Arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport three hours before departure.
Depart for Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv.
Day 2
Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv
Shalom! For the next few days, you will travel to new places, see new faces, and experience a feeling that somehow this is all familiar. Baruch HaBah – welcome!
Brief sightseeing in the Old City of Jerusalem
Check in to hotel
Dinner meeting with JDC representative about UJC MetroWest-Israel partnership programs
Overnight in Jerusalem
Day 3
Full Israeli breakfast, complete with salads, fruits, cheeses, yogurts, and more
Visit Kibbutz Erez, a partnership community of UJC MetroWest
Meet with local leadership and children on Kibbutz Erez
See an IDF outpost near Kibbutz Erez
Visit the IDF’s camera and security headquarters near Kibbutz Nahal Oz
Visit Ofakim, UJC MetroWest’s Partnership 2000 community
Lunch at “Hagiva” school; learn about the enriched school day program
Visit a kindergarten and meet Ethiopian children participating in the “Yedid” program
Visit the Igloo art Center
Visit Merchavim, UJC MetroWest’s Partnership 2000 community
Dinner with members of the Women’s Club
Overnight at Dead Sea resort
Day 4
Full Israeli breakfast, complete with salads, fruits, cheeses, yogurts, and more
Ascend Masada and tour King Herod’s hilltop fortress
Jeep ride through desert
Lunch and relaxation at resort
Return to Jerusalem
Overnight in Jerusalem
Day 5
Breakfast briefing with Israeli Knesset (Parliament) member
Meet with IDF soldiers who are part of The Jewish Agency’s lone soldiers program
Visit Neot Kedumim Nature reserve for group development activity
Dinner and evening on own in Jerusalem
Overnight in Jerusalem
Day 6
Full Israeli breakfast, complete with salads, fruits, cheeses, yogurts, and more
Visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum
Touring through Jerusalem’s Old City
Presentation at Davidson Visitors Center in the Southern Wall Archaeological Gardens
Lunch on own
Time for personal prayer and reflection at Western Wall
Festive Shabbat meal
Overnight in Jerusalem
Day 7 (Shabbat)
Full Israeli breakfast, complete with salads, fruits, cheeses, yogurts, and more
Opportunity to rest and relax or experience some of the many spiritual Jewish communities that exist within Jerusalem’s walls
Optional tours
Visit the Tower of David Museum
Visit the Israel Museum
Walking tour of Jerusalem
Depart for Tel Aviv for Havdalah and closing reception
Check in at Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv
Depart Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, for Newark Liberty International Airport
Day 8
Early morning arrival at Newark Liberty International Airport