JOURNEY TO ISRAEL: April 23-May 4, 2017 Rabbis Linda and Stephen Goodman Itinerary DAY ONE: Sunday night, April 23 Group flight: 10:40 PM departure from Newark Liberty Airport on United flight #90, nonstop to Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv DAY TWO: Monday, April 24 - TEL AVIV Ben Gurion Airport, 4:20 PM arrival and transfer to our hotel. Opening dinner at Liliyot, an upscale restaurant with a social justice agenda. Chef Noam Dekkers creates wonderful food, as a social worker provides supervision during an 18- month internship in cooperation with ELEM for youth at risk. High school dropouts and other young people who have had trouble finding their way are trained for jobs in the food industry. A great program, a great restaurant. Optional walk on the beach after dinner. DAY THREE: Tuesday, April 25 - TEL AVIV Independence Hall: Our adventure begins with a recreation of David Ben Gurion s declaration of statehood, May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar, 5710). Rothschild Blvd. We ll stroll down this main thoroughfare, with particular attention to the history and architecture of the area. Rabbi Meir Azari is Senior Rabbi and Executive Director of the Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism. Rabbi Azari will speak with us about the Reform Movement s presence in Tel Aviv/Jaffa, and particularly how it differs from Jerusalem. Sarona is a wonderful open-air park, with a fascinating history as a former German Templar Colony. It also boasts Israel s largest indoor culinary market. Lunch on your own. The Yitzhak Rabin Center, adjacent to Tel Aviv University in Ramat Aviv, offers an incisive presentation of the personal, political, and military life of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Na Laga at, at the port of Jaffa, is a unique dinner theater. The company consists of twelve players, all of whom are both blind and deaf. They tell their story through words and music. It is a most moving experience.
DAY FOUR: Wednesday, April 26 - THE GALILEE Pack the bus and head north. Giv'at Haviva is a community devoted to fostering understanding between Jews and Palestinians. Lydia Aisenberg, one of its leaders, will speak with us about the program at Giv at Haviva, and then walk with us through the Arab village of Wadi Ara for a glimpse of life on the other side of the Green Line. Break for lunch. Tzippori chose not to join the Jewish Revolt in 66 CE, was thus was spared by the Romans. Jewish leadership resettled there, and the city flourished with early Rabbinic activity. Tzippori was the home of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (Judah the Prince), principal redactor of the Mishnah, c. 200 CE. It became a center of Jewish life in the early Talmudic period, the locus of the Sanhedrin. Here Jews struck a balance in their relationships with the Romans. A fifth-century synagogue and home reveals gorgeous mosaic floors and walls. One of these mosaic gems is the image of a woman known only as Mona Lisa of the Galilee. The Kinneret - the Sea of Galilee - is Israel s largest fresh-water lake, and most important source of fresh drinking water. Aerial views reveal the shape of a harp, which in Hebrew is kinnor; thus the name Kinneret. Dinner is seaside at Decks, one of the best of the best grill restaurants in Israel. Overnight at a kibbutz hotel. DAY FIVE: Thursday, April 27 - THE GALILEE Breakfast at the kibbutz. A meeting with Israeli soldiers at the Lebanese Border will bring us up close and personal to one of the central realities of Israeli life. A strategic vantage point at the Syrian border will help us with perspective on the geographical realities of the region. Stop for lunch. The Mount of Beatitudes looks out over the Kinneret. It is the spot where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. The Kinneret Cemetery is a beautiful and peaceful burial ground at the shore of the Kinneret for the residents of the local kibbutz and moshav. As we bid farewell to the Kinneret, we will pause for a visit to the graves of poetess Rachel Blaustein, songstress/composer Naomi Shemer, such Zionist luminaries as Moshe Hess, Beryl Katzenelson, Nachman Syrkin, and many young people who died in the defense of Israel. Drive to Jerusalem, check into our hotel Dinner at Darna, a wonderful kosher Moroccan restaurant. A great meal, an unforgettable experience.
DAY SIX: Friday, April 28 - JERUSALEM Anat Hoffman is the Director of IRAC, the Israel Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Chair of Women of the Wall. In an early morning meeting, Anat will brief us on the fight for religious pluralism in Israel, and particularly at the Western Wall. The Old City is a city like no other. We will tour its alleys and rooftops, and experience its sights, sounds, and smells. The Kotel Hama aravi The Western Wall icon of our history, flashpoint of conflict in our present. Lunch and shopping time on your own in the Old City Explore the restored Jewish Quarter together and examine the life of the city through the ages including the rooftops, the Cardo and the Kotel overlook. Kabbalat Shabbat at Kehilat Har El, the first Reform congregation established in the State of Israel (1958). The Rabbis Goodman are members of this kehilah. We will speak with Rabbi Ada Zavidov, and then be treated to Home Hospitality for Shabbat Dinner. DAY SEVEN: Saturday, April 29 Shabbat - JERUSALEM Shabbat Morning Services Attend services at HUC, Kol Haneshamah, Har El, or simply enjoy the peace of Shabbat in Jerusalem. Lunch at Beit Shmuel, at the World Union for Progressive Judaism Conversation with Palestinian journalist Rami Nasrallah Walking Tour of the Christian Quarter, Church of the Holy Sepulcher (containing the Mount of Calvary, the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, and beautiful chapels and hallways). Shabbat Menuchah A time to rest on Shabbat Havdalah at the Montefiore Windmill will be a memorable experience against the backdrop of the Old City walls. Dinner on your own DAY EIGHT: Sunday, April 30 - JERUSALEM The Shalom Hartman Institute is a center of transformative thinking and learning in Israel. Both Rabbis Goodman have studied there since 2005, and this past summer Rabbi Linda Goodman became a Senior Rabbinic Fellow. We will be treated to some early morning study with one of the outstanding scholars of the Hartman faculty. Yad LaKashish is an exemplary senior center, supported by its gift shop, which sells items expertly crafted by the seniors. We will take a brief tour of the facility, and then have a chance to do some mitzvah shopping. Lunch at Hadassah.
The Hadassah Medical Center is one of the finest in the world, with state-of-the-art surgical facilities, research projects, and more. We will view the magnificent Chagall Windows of the Twelve Tribes of Israel in the Hadassah Chapel, take a tour of the facilities, and discuss Israeli Health Care. A drive through the Burma Road will help us to understand the heroic accomplishments of Union Temple member Col. David (Mickey) Marcus. Dinner on your own. Yom Hazikaron (Israel s Memorial Day) begins. Stand in solemn memory as the country comes to a halt for the siren tribute, remembering the thousands who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the State of Israel. DAY NINE: Monday, May 1 - Yom Hazikaron - JERUSALEM Visit the restored Jewish communities of Gush Etzion and Efrat; see firsthand what a settlement is. An audio-visual program at the Kibbutz Kfar Etzion Heritage Center tells the dramatic story of the Jewish communities that were destroyed here in 1948. Stand in solemn memory as the country comes to a halt for the siren tribute, remembering the thousands who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the State of Israel. Community leader Bob Lang will discuss the topic: Are Settlements an Obstacle to Peace? Packed lunch Tour the Israel Museum including the model of Second Temple Period Jerusalem, and the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. We will join the members of Kehilat Kol Haneshamah, the largest Reform congregation in Jerusalem, for Havdalah marking the transition from the solemnity of Yom Hazikaron to the joy of Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day). After dinner, we will join the celebration on King George Street. DAY TEN: Tuesday, May 2 - Yom Ha'atzmaut - THE JORDAN RIVER AND THE DEAD SEA Qasr El Yahud is said to be the spot at which Joshua and the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land. It is also a popular baptismal site for Christian pilgrims. Masada was King Herod s fortress by the Dead Sea, and site of the last stand of the Jewish Zealots in the Jewish Revolt against Rome, 73 CE. Over 900 committed suicide here, rather than be taken as slaves by the Romans. After lunch and shopping, we ll descend to the Dead Sea for a swim. Because of its rich mineral content, the sea is extraordinarily buoyant. Ma'aleh Adumim is a community between the Dead Sea and Jerusalem, technically beyond the Green Line. Here we will meet with an Ethiopian family. After two breathtaking vistas on Mount Scopus, it will be time for dinner, on your own.
DAY ELEVEN: Wednesday, May 3 - JERUSALEM Yad Vashem, Israel s Memorial to the Shoah Yad B'Yad is an integrated Arab-Jewish school in Jerusalem. Several years ago the school was firebombed by Jewish extremists. We ll meet with one of its directors and discuss the successes and the challenges. Machane Yehuda is Jerusalem s open air market. We will eat our way through, taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes of its stalls and alleys. The Herzl Museum presents a re-enactment of the life and mission of the father of Political Zionism, Theodor Herzl, and his vision of a Jewish State. Har Herzl is Israel s military cemetery. Here we will pay our respects at the graves of prime ministers and government leaders, fallen soldiers, and Herzl himself. Join together for dinner at Montefiore across from the Old City for our last night in Jerusalem. DAY TWELVE: Thursday, May 4 - THE NEGEV Today we will head south to Sderot whose residents have endured over 10 years of rocket attacks by the Palestinian forces that control the nearby Gaza Strip. Meet American born film maker Laura Bialis for a discussion about and screening of parts of her documentary film Rock in the Red Zone : an inside look at art and life in Sderot, a town famous for music half a mile from the Gaza strip. Lunch at Sderot s Cafe Yael, a cafe with a social conscience. At Kibbutz Nahal Oz, we will meet with Student Rabbi Yael Karie and her counterparts in the Israeli Arab community to discuss the peace-seeking partnerships that they are developing. Continue to Kibbutz Gezer to meet Rabbi Miri Gold, pioneering Rabbi of Reform Congregation Kehilat Shalom, and her husband David Leichman. After a lengthy court battle, Rabbi Gold became the first non-orthodox rabbi to be paid by the government as a rabbi. We will tour the kibbutz, visit the new synagogue building, and then have our farewell dinner at David and Miri s home, complete with David s homemade specialty ice cream (recently dubbed Leichcream ). Group flight: 11:40 PM departure from Ben Gurion International Airport on United flight #91 Arrival Friday May 5 4:20 AM arrival at Newark Liberty Airport