Orange County Community Young Professionals/Grad Students - Sample Itinerary

Go to Israel the OC Way!

This fantastic tour is specifically for Orange County-area young professionals and students so you'll fly from Los Angeles to explore your way through Israel! And, everyone on the trip is from the OC so you'll return with a whole new circle of friends!

The trip is sponsored by Jewish Federation Orange County and our local Taglit-Birthright Israel department and in partnership with The Israel Experience.

Highlights include...

Visits to all of Israel's major sites: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, a complete Bedouin experience (including a camel ride and a night in a Bedouin tent), Masada and a float (literally) in the Dead Sea.

• Hiking in the Golan Heights and through desert canyons, updates on current political events in Israel and much more!
• "Mifgash" (encounter) - An opportunity to spend 10 DAYS TRAVELING with Israeli peers to learn first-hand about what it's like to live in Israel.
• Experienced and fully accredited Israeli tour guides, top-quality informal educators and facilitators, and dynamic North American staff.

Day 3

Dig for a Day – cave spelunking and digging at Beit Guvrin National Park
Travel south
David Ben Gurion's Desert Home – Visit the home of the first prime minister of the State of Israel, learn of his story, his leadership and his special connection to the Negev.
Ein Avdat Canyon – desert hike through one of the most spectacular canyons and oases in the region
Camel Rides
Bedouin Hospitality
Preparation for Masada – group activity

Overnight: Bedouin Tent

Day 4

Early ascent to Masada – enjoy the sunrise (if weather permits!) and tour the site that has a unique story of faith and survival and that has become a central part of Israeli culture and Jewish legacy

Just a ten-minute drive from Ein Gedi is the hill known as Massada, where Jews made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom some two millennia ago. In 66 CE, a small band of Jews fled to Massada to escape the Roman Army, which had occupied Jerusalem. For the next few years, the Romans attempted to capture Massada, in order to enslave the Jews on top of the hill. Finally, in 73 CE, it became clear that the Romans would reach the top and the Jews would be captured and enslaved. Deciding that it was better to die free than to live as slaves, 960 of the 967 Jews on Massada committed suicide. For most of the last two millennia, Massada's exact location has remained a mystery. Finally, in the mid-1960's, archaeologist Yigael Yadin unearthed the ruins of the ancient fortress

Swim in the Dead Sea – careful…no dunking!

Down to about 130 feet (40 meters), the seawater comprises about 300 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater. That's about ten times the salinity of the oceans.

Travel north via Jordan Valley road
Check into base and rest
Free Evening and Dinner in Tiberias

Overnight: Kinneret

Day 6

Tsfat – tour of the old city, ancient synagogues and artists' galleries

According to tradition, Tzefat (Safed) was founded in the year 70 of the Common Era. The city has since come to be considered one of the four holiest cities in Judaism, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Tiberias

Co-existence in the Galilee workshop
Travel to Jerusalem
Check into hotel and rest
New Years Party in Jerusalem!

Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 7

Ramparts Walk – walk along the walls of the Old City

Jerusalem's history stretches back about 5,000 years. About 2500 BC, the Canaanites inhabited the city. Later, Jerusalem became a Jebusite citadel. When DAVID captured the city (c.1000 BC), the Jebusites were absorbed into the Jewish people. David made Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom, and SOLOMON built the first Temple
If I forget you Jerusalem ...

Mt. Zion – learn of the centrality of the city to the three faiths – Christianity, Islam and Judaism
City of David - explore the first Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem, when King David chose Jerusalem as his capital, forever linking the city with the story of the Jewish people

Inside the City of David is the area which the archaeologists denoted with the letter ''G.'' It was probably the nerve center of the ancient city for many years: the administrative, municipal, and governmental center, with the royal residence possibly nearby.

Tour the Jewish Quarter - learn the stories of its inhabitants, then and now

A tour of the Western Wall Tunnels is a fascinating, unforgettable journey through time. The archaeology of the site brings to life everything from Jerusalem's glory during the time of Herod to the Jewish people's longing for Jerusalem throughout the generations.

The Kotel – the central, most significant site in Jewish tradition
Return to hotel and rest
Dinner at hotel
Preparation for Yad Vashem – group activity led by staff

Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 8

Yad Vashem – visit the National Memorial for the Victims and Martyrs of the Holocaust

Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, is the Jewish people's memorial to the murdered Six Million and symbolizes the ongoing confrontation with the rupture engendered by the Holocaust. Containing the world's largest repository of information on the Holocaust, Yad Vashem is a leader in Shoah education, commemoration, research and documentation.

Mt. Herzl – the tombs of the leaders of the nation and the military cemetery tell the story of the struggles for Jewish independence from the first days of Zionism to today

Israel's national cemetery is also Jerusalem's military cemetery, where soldiers of the past and present are buried. Mt. Hertzl is the burial place of many dignitaries and prominent figures of the Jewish people such as Theodore Hertzl, Yitzchak Rabin, Channa Sennesh and Yoni Netanyahu.

Machane Yehudah Market – join Jerusalemites as they prepare for Shabbat, buying produce and sharing stories in one of the country's most bustling and colorful markets (buy goodies for group Oneg Shabbat
Prepare for Shabbat
Kabbalat Shabbat – at the Kotel
Shabbat Dinner
Oneg Shabbat – group fun!

Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 10

Travel to P2K community in Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon
Meet with local representative and youth club
Participate in volunteer project & community service
Travel to Tel-Aviv
Hall of Independence – visit the site of the declaration of Israel's independence, led by David Ben Gurion on the historical eve of May 14th, 1948

On Friday, May 15, 1948 David Ben Gurion proclaimed Israel's independence in the Declaration Hall. Because of the historical importance of the event the hall was restored as it was at the time with the help of witnesses and pictures. Around the declaration hall there is a permanent exhibition showing the historical background of the establishment of the State.

Dialogue in the Dark – unique cultural experience in the Na Laga'at Theatre of the Blind in Jaffa

Jaffa has always been the entry port to the ancient land of Israel and is even today, full of the traditional sights and sounds which have always characterized it: beautiful stone buildings, narrow winding alleys, the fishermen's port, the artists' quarter, cafes, restaurants and shops.

Overnight: Tel-Aviv

Day 11

Tour of Jaffa and the first neighborhoods of Tel-Aviv – the story of the first town in Israel

Neve tsedek the first quarter build in tel-Aviv
The settlement in the area of modern Southern Tel Aviv (neighborhoods of Neve-Shalom and Neve-Tsedek) was started in the 1880s as a substitute for the rather expensive Arab neighborhoods of Jaffa. However the city of Tel Aviv itself was established only in 1909. It quickly grew to become the center of Israeli urban life, and it remains one up until today. In 1950 Tel Aviv and Jaffa were united in a single municipality - Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Free time in Tel-Aviv
Meet with guest speaker – How do I return to Israel? What Next?
Neot Kedumim – the Biblical Nature Reserve in Israel: summary program and festive meal
Program evaluation with group coordinator
Depart for the airport

*This Taglit-Birthright Israel gift includes the roundtrip airfare from LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) to Tel Aviv. Participants are responsible for the cost of transportation to and from LAX. The Taglit-Birthright Israel gift also covers hotel, transportation, most meals and other associated land costs in Israel. Gratuities, personal purchases and travel medical insurance are not included.