Drive north via the coastal plain for a guided visit to Caesarea, one of the Land of Israel's most important cities during the Roman Period; visit the Herodian Theater and new excavations along the Mediterranean shore concluding with a visit to the 900-year-old crusader city built on the same site.
Lunch on your own in Acco for the best humus in Israel!
Then visit Acco, a UNESCO Heritage Site, and a multi-layered experience from the days of the Crusades through contemporary Israel, including guided visits to:
The newly renovated Crusaders’ City, the Templar Canal to the port of Acre.
The multimedia presentation of the last bathhouse attendant, Haj Bashir, telling the story of Old Akko in the original Hammam. In the late afternoon we participate in a beach clean-up project with Zalul, a non-profit agency centred on water and the environment.
Drive to the Upper Galilee and check into the kibbutz guesthouse.
Overnight and dinner: Kibbutz guesthouse Ein Gev Galilee (B,D)

DAY FOUR: WEDNESDAY, July 22
Breakfast at the hotel.
Jeep tour on the Golan Heights. Cross the Golan Plateau to the border with Syria and observe the abandoned city of Kuneitra and the United Nations outpost located nearby.
After lunch on your own, enjoy rafting (water levels permitting) down the Jordan River.
Fresh fish and pasta dinner overlooking the water at Beit Gavriel.
Overnight: Kibbutz guesthouse Ein Gev Galilee (B,D)

DAY FIVE: THURSDAY,July 23
Breakfast at the hotel.
Depart the Upper Galilee toward Jerusalem.
Upon entering Jerusalem stop at Mount Scopus to say the traditional shehechiyanu blessing at an overlook where you can see the whole city. Today we focus on the Old City of Jerusalem, with guided visits to some of the sites excavated over the past 30 years, including: The Cardo, (the main north-south street of the Roman-Byzantine City), the Roman Gate, the Broad Wall, the Madaba map, the museum of the fall of the Jewish Quarter in May 1948. Lunch on your own. Then visit the Western Wall and also take a guided tour of the Western Wall Tunnels, the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount. Continue to the Sisters of Zion Convent to explore more underground Jerusalem, the Lithostratus and Struthion Pool. Late afternoon (time permitting) guided tour of Ir David-the City of David, including the latest archaeological excavations and walking through the watery Hezekiah's Tunnel.
Check into our hotel and evening dinner on your own in any of Jerusalem's amazing restaurants near the hotel. Don't worry-we'll have a list of suggestions!
Overnight: Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B)

DAY SIX: FRIDAY, July 24
Breakfast at the hotel.
Volunteer at Hazon Yeshaya, a soup kitchen, where we will honour Jerusalem's underprivledged with a home cooked meal. Then on to Machane Yehuda, the spice market, for a tour, lunch-time noshing, and getting the feel of Jerusalem before Shabbat. Free afternoon to prepare for Shabbat, downtown shopping, etc. Lunch on your own.
Shabbat Services at Kol Haneshema, Jerusalem's "hippest" Reform synagogue, or at the Kotel, or free time.
Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B,D)

DAY SEVEN: SATURDAY July 25
Breakfast at the hotel.
Optional Shabbat Services.
Free Shabbat in Jerusalem to explore on your own: we’ll give you lots of suggestions!
Overnight: Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B)

DAY EIGHT: SUNDAY July 26
Breakfast at the hotel.
Guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including:
The Avenue of the Righteous
The new Historical Museum
The Children's Memorial
The Valley of the Commuities with a concluding Memorial Service
On to Mt Herzl to visit the graves of some of the founding mothers and fathers of Israel.
Lunch on your own in Ein Karem.
Drive to Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve, for a guided evening tour and Biblical dinner.
Overnight Jerusalem
Overnight: Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (B,D)

DAY NINE: MONDAY, July 27
Breakfast at the hotel.
Check out of Jerusalem hotel.
In the morning, take part in an active dig at the Beit Guvrin caves and prepare to get your hands dirty as you uncover pottery from the Hellenistic period, 2,300 years ago, followed by a crawl through the Maresha Cave Labyrinth.
Depart for the Dead Sea via Arad. Lunch on your own in Arad. Short hike to Nahal David, the freshwater spring at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, a lush oasis in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea.
Overnight and and dinner at Kibbutz Ein Gedi (B,D)

DAY TEN: TUESDAY, July 28
Check out of hotel and early breakfast in preparation for an early morning climb up Masada, Herod’s mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots’ last stand against the Roman Legionnaires. (Cable car for those who prefer.) Discuss Masada’s role as a symbol of Jewish defence and its current significance in modern Israel.
Lunch on your own at the bottom of Masada. Afternoon float in the Dead Sea! Shower and change and then drive to Tel Aviv for shopping and a festive farewell dinner at Lilit, a restaurant and social work project that turns street kids around. Our tour is over but the memories last forever! (B,D)

PRICE: $2449 US LAND ONLY pp dbl includes $200 US tax receipt (in Canadian equivalent)
$575 US single supplement
CALL FOR FAMILY PLANS AND KIDS PRICES!!

BEST PRICE AIRFARE FROM ANY CITY CAN BE ARRANGED THROUGH PAYLESS TRAVEL, OR USE YOUR AIR POINTS!! EARLY ARRIVAL OR STAYING ON EXTENSIONS CAN BE ARRANGED.
Includes: 8 full days of touring; all entrance fees; 7 dinners and 8 breakfasts; outstanding English-speaking guide, air conditioned minibus; porterage and transfers, tips to restaurants, hotel dining rooms and bellboys.

Not included: airfare, airport taxes, insurance, tips to chambermaids, tips to guide and driver, and items of a personal nature.

For registration and travel arrangements, call Michelle at 416-922-0116 ext 1, from out of town 1-866-344-6342 ext 1 or mshenkar@paylesscanada.com
For more information call Rabbi Goldstein, 416-636-1880 EXT 472 OR egoldstein@bjcc.ca

DEPOSIT of $400 per person due with all registrations

FULL PAYMENT due May 15.

Space is strictly limited and places cannot be "held" without deposit. Many of our tours fill quickly- we recommend early registration!