Jewish Heritage 11 Night Israel Tour

Saturday - At leisure - Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Sunday - Caesarea / Beit Shearim / Haifa / Acre

Drive north to Caesarea, once the Roman capital of the region. See the excavations of the Crusaders' city, the Roman Aqueduct and the amphitheater which has been restored as a concert venue. Proceed to Haifa for a panoramic view from Mt. Carmel and visit “Af Al Pi Chen”, the naval museum of the illegal immigration to Israel at the time of the British mandate. Drive to Acre; walk along the old harbor and local market. Continue to the northernmost point of Israel at Rosh Hanikra. Descend by cable car into the limestone Grottos. Overnight in a Kibbutz guesthouse. 

Monday - Safed / Tel Facher / Banias / Tel Dan / Tel Hai

Drive to Safed, center of Kabbalah movement; Visit the Joseph Caro and the Ha’ Ari synagogues, the most important synagogues in the city; stroll around the Artists' quarter. Enjoy a Jeep tour to the foot of the Golan Heights. Continue to the Golan Heights, visiting an observation point over the city of Kuneitra, and the Syrian territory. Stop at Tel Facher, a former Syrian army camp; Visit the Banias springs. Next, a visit to Tel-Hai; See the “Roaring Lion” monument and learn about the heroic battle of Josef Trumpeldor and his comrades in 1920. Overnight in a kibbutz guesthouse. 

Tuesday - Beit Shean / Beit Alpha / Gan Hashlosha / Jerusalem 

Drive to Tiberias to visit Rambam’s grave. Proceed to Beit Shean, also called "Scythopolis", the biggest archeological park in Israel with beautiful excavations from Roman and Byzantine periods. Stop at Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a Byzantine synagogue. On to Gan Hashlosha, (Sachne) where you will have an opportunity to enjoy the water springs located at the foot of the Gilboa mountain, the famous mountain where King Saul was killed in the battle against the Philistines. Continue via the Jordan valley to Jerusalem. Stop at Mount Scopus for a blessing as you enter the city. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Wednesday - Jerusalem: The Old City 

Tour the old city of Jerusalem. Start with a visit to the tomb of King David on Mount Zion. Walk along the Cardo, the ancient Roman road; Visit the four Sephardic synagogues in the Jewish quarter, all beautifully restored after the Six Day War Jerusalem. Tour the Kotel Tunnels; Visit the Davidson Center and walk through the Cardo, to the local Arab bazaar. Walk through Jaffa gate to the David’s Tower museum to see the ancient remains of the city beginning with the first Temple period. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Thursday - Jerusalem: The New City 

Celebrate the Bar-Mitzvah ceremonies at the Kotel (Wailing Wall). Continue to Mea Shearim and learn about the unique lifestyle of the Ultra orthodox communities. Drive by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament and see the Menorah with the biblical emblems. Next, visit the Israel Museum, the Shrine of the Book where the Dead sea scrolls are housed and the new Holyland Model – a miniature replica of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple period. Drive to mount Herzl, the military cemetery and Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust. Visit Ammunition Hill, a former Jordanian army stronghold that was conquered by the Israeli army in the Six Day War and converted into a national memorial site and museum. Overnight in Jerusalem.