Summary Itinerary

Sunday, April 29, 2007
DEPARTURE
Flight from Detroit to Chicago, and Chicago to Warsaw. Overnight: Flight

Monday, April 30, 2007
WARSAW: THE CAPITAL OF POLISH JEWRY
Arrive in Warsaw. Guided visit through the Warsaw Ghetto. Program at the Umschlagplatz, site of the deportation of the Warsaw Jewish community to Treblinka. Visit the Okapova Cemetery, a testament to the thriving Jewish community of Warsaw. Check into the hotel for rest and relaxation. Dinner at a Warsaw restaurant, followed by processing of first day. Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel, Warsaw

Tuesday, May 1, 2007
LUBLIN: THE GLORY OF POLISH JEWRY & MAJDANEK: THE MECHANISM OF DEATH
Check out of the hotel and depart Warsaw. Travel to Lublin. Visit Yeshivat Chachme Lublin, one of the great centers of Jewish learning in the pre-war years. Guided visit through the Majdanek Death Camp, concluding with a memorial ceremony. Depart Majdanek and drive to Krakow, with dinner en route. Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel, Krakow

Wednesday, May 2, 2007
KRAKOW: A SYMBOL OF JEWISH LIFE & AUSCHWITZ: THE SYMBOL OF JEWISH DESTRUCTION
Tour the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, including visits to the Altshul, Rema Synagogue, Rema Cemetery, “Pharmacy” gateway to the Ghetto, the Temple, and the Oskar Schindler factory. Depart Krakow and travel to Auschwitz. Visit the Osvinzem Jewish Center, located on the site of one of the many pre-Holocaust synagogues. Guided walk through the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp/death camp complex, concluding with a memorial service in Birkenau. Return to Krakow. Dinner on your own. Overnight: Radisson SAS Hotel, Krakow

Thursday, May 3, 2007
TREBLINKA & DEPARTURE FOR ISRAEL
Check out of the hotel and depart. Visit the town of Kielce, site of the first post-Holocaust pogrom OR stop at the town of Sidlowitz, once a thriving Jewish community. Arrive at the Treblinka Death Camp and tour the site. Travel to Warsaw. Dinner at a restaurant near Warsaw. Depart Warsaw on overnight flight to Tel Aviv. Overnight: Flight

Friday, May 4, 2007
ARRIVAL IN ISRAEL
Early arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport. Stop at dawn at the “Scrolls of Fire” depicting the Jewish people’s determination throughout the ages, located in the Judean Hills. Stop at the Haas Promenade to say the traditional shehechiyanu blessing. Check into the hotel followed by breakfast and time to rest. Visit the Machaneh Yehuda open air market as residents prepare for Shabbat. Pre-Shabbat visit to the Kotel (Western Wall). Candle lighting. Kabbalat Shabbat services. Shabbat dinner at the hotel. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Shabbat, May 5, 2007
SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM
Shabbat services followed by Shabbat lunch at the hotel. Guided walk through the streets of Jerusalem using the writings of Israel’s Nobel laureate in literature, S. Y. Agnon as a guide. Free afternoon. Havdalah overlooking the Old City. Dinner on your own in Jerusalem. Lag Ba’Omer night tour of Jerusalem. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, May 6, 2007
SEARCHING FOR ROOTS
Dialogue with Holocaust scholar, Rachel Korazim. Guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex. Guided visit through new sites in and around the Old City of Jerusalem including the City of David and the Davidson Park at the Southern Wall Excavations. Evening and dinner at leisure. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Monday, May 7, 2007
TRADITION & SPIRITUALITY
Check out of the hotel and depart. Guided visit and text study in Zippori. Guided visit and Druze style lunch in Peki’in. Visit Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artists’ colony. Sunset jeep tour of the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights with gourmet dinner in the field. Check into the Nature Hotel. Overnight: Nature Hotel, Kibbutz Hagoshrim, Upper Galilee

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
NATURE & SECURITY
Check out of the hotel and depart. Visit Kiriat Sh’moneh for an insight into the effects of the 2006 war. Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve. Explore Israel's security situation on the Golan Heights. Drive along the Trans-Israel Highway for a close up view of the “Security Fence.” Arrive in Tel Aviv. Optional visit to the Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall. Check into the hotel. Evening and dinner at leisure. Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A GLIMPSE AT CONTEMPORARY ISRAEL
‘Israeli Society @ 2007’, with scholar Paul Liptz. Visit to Independence Hall. Stop at Rabin Square, named after the slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Walking tour through Neve Zedek. Rest of the afternoon at leisure. Late check out of the hotel. Festive farewell dinner. Check in for overnight flight to Newark. Overnight: Flight

Thursday, May 10, 2007
DEPARTURE
Flight from Newark to Detroit.