I went to Israel with my boyfriend, his family, and their congregation from July 21st through August 1st. Below is the itinerary of our trip, along with entries to the journal I kept.
Download a zip file of photos - make sure to order the images by date so that you see them in the correct order.
| Date | Description of sites visited |
|---|---|
| Thursday, July 21 | Depart USA for Israel |
| Friday, July 22 | Arrive in Tel Aviv and celebrate Shabbat |
| Saturday, July 23 | Ayalon Institute (near Rehovot), site of clandestine munitions factory; Rabin Square, location of assassination of Yitzhak Rabin; Havdallah in Jaffa; dinner in the Yemenite Quarter of Tel Aviv |
| Sunday, July 24 | Independence Hall; Atlit, site of British internment camp; Akko, site of underground crusader city; Maarat HaKeshet in the Upper Galilee; check into Kibbutz Hagoshrim |
| Monday, July 25 | Tel Dan Nature Reserve, located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River; Jeep tour climbing the Golan Heights; Talmudic Village in Katzrin; kayacking on the Jordan River |
| Tuesday, July 26 | Tel Hai Museum; look into Southern Lebanon from Kibbutz Misgav Am and discussion with security liaison Mike Ginsburg; Tzfat, center of Jewish mysticism with many unique synagogues and lecture with Kabbalist and artist David Freedman |
| Wednesday, July 27 | Kinneret Cemetary; Beit Shean, one of the largest Roman-Byzantine cities uncovered in Israel; swim in natural springs at Gan Hashlosha Nature Reserve; travel to Jerusalem with a stop at Mt. Scopus for "shehechiyanu" blessing; walk around the old city |
| Thursday, July 28 | Jewish Quarter of Old City to see the Western Wall, the Herodian Mansions, and the Southern Wall excavations; Western Wall tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount; Nachlaot, an ethnically rich neighborhood in Jerusalem and participate in a family scavengar hunt |
| Friday, July 29 | Lecture on the critical role the Reform Movement is playing in countries around the world; Yad Vashem, the Jewish National Memorial to the Holocaust; Ben Guvrin, site of 2,000 man-made caves and take part in an active dig; Shabbat services at Kol Haneshema Congregation |
| Saturday, July 30 | Tower of City of David; Christian Quarter, including Church of the Holy Sepulchar; Shabbat Mincha service at Hebrew Union College; Havdallah facing the Old City |
| Sunday, July 31 | Masada, Herod's mountain palace and site of Jewish zealots' last stand against the Roman Legionnaires; float in the Dead Sea; hike to Nahal David, the freshwater spring at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve; stop at Mt. Scopus for "Litraot - Until Next Time"; farewell dinner |
| Monday, August 1 | Plant trees at the JNF forest at Shaar Hagai; depart Israel for home |