Love Israel Tours Is Proud to Offer
The David Ha’ivri Very Special Tour of Israel
April 8 – 17, 2013
Led by David Ha’ivri
Day 1 – Monday, April 8: Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport
We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport where a Love Israel Toursrepresentative will meet us at the luggage carousel and assist us through customs. We drive up to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem. As we drive to Jerusalem, the City of Gold, think of the thousands upon thousands of people before you who have made their pilgrimage to the Holy City. We proceed to the Kotel (Western Wall) and drink a traditional toast of le’chaim (to life). Dinner and overnight at the Mount Zion Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 2 – Tuesday, April 9: Shomron
After breakfast we meet David Ha’ivriour host of the tour, we drive along the “Way of the Patriarchs,” the road where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob walked. We begin our day inthe regions promised to the tribes of Ephraim and Binyamin. Our first stop in this area is the site of Israel’s first capitol: Shilo, where Joshua placed Moses' Wilderness Tabernacle and where it stood for the next 369 years during the time of Eli the high priest and Samuel the prophet. We continue to the community of Itamarwhere we will see the successful farm of GivotOlam, we hope to meet with the Mayor of Itamar, Rabbi Moshe Goldshmith and see the home of the Fogel family and the Zimmerman organic farm. We stop for lunch at the Har BrachaYeshiva and continue to Mount Gerizim to visit the Samaritan museum. Our next stop is the Bakanindustrial park,one of the largest Industrial Parks in Israel where we will see for ourselves the strategic importance of the area. In the early evening we have the honor of meeting with the head of the Shomron Regional Council, Gershon Mesika. We check into our hotel in Ariel and proceed to the community of Kfar Tapuach for dinner with David and Mollie Ha'ivri. For a very special treat we hope to be able to make a midnight visit to Joseph's tomb (or Joshua's tomb)Dinner with David and Mollie Ha'ivri, overnight at the Eshel Hashomron Hotel in Ariel
Day 3 - Wednesday, April 10: Shomron, Haifa
After breakfast we tour of the city of Arielincluding the Ariel University Center. We hope to meet with the shepherd, Avraham Herzlich and then we drive to Havat Giladwhere we will meet with Ilana Shimon and Moshe Zar. Our next stop is the Kedumim museum where we will hear from Tzvi Slonim. We stop for lunch at the ShaviShomron yeshiva and then continue to the Druze village of Usafiawhere we hope to meet with Memberof Knesset, Ayoob Kara. We stop for a kosher Druze dinner and Druze hospitality and proceed to our hotel in Haifa. Druze Hospitality dinner and overnight at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Haifa
Day 4 - Thursday, April 11: Galil
We drive though Haifa, the beautiful city on the bay and stop for a look at the magnificent Baha’i Gardens. We leave Haifa and stop in Akko (Acre), the ancient port immortalized by the Crusaders, the Turks and the British. We will see the prison where Jews were hanged during the time of the British Mandate. Also in Akko we will see one of the most fascinating synagogues in all of Israel with its mosaic tiles which tell the story of the Jewish people. In the village of Zarzirwe will meet with Kias Mazarib and Tzvi MeSinai. At the Moshav of Kfar Zeitim, we will have lunch and a tour of the community. We drive to the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) to check into our hotel and enjoy a boat ride and dinner overlooking the Kineret. Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight at the Leonardo Hotel in Tiberias
Day 5 – Friday, April 12: Galil, Jerusalem
This morning we travel to Tzfat (Safed), one of the four holy cities in Israel and known for its mysticism and Kabalistic studies. Here we tour fascinating synagogues and cobblestone streets filled with workshops and galleries of local artists. We now drive to the Golan Heights, and see the observation point on Mount Bental, a former Syrian bunker, with an overlook of the mountains of Lebanon and Syria. Ournext stop is Gamlawhere the oldest Beit Knesset was found and where according to Josephus 5,000 people jumped to their deaths rather than be sold into slavery by the Romans. We drive through the Jordan River Valley toJerusalem. We check into our hotel and get ready for Shabbat and then, as the sun sets, we make preparations to welcome the Shabbat with prayers and dancing at the Kotel. As we enter the Old City, look around you and notice how people from all corners of the world enter through the various Gates with one purpose in mind, to welcome the Shabbat Bride at Judaism’s holiest site on earth. Traditional Shabbat dinner and overnight at the Mount Zion Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 6 – Shabbat, April 13: Jerusalem
FOR OUR JEWISH FRIENDS
If you wish you may attend Shabbat Services at the Great Synagogue, the Kotel or a synagogue of your choice.
FOR OUR CHRISTIAN FRIENDS
After breakfast we will view Bethlehem and visit the sites of Jesus' life that occurred in and around Jerusalem. We climb to the Mount of Olivesand the Garden of Gethsemane. We cross the Kidron Valley tothe Old City where we will retrace Jesus' final steps along the Via Dolorosa. We continue to the Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried.
Both groups will meet back at the hotel for a lavish late lunch in the hotel and then we will have a walking tour of the reconstructed Jewish Quarter, we will see the Cardo, the unearthed main Roman thoroughfare and an ancient marketplace lined with shops;Hezekiah’s Broad Wall dating back to the First Temple and walk on the rooftops above the "shuk". As Shabbat comes to an end, we will perform the traditional Havdalah service under the stars. As the city becomes active again we can enjoy shopping and dinner on our own on Ben Yehuda Street the outdoor pedestrian mall. Luncheon and Overnight at the Mount Zion Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 7 – Sunday, April 14: Jerusalem
Today after an early breakfast we ascend to the Temple Mountwhere the Temples stood. We hope to have a briefing from a minister of the governmentwho will enlighten us on present political situation in Israel. Then we will meet with a representative of the Jerusalem Reclamation Project,learning the truth about Arab encroachment in Jerusalem. We will be shown the efforts on the part of this organization to hold onto Jewish land in the Jewish homeland. The Jerusalem Reclamation Project will take us on a tour of areas and neighborhoods Jerusalem that are being purchased for use by for Jewish families, such as the Moslem Quarter, Abu Tur, the Yemenite Village, Ma’ale Zeitim, Abu Dis and the Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood. We will be able to visit and give support to some of the young people who are fighting to reclaim Jerusalem. Next we will have the unique privilege of working alongside archaeologistsas we sift through soil from beneath the Temple Mount looking for ancient Temple-era artifacts. In the Kotel Tunnels(Western Wall) one of the most amazing archaeological sites in all Israel, we can walk alongside the Western Wall's massive foundation stones and stand opposite the place where the Holy of Holies once stood. Dinner in a local restaurant, overnight at the Mount Zion Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 8 – Monday, April 15:
This morning we stroll through MachanehYehudah, the wonderful outdoor market where native Jerusalemites buy theirfood. The sights and smells of everything from fish to fresh-baked bread will stir your appetite. Then we explore the City of David, the original site of Jerusalem where David made his capitol 3,000 years ago and where most of the Tanach (Old Testament) was written. We will walk upon the area of King David's palace; then take out our flashlights for a walk through one of the marvels of King Hezekiah’s reign: the Water Tunnel. Leaving the Tunnel, we will walk the short distance to the Pool of Shiloah and then walk through the newly discovered tunnel to the Southern Wall Excavations where we will be able to understand what life was like at the time of the Second Temple. In the restored Jewish Quarter we can visit the Temple Institutewhere Jews are preparing for the Third Temple. There will be opportunity to shop today in the Jewish Quarter. We drive past the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the Supreme Court building and continue to Yad Vashem, the Jewish people’s memorial to the murdered Six Million during the Holocaust. Dinner and overnight at the Mount Zion Hotel in Jerusalem
Day 9 – Tuesday, April 16: Hebron and South – Yom Haatzmaut
After breakfast we say goodbye to Jerusalem and drive to the area of Judea where we will meet with Jeremy Gembel and Ari Abamowitz of “The Land of Israel” organization. Now we drive through the "Valley of Blessing" to Hevron where we will have an in-depth tour with David Wilder. In Hevron we will visit the Cave of the Patriarchs, burial place of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Leah, the neighborhoodswhere some of the 100 Jewish families live and spend some time in an army base to give our support to some of the young men defending Israel’s borders. Scheduling permitting we hope to meet with an Arab sheikof Hevron who is a supporter of the Jewish presence in Hevron. We then drive to the Hevron hills and visit the dairy farm at Sussyiawhich is owned by a couple who were expellees of Gush Katif. After a Bedouinhospitality dinner we hope to hear from a Bedouinsheik. Bedouin Hospitality dinner, overnight at the Leonardo Hotel in BeerSheva
Day 10 – Wednesday, April 17 – Depart
After breakfast we proceed to the airport for our departure.
Shalom for now, and L’hitraot – may we meet again in the unforgettable land of Israel.