San Diego Community Young Professionals / Grad Students - Sample Itinerary

If you are a young Jewish professional or grad student, 22-26 years old, and have never been on an organized peer program before - let your journey begin! This fantastic tour is for San Diego County young Jewish professionals or grad students to explore your way through Israel! Since everyone on the trip is from San Diego, you'll return with a whole new circle of friends and you’ll have the opportunity to visit San Diego community supported sites in Israel. The trip is sponsored by the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County and our local Taglit-Birthright Israel department and in partnership with The Israel Experience.

Spend 10 DAYS TRAVELING with Israeli peers – the Israeli participants will be full participants in your group for the entire trip.

Day 3

Travel south
Half day at Sha’ar Hanegev (P2K community)
Lunch with community
Camel rides and Bedouin Hospitality (Bedouin Tent)
Travel to Arad
Dinner

Overnight: Arad

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

Nachal David
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 and check in

Overnight: Kinneret region

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

Drive to Jerusalem
Haas Promenade: Welcome to Jerusalem! Beautiful view of the city and introduction to the holy 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 ...

"Four Faces of Israel": One woman show about diversity of the Israeli people

Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 7

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.

Mifgash begins-soldiers join group
Tour the Jewish Quarter - learn the stories of its inhabitants, then and now
The Kotel – the central, most significant site in Jewish tradition
Lunch in the Old City
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
Shopping on Ben-Yehudah Street
Preparation for Yad Vashem

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.

Group processing session
Kabbalat Shabbat and t’filot at the Kotel
Dinner
Shabbat Oneg-group fun!

Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 10

Dig for a Day – cave spelunking and digging at Beit Guvrin National Park
Tour of Jaffa and the first neighborhoods of Tel-Aviv – the story of the first town in Israel

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.

Advocacy seminar with Neil Lazarus
Evening out in Tel Aviv

Overnight: Tel Aviv

Day 11

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.

Yitzchak Rabin Square-visit the historical site where the Prime Minister was assassinated during a peace rally
Lunch and shopping time on Sheinkin St.
Mifgash ends-say goodbye to new friends
Group evaluation
Festive dinner
Travel to 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.