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Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm
Guest Speakers
Hepzibah Alon earned a master’s degree in English literature from Bar-Ilan University and a bachelor’s in English literature and linguistics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has been a teacher for 17 years, having taught high school and college in the U.S. and Israel. Currently teaching at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, she is also a program associate for Facing History and Ourselves, where she mentors teachers and provides professional development for Jewish day schools in the United States.
Dahlia Scheindlin, PhD, is a leading public opinion and strategic consultant based in Tel Aviv. With over 20 years’ experience as an academic and international political and strategic consultant, Dr. Scheindlin conducts extensive research and policy analysis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, democracy, and religious identity in Israel. She earned her doctorate in political science from Tel Aviv University and is cohost of The Tel Aviv Review podcast. Currently, she works for a wide range of local and international organizations dealing with Israeli-Palestinian conflict issues, human rights, peacemaking, democracy, religious identity, and internal social issues.
We invite you to join us on a Museum of Jewish Heritage tour to Israel, designed for those who have already traveled to Israel as well as those visiting it for the first time.
On this trip, which begins in Jerusalem, where ancient history mingles with modern-day life, we will visit impressive museums, see magnificent artifacts and objects, tour newly uncovered archaeological sites, and visit places where Jewish rebels fought for independence. We will also have the opportunity to meet with well-informed and interesting Israeli citizens who can shed light on the political and social climate in the country today as well as understand more about what Israel has meant to Jews around the world.
We will learn how Jews sought throughout history to preserve their cultural integrity, even as they questioned how much interaction with other cultures could be absorbed before their own identity was lost. As we shall come to understand, this conflict and reaching for diversity, from the time of the Maccabees until today, is still a challenge for contemporary Israeli society.
In addition to visiting notable institutions, we will tour several cities and towns and take in some of the Israel’s spectacular landscapes and sea views along the way. On Friday evening, each of us will join an Israeli family for Shabbat dinner. As with all our tours, we will enjoy accommodations at the finest hotels.
Our trip begins in Jerusalem, where ancient history mingles with modern-day life and stirs our emotions like no other place on earth. Following check-in at the modern, 5-star deluxe David Citadel Hotel, we will have the opportunity to meet with our guide, a local scholar, and get to know one another. Following our opening meeting and presentation by Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, “Israel: People, Politics and Identity,” we will enjoy a welcoming dinner at the David Citadel Hotel (included).
Morning visit to the Yad Vashem Memorial and Holocaust Museum, the world’s leading archive and research center of the Holocaust. We will be greeted by one of the museum’s curators, who, through lecture and discussion, will bring us up to date on current research in Holocaust studies and education. At Yad Vashem, we will have a private guided tour for our group as we walk through the museum.
Following lunch on our own at Mahne Yehudah (the Jewish shuk, or marketplace), we will walk through the rebuilt Jewish Quarter and visit the Kotel (Western Wall) before returning to our hotel with time to freshen up and relax.
Evening: Presentation and discussion by Hepzibah Alon, “The Role of Israel in Jewish Literature,” followed by dinner on our own.
We will start by exploring the Israel Museum, the largest museum in Israel and ranked among the world’s leading art and archaeology museums. Here, we will enjoy a private guided tour to select parts of the museum, including Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Second Temple (Holy Land) Model of Jerusalem, among other exhibits. In addition, we will have time to meander through the museum and focus on displays of personal interest (one could spend an entire week at the museum and still not see everything) and shop at the museum’s elegant gift shop.
From the Israel Museum, return to our hotel, or (optional) explore Mahne Yehudah for lunch on our own and the opportunity to sample local Israeli food.
Evening: Shabbat dinner (included) with an Israeli family (we will divide into groups of four or five, with each group hosted by a different family)—an opportunity to meet and learn about daily life in Israel from local Jerusalemites.
Day free to rest, relax, explore parts of Jerusalem on our own, and/or attend services at one of the many synagogues in Jerusalem. For those interested, morning walk through nearby Yemin Moshe, where we can attend (or observe) parts of services at both the historic Ashkenazi and Sephardic synagogues. With land bought by Sir Moses Montefiore in 1855, Yemin Moshe represented a project designed to encourage Jews to move outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Today, the area is one of Jerusalem’s most upscale neighborhoods, with its landmark windmill one of the highlights of Jerusalem’s landscape.
Evening: Free; dinner on our own.
Depart our hotel for a day trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. At Masada, we will ride the cable car up the mountain and enjoy the majestic views of the Judaean desert as we ascend to the top of this historic site. Atop Masada, accompanied by our experienced guide, we will walk along this once almost impregnable fortress and learn more about the Jewish rebellion that took place here before the exile to Rome. Lunch along the way (included) at a hotel along the Dead Sea before we return to Jerusalem in time for dinner on our own.
Today, we will visit the recent and ongoing excavations at the City of David; walk underneath the city’s ancient walls; and (subject to it being open to visitors) tour the Supreme Court of Israel—one of the most important institutions in the struggle to shape the social and secular fabric of Israeli society. Lunch on our own with time free to explore and/or shop on our last day in Jerusalem.
Evening: Meeting and presentation by Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin, “What Is Threatening Israeli Democracy, and Where Did it Start?,” followed by dinner on our own.
Early morning departure for Tel Aviv, where we will visit the new ANU Museum (formerly known as Bet Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Diaspora). Those who have visited the museum before (located on the campus of Tel Aviv University) will be amazed at its completely renovated and updated displays and buildings. At the museum, we will be greeted by one of its curators, enjoy a private tour for our group, and have a unique learning experience through the interactive and fascinating exhibits that relate the stories of Jews from more than 80 countries over thousands of years.
Lunch on our own and afternoon visit to the vibrant Nachalat Binyamin outdoor pedestrian mall, with its biweekly outdoor fair displaying the works of Israeli artisans and designers—a perfect place to purchase handmade Israeli-designed crafts.
Late afternoon: Check in to the 5-star deluxe Carlton Tel Aviv hotel, with time to relax, refresh, and enjoy our sea view rooms.
Evening: Free; dinner on our own, with many fine restaurants to choose from in Tel Aviv.
Day trip to Akko (Acre) and Zichron Ya’akov. A wine tasting at the winery (included) will be part of this full and fascinating day. Akko (Acre) is a historic walled port city with continuous development from the Phoenician period. Historically, Akko is characteristic of a fortified town dating from the Ottoman 18th and 19th centuries, with typical components such as a citadel, mosques, khans, and Turkish baths. The remains of the Crusader town, dating from 1104–1291, are almost intact, both above and below street level, and provide an exceptional picture of the layout and structure of this capital of the medieval Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. Other highlights today will include a visit to Zichron Ya’akov, a historic town at the southern end of the Carmel mountain, with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean. One of the first Jewish settlements in Israel, it was founded in 1882 by Baron Edmond de Rothschild and named after his father. Today, it is famous for its winery and quaint shopping street lined with cafés and historic buildings. Lunch is on our own along the way.
We will return to Tel Aviv in time for dinner on our own.
Today will include a tour of the Rabin Center and Museum. The Rabin Center is the first and only museum in Israel designed to explore the development of the State of Israel as a young democracy. Designed in a downward spiral, the museum presents two parallel stories: the history of the state and Israeli society; and the life of Yitzhak Rabin.
Afternoon: Free for visiting sites of personal interest on our own, and/or last-minute shopping.
Evening: Closing dinner (included).
Depart Israel for home.
Jerusalem: David Citadel Hotel
A five-star, deluxe hotel, the David Citadel is superbly located near the upscale Mamila mall and within easy walking distance of the old and new cities of Jerusalem. Architecturally, the hotel reflects the vision of Israel’s most famous architect, Moshe Safdie; he designed the hotel while keeping in mind a blend of Middle Eastern and classical Jerusalem elements. Containing all the amenities called for in a five-star hotel (and originally opened as the Jerusalem Hilton), the deluxe David Citadel has hosted international VIPs and political leaders, including then-president Bill and Hillary Clinton, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and, most recently, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Tel Aviv: The Carlton Hotel
One of the most well-located hotels in Tel Aviv, the five-star Tel Aviv Carlton is superbly situated on the shore of the Mediterranean, in the heart of Tel Aviv. With breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and a five-minute walk from the Tayelet (Tel Aviv’s waterfront promenade), the Carlton is a short distance from Tel Aviv’s modern shops, many fine restaurants, and picturesque Old Jaffa. With all our modern, newly renovated rooms enjoying sea views and a picturesque dining area overlooking the sea, the Carlton will provide a splendid place for our group to stay in Tel Aviv.
