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  WEDNESDAY, DAY 1-DEPART USA Depart the USA on your transatlantic flight to the roots of your heritage. THURSDAY, DAY 2-TEL AVIV "Bruchim Habaim" (Welcome!) to Israel. You will be met and escorted through customs and transferred to your hotel along the seaside in bustling Tel Aviv. A Welcome Dinner awaits you, including a special briefing on your exciting tour program. D FRIDAY, DAY 3-TEL AVIV Begin this morning with a visit to Independence Hall where Israel was declared a State. Continue to the Museum of the Diaspora, housing the most complete record of Jewish history. Visit at the open air colorful Carmel Market which is teaming with shoppers coming and going in preparation for Shabbat. Walk down Shenkin Street that is alive with young people on Friday afternoon. Drive along the main streets of Tel Aviv to see the Mann auditorium and the Habima theatre. Continue to the old fortress city of Jaffa on the sea and walk along its cobblestone streets past art galleries and unique shops. Enjoy Shabbat dinner together this evening. BD SATURDAY, DAY 4-TEL AVIV Day at leisure. You may join in a walking tour of Tel Aviv. See completely restored Bialik Street with the homes of famous artists and old buildings. Continue to the Neve Zedek artist quarter and Yitzhak Rabin Square. Stop at one of the synagogues or relax on the Mediterranean coast. In the evening stroll through this city which vibrates with life as the sun goes down. B SUNDAY, DAY 5-TEL AVIV/GALILEE Drive north along the coast to the ancient Roman (later Crusader) city of Caesarea. Take a boat ride to see this Crusader city from the sea. Visit Atlit, the former detention camp for Jewish immigrants who were caught by the British blockade. Next a visit to a picturesque Druze village on the top of the Carmel Mountains. Enjoy an authentic Druze lunch and hospitality. Drive through Haifa to see the Bahai Temple and go on to the underground Crusader city of Akko. Arrive in Tiberias to take a boat cruise across the Sea of Galilee. Dinner tonight at the kibbutz. BLD MONDAY, DAY 6-GALILEE Begin this day with a jeep ride through the kibbutz and up to the Golan Heights. See and walk through the Syrian bunkers. Refresh yourselves as you visit the Banias and Tel Dan, two of the sources of the Jordan River. Have an adventurous time in the afternoon kayaking down the Jordan River. Visit Tel-Hai-memorial and museum to the defenders of the north. After dinner meet some of the kibbutz members and learn about this unusual communal way of life. BD TUESDAY, DAY 7-GALILEE/JERUSALEM Depart for Safed this morning to visit this mystical kabalistic and artist city. Walk into the tiny synagogues and the many art galleries. Continue to Beit Shean, an ancient city from the time of King Saul. See this amazing archeological discovery containing 18 levels of civilization. Visit the ancient synagogue at Beit Alpha with its beautiful mosaic floor. On to Sachne for a swim, an oasis at the foot of Mount Gilboa. Then to Jericho, the oldest city in the world. As you go up to Jerusalem, stop to say Sheheyanu at Mt. Scopus as you enter the city. Dinner and meeting with the Rabbi. BD WEDNESDAY, DAY 8-JERUSALEM Visit the Model of Jerusalem from the Second Temple period. Continue to Yad Vashem, memorial to the Holocaust. Participate in a special memorial ceremony of remembrance as you see the Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles and the Children's Pavilion. Visit Ein Yael archeological park to see the stairs that were used to go up to the Temple in Jerusalem and the Southern Wall. Drive past the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the new Supreme Court building to the Shrine of the Book which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. Visit the Israel Museum and the special Youth Wing exhibit. B THURSDAY, DAY 9-JERUSALEM Today you will visit the Old City of Jerusalem. Enter through one of the famous gates and walk to the Western Wall, the only remnant of the Second Temple. Go up to the Temple Mount and see the Dome of the Rock. Enter the Jewish Quarter and walk to the Cardo, the main shopping street in ancient times. See the ancient reconstructed Sephardic synagogues and the Herodian mansions. Continue to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Lunch at the Culinaria, a restaurant set in Roman times. BL FRIDAY, DAY 10-JERUSALEM Begin today with a visit to the Hadassah Hospital to see the Chagall Windows. Descend through the Judean Hills this morning and stop briefly at Latrun, the memorial to the armed battalions of the Israel Defense Forces. See the tanks and remnants of armored cars in memory of the battle for Jerusalem in the 1948 War of Independence. Stop at the famous monument "Scrolls of Fire." Continue to the underground Soreq Caves and see stalactites and stalagmites depicting scenes from the Bible. Drive to the Ellah Valley, the scene of the battle between David and Goliath. Continue to the Beit Guvrin caves dating back to the Roman and Byzantine period. See the excavations where you will have the opportunity to participate with archeologists at the site of an exciting ongoing dig. See the chisel marks on the walls of these bell shaped structures. Return to the Western Wall to welcome Shabbat. Shabbat dinner in your hotel. BD SATURDAY, DAY 11-JERUSALEM Morning Shabbat services in Jerusalem. Then take a walking tour on the walls on the Old City. Continue to the Museum of the History of Jerusalem at David's Citadel and Mishkenot Sha'ananim. The remainder of the day will be at leisure. Watch the city become alive as the sun goes down and stroll down Ben Yehuda Street with the locals. B SUNDAY, DAY 12-DEAD SEA Depart Jerusalem for Beersheva, the capital of the Negev. Continue to Kibbutz Sde Boker where Ben Gurion spent part of his life. Visit Ben Gurion's hut and continue to the Ramon Crater. See the visitors center, ride a camel and have lunch in a Bedouin tent. Continue to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on the face of the earth. Walk carefully with flashlights through the Flour Caves which are carved out of the desert floor. See the refreshing waterfall at the Oasis of Ein Gedi. Arrive at your hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea. There is plenty of time to float in the salt water or to pamper yourself with mud baths and massages. Dinner at your hotel. BLD MONDAY, DAY 13-BAR & BAT MITZVAH DAY -EILAT Mazal Tov! Ascend by a cable car to the fortress of Masada to celebrate your Bar/Bat Mitzvah in the reconstructed synagogue of this historic plateau. Here the defenders held out for three years against the Roman Army and then committed suicide rather then be taken into slavery. "Massada shall not fall again" is the oath taken by cadets who graduate from Israel's military academy. See the excavations. Visit King Solomon's Pillars on the way to Eilat. B TUESDAY, DAY 14-EILAT This morning enjoy a snorkeling cruise along the coral reefs of the Red Sea with its remarkable sea life. Afterward a farewell lunch on the cruise. The afternoon will be at leisure. Take an evening flight to Tel Aviv to connect to your El Al Israel Airlines flight to the USA. You will be filled with memories of your unforgettable experiences in this ancient and new land of your heritage. BL WEDNESDAY, DAY 15-ARRIVE USA Depart from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport just after midnight and arrive in the USA in the morning. OPTIONAL: WEDNESDAY, DAY 15 Spend an extra day at leisure in Eilat or take an optional tour to the "Red Rock" city of Petra in the Kingdom of Jordan. Evening transfer to the airport THURSDAY, DAY 16-ARRIVE USA
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