One People, Many Faces

Day 1, Thursday - Arrival
Land in Ben Gurion airport
Opening Ceremony and picnic lunch at Hirbet Tzura (mountain range above Beit Guvrin with beautiful view of the coastal plains and Beit Guvrin area)
Drive south and check in to Sde Boker field school
Evening activity: Program outline, rules and regulations

Day 2, Friday - 'This is where it all began…the desert"
Hike in Wadi Chavarim and Ein Avdat Canyon - the desert landscape as the setting of the first days of the Jewish people
Ben Gurion's tomb - learning about Ben Gurion through his vision of the Negev and the challenge he saw in it
Return to rooms and prepare for Shabbat
Kabbalat Shabbat on the cliffs of the wilderness of Zin
Oneg Shabbat

Day 3, Shabbat - "Shabbat in the desert, building our community"
Tfilot (can go to local synagogue or do on own)
Group discussion - The group as a community (what are our challenges as a group on a trip like this? How can we build a community that supports its members? Can we do in one weekend what the Jewish people did for 40 years walking through the Sinai?)
Lunch and rest time
Walking tour to the statues of Ezra Orion (Sde-Zin).
Dinner
Havdala
Pack bus (leave overnight and day packs only)

Day 4, Sunday - "Rebels on the road to Jerusalem…"
(Very) early wake up, drive to Massada
Climb Massada at sunrise and tour of the site
Breakfast at Massada Youth Hostel
Swim in the Dead Sea
Drive to Jerusalem via Ein Gedi
Mt. Scopus lookout - Welcome to Jerusalem!
Dinner in Jerusalem hotel, check in and rest
The Changing Map of Israel program - an interactive group program to familiarize the participants with the map of Israel and the Mid-East
Accommodations in Jerusalem hotel

Day 5, Monday - "The stones and stories of Jerusalem"
Visit southern excavations, Jewish quarter and Kotel
Explore Machane Yehudah market (buy products for picnic lunch)
Drive to the Sataf springs and prepare picnic lunch together
Return to hotel, rest
Dinner at hotel
Preparation for Mifgash
Accommodations in Jerusalem hotel

Day 6, Tuesday - "Same but different - mifgash!"
Meet Israeli youth (who join the program for 5 days)
Icebreakers and expectations
'Dig for a day" - explore the caves and archeological secrets of Beit Guvrin
Drive north to Kibbutz Guest House on the shores of the Kinneret
Evening program: "Dyadic Encounters" (personal conversations between Israelis and Americans)
Accommodations in Kibbutz Guest House

Day 7, Wednesday - "The different faces of the Galilee"
Tour of the cobbled streets and colorful synagogues of Tsafed (lunch in Tsafed)
Meet Hal Applebaum at Har Chalutz - An American Jew who decided to make the Galil his home
Tour of Dir El Assad and Druze dinner
Return to accommodations at Kibbutz Guest House

Day 8, Thursday - "Exploring the Golan Heights"
Tour of Talmudic village in Katzrin
Mt. Bental and Gilabon hike
Jeep tour of the lower Golan cliffs
Relaxing evening at Hamat Gader hot springs
Return to accommodations at Kibbutz Guest House

Day 9, Friday - 'Return to Jerusalem for Shabbat"
Tour of Acco
Drive to Jerusalem
Prepare for Shabbat, Kabbalat Shabbat, Oneg Shabbat Accomodations at Rabin Youth Hostel, Jerusalem

Day 10, Shabbat - "Jerusalem and Israel today"
Tfilot
Walk to Menorah and Knesset (View from outside)
Lunch and rest
Mifgashim - what have we learned?
Havdala
Goodbye party - Israelis depart
Accommodations at Rabin Youth Hostel, Jerusalem

Day 11, Sunday - "Tel Aviv - past and present"
View of Tel Aviv from Azrieli Tower
Hall of Independence
Tour of the old city of Jaffa and the flea market
Pinat Shorashim - visit and festive Biblical dinner
Return to Jerusalem. Accommodations at Rabin Youth Hostel.

Day 12, Monday - "Lehitraot but not goodbye!"
Last minute shopping time in Jerusalem (Ben Yehudah/Malcha Mall)
Haas Promenade - lookout towards Jerusalem and final ceremony.
Transfer to airport.