JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Israel Summer 2017

PROGRAM ITINERARY Subject to change

Merage JCC in Orange County

Teen Trip to Israel

June 26th – July 12th, 2017

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

JCC Maccabi Israel June 26th July 12th

Staff: Mark Lazar -Tour educator

Nicole Andronescu – staff

Dan Ezra – staff

Debbie Meline – staff

Heli Ben Peleg – Israeli tour guide

TBD – Armed medic and security guard

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Monday, June 26: Arrival and Orientation • Land in Tel Aviv at 16:00 and meet the Israeli JCC Maccabi Israel staff and Kfar Yona

teens.

• Head to Kfar Yona – welcome at local community center and connect with all Amitim fellows

• Meet host families

• Dinner with host families

Overnight: Home hospitality

Tuesday, June 27: Jerusalem as the heart of the Jewish people • Breakfast with host families

• Head to Jerusalem

• Visit the Haas Promenade Lookout for a Shehechyanu ceremony

• Meet Avraham Infeld: "Making sense of Israel"

• Lunch at Kiryat Moria

• Visit Yad VaShem, the Central Holocaust Museum in Israel. Hear a story from a survivor and get a strong understanding of the importance of the State of Israel

• Visit the Kotel. Continue to the Davidson Center and southern excavations.

• Head back to Kfar Yona

• Dinner with host families

Overnight: Home hospitality

Wednesday, June 28: Connecting in the Desert • Travel to Sde Boker

• Visit Ben Gurion's grave; discussion on leadership and vision

• Lunch in Sde Boker

• Continue to Ein Ovdat – for a beautiful hike

• Head to Han Shayarot

• Buckle up! It’s time to ride some camels, the best way to travel through the desert

• Bedouin “Hafla” – the Bedouins are famous for their hospitality. Explore their delicious cuisine and unique culture.

• Evening program – prepare for Masada

• Camp-style bonfire under the stars and drummer's circle

Overnight: Han Shayarot Bedouin tents

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Thursday, June 29: L’dor v’ Dor: Masada, a story of Jewish heroism, dilemmas and leadership

• Early wake up (tea/coffee and snack)

• Masada – a climb up via the roman ramp, look over the Jordanian mountains and tour the sites that are a symbol of our people’s history

• Descend via the snake path

• Breakfast at the Masada Youth Hostel

• Float in the healing water of the Dead Sea

• Pizur Lunch

• Nachal David (Ein Gedi) – walk through the largest oasis in the Judean Desert, joining the ibex and the mountain goats as they search for water

• Head back to Kfar Yona

• Dinner with host families

Overnight: Home Hospitality

Friday, June 30: Tel Aviv: the first Hebrew City

• Tour Jaffa, Neve Tzedek and free time in the flea market – continuing to Rothchild BLVD

• Independence Hall – visit the site where the state of Israel was declared. Learn about the complexity of the team “Democratic and Jewish State”

• Visit the Nachalat Binyamin arts fair and Pizur lunch in the Carmel market

• Head back to host families

• Shabbat group dinner

Overnight: Home Hospitality

Shabbat, July 1: Shabbat with host families

• Spend the day with host families

Overnight: Home Hospitality

Sunday, July 2: Family trees • Full day of activities in Kfar Yona: Family tree, sports and arts

• Packed lunch

• Volunteer project in the region

• Dinner in Dr. Shakshuka in Jaffa

• Na Laga'at in Jaffa

Overnight: Home Hospitality

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Monday, July 3: Tikun Olam: making this a better world • “Save a child’s heart” – meet a local NGO that provides open heard surgeries to

children from all over the world (regardless of race, color or religion)

• Pizza lunch

• Dialogue in the Dark – The Children’s museum in Holon

• Time at the beach in Palmachim (time permitting)

• Afternoon "Amitim" activities at community center

• Final evening activity in the region

Overnight: Home Hospitality

Tuesday, July 4: Experiencing Eretz Yisrael • Breakfast at home hospitality- Kfar Yona

• Travel North

• Rappelling adventure experience in the Keshet Caves

• Pizur Lunch

• Visit the mystical city of Tzfat, see the different synagogues and get a chance to wander the artist market

• Meet Avraham Lowental and learn about Kabbalah and the connection between Judaism and art

• Check in to hotel

Overnight: Kibbutz Manara, Galilee

Wednesday, July 5: Exploring the North

• Breakfast at hotel

• Visit Tel Chai historical cemetery

• Nature walk in Tel Dan

• Picnic lunch on the river

• Kayaks on the Jordan River – relax on the cool water

• Head to the Golan Heights – get to see an overlook on Syria from Mt. Bental and learn about the strategic importance of this region. Hear about the dramatic story of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, as well as the current situation in war-torn Syria

• Dinner at hotel

Overnight: Kibbutz Manara, Galilee

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Thursday, July 6: It’s all about Maccabi • Breakfast at hotel and check out

• Hula valley bike ride + bird watching before traveling south

• Head to the Spivak Center for disabled athletes

• Continue to Jerusalem

• Packed dinner at Tedi stadium

• Attend the Maccabiah Opening Ceremony in Jerusalem

Overnight: Jerusalem Tower hotel, Jerusalem

Friday, July 7: L’dor V’dor: Mt. Herzl – understanding our past in order to create a future

• Breakfast at hotel

• Tayelet overview and walk from viewing the “separation barrier”

• Ammunition Hill – experience history and walk the battlefield of the 1967 War

• Lunch in the Machne Yehuda fruit and vegetables market

• Visit Mt. Herzl - This is the site where soldiers and many of the Nation's dignitaries are buried.

• Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel

• Walk back to hotel for Shabbat Dinner, joined by Lone Soldiers from the Michael Levin Center

• Oneg Shabbat/Song Session

Overnight: Jerusalem Tower hotel, Jerusalem

Shabbat, July 8: Shabbat in Jerusalem

• Free morning to rest and relax

• Guest Speaker – Neil Lazarus: context and background of Arab/Israel situation

• Time for families to visit/Yemen Moshe neighborhood walk for others

• Supervised free time and discussions in the park

• Havdallah

• Tower of David Light show

• Tour of the Kotel Tunnels – walk along the underground walls of the Temple Mount

Overnight: Jerusalem Tower hotel, Jerusalem

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Sunday, July 9: History and Ecology • Breakfast at hotel and check out

• Yad Lakashish- a non-profit organization that empowers and supports elderly Jerusalem residents providing them artistic workshops

• Ben Yehuda free time and pizur lunch

• Head to Beit Guvrin for an archeological dig experience – learn how to identify different eras through your findings

• Check in Bat Yam Beach front hotel

• Dinner

Overnight: Leonardo suites, Bat Yam

Monday, July 10: Along the Mediterranean Coast

• Breakfast at hotel

• Visit the Palmach Museum – follow Palmach characters through the time of the establishment of Israel

• Explore Caesarea – Herod’s Roman amphitheater and grand palace on the beach

• Boxed lunch

• Unique community service with Israeli Arab teens in Jaser Azarka

• Pizur Dinner in Bat Yam Overnight: Leonardo suites, Bat Yam

Tuesday, July 11: Western Negev: challenges and opportunities • Travel to the Western Negev

• Visit Aleh Negev - an inspiring organization for kids with disabilities • Pizur lunch in Sderot

• Tour the city of Sderot, and visit a sheltered playground

• Peres Peace Center – Coexistence through Soccer

• Pizur Dinner and evening out in Tel Aviv

Overnight: Leonardo suites, Bat Yam

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Wednesday, July 12: Tying it all together • Breakfast and check out of hotel

• Street survey and visit to Rabin Square

• Beit Hatfutztot tour the museum

• Packed lunch – Garden area of Beit Hatfutztot

• Summary session with JCC Maccabi Israel staff at Beit Hatfutztot

• Continue to Jaffa, free time in the flea market

• Head to Gan HaPisga for final reflection time

• Festive final dinner in Tel Aviv

• Head to Ben Gurion Airport and depart Tel Aviv at 11: 10 pm

Overnight: Mediterranean Sea

Lehitra’ot – see you again!

JMI Merage JCC - Teen Israel Trip

Stephen P. Seiden, Chair

Leah Garber, Vice President, Director, JCC Israel Center

Doron Krakow, President and CEO, JCC Association

Elkana Bar Eitan, JMI Director

Adam Blue, JMI Program Manager

jcca.org | jccmaccabiisrael.org

JCC Maccabi Israel

JCC Association is proud to present the

JCC Maccabi Games™, JCC Maccabi

ArtsFest™, and JCC Maccabi Israel™.

Connecting Jewish teens through sports, the arts, and travel.

JCC Association

520 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10018

tel: (212) 532-4949

fax: (212) 481-4174

JCC Israel Center

The Solomon & Mary Litt Building

12 Moshe Hess Street

Jerusalem, 94185, Israel

tel: 011-972-2-625-1265

fax: 011-972-2-624-7767