Sample itinerary for members of the U.S Armed Forces
Day 1- Departure
Depart JFK Airport to Israel
Day 2- Welcome to Israel!
Ben Gurion Airport
Evening arrival in Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv. Meet and be welcomed by a Lipkin Tours representative responsible for your tour of Israel. Your guide and driver will take you to your Galilee Hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 3- Golan Heights
Mt Bental
After breakfast, we start our journey with a visit to a former Syrian outpost overlooking the sea of Galilee.
We then continue with a visit to Mt. Bental to scan the current Israeli-Syrian border. Then we will meet Brig.Gen. Effie Eitam, a resident of the Golan, who will talk to us about his military service and the importance of the Golan
Heights to Israel's security. Then on to Katzrin, Golan's main city. Afterwards we continue to Mt. Hermon, Israel's highest mountain overlooking Damascus and the border with Lebanon. We will meet infantry and intelligence soldiers serving on the mountain and learn about their army service. Our next stop is Oz 77, a center explaining a famous battle in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. We then return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 4- Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee
We take a break from earthly matters and drive to a special area in Israel. The Sea of Galilee is rich in memories of the three years of Jesus' ministry around its shores. We begin this day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to visit the ruins of Capernaum which in
Jesus' time was a flourishing border town and was called
"his own city" because of the frequency with which Jesus visited it and the mighty works he did there. We stop for a while on the Mount of Beatitudes, the scene of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew. 5). We continue to the Jesus Boat Museum. Before returning to our hotel we shall have the opportunity to stop at a baptismal site on the banks of the River Jordan. We then continue to Samaria for dinner and overnight.
Day 5- Samaria
Mt. Eibal and Mt. Gerizim
Samaria is Israel's heartland. Many biblical stories occurred in this region. We begin the day with a lookout from the "Three Seas" outpost overlooking the mountains of Jordan in the East and Mt. Eibal and Mt. Gerizim in the West. We then continue to the Samariaregional command of the IDF to meet Colonel Itzik Barwho will talk to us about the security situation
since the time of the second Intifada (Terror attacks) of
September 2000. We continue with a visit to Mt. Gerizim, mountain of blessing, overlooking Nablus-Shechem. Then on to Tel Shilo, the site where the Tabernacle stood from Joshua to Prophet Samuel's time. Then a short drive south to Ofra, one of the first Jewish settlements in Samaria. We return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 6- Mt. of Olives - Old City of Jerusalem
Temple Mount
After breakfast we start our tour in Jerusalem with a drive to the top of the Mt. of Olives, from which Jesus ascended to Heaven after his resurrection. From the top of the Mount there is a magnificent view over all of ancient and modern Jerusalem, the center of the biblicalworld. We visit the holy shrines on the
Mount and walk on down the "Palm Sunday Road" visiting the Chapel of Dominus Flevit (Jesus wept) en route to the Garden of Gethsamane (time for prayer) and the Church of All Nations where Jesus prayed on the night of his betrayal (Lk. 22:40-46). Next we visit the "City of David" archeological museum. After lunch we visit the last standing remnant of the ancient Temple at the Western (Wailing) Wall and visit some of the exciting archeological sites in and around the Old City. We end this memorable day of our tour of Israel with a visit to the Temple Institute before returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 7- Masada - Dead Sea
Floating in the Dead Sea
After breakfast we drive to Kedar to hear the world renowned lecturer Avi Lipkin's security and political assessments on Middle East issues. We then continue to Masada. Ascent by cable car for an extensive tour of the site which was the scene of the last Jewish resistance against the Romans in the year 73 AD. Then you will have plenty of time at the shores of the
Dead Sea and have an opportunity to float in mineral rich waters (Dead Sea SPA). We continue south along the Jordan river parallel to Israel's longest border with Jordan en route to Eilat, for dinner and overnight.
Day 8- Eilat
Hazakia lookout
Eilat is Israel's most southern city and is located close to the borders of Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. we start the day with a lookout from the Hazakia observation point looking over the Sinai peninsula where we will meet Major General Tal Ruso who will explain the current challenges along the
southern borders of Israel (terror and illegal immigration). We then continue to Eilat's Navy base and meet the base commander who will speak to us about the Israeli Navy and current naval threats. We shall board a boat and sail in the Eilat bay close to the Jordanian border for sunset. Dinner and overnight.
Day 9- Negev Desert and Gaza
Ramon Air Force base
After breakfast we leave Eilat on our way to the Ramon Air Force base located near Machtesh Ramon the world's largest geological crater. After a short lookout of the crater, we shall enter the base and meet the base commander who will talk to us about Israel's most powerful branch, the air force. We then continue to the Chan Ha Shayarot tentfor a camel ride
and a Bedouin lunch followed by a meeting with a Bedouin tracker who will tell us about the work of the Israeli trackers along the borders of Israel. Our next stop is the city of Sderot where we start with a lookout to Gaza which is controlled by the Hamas, a Muslim militant group. Then we will meet with residents of Sderot and hear them talk about the day to day life under the Hamas threat. Dinner and overnight in Ashkelon.
Day 10- Modern Jerusalem
The Knesset
After breakfast we drive to Jerusalem and visit the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust followed by a visit to the nearby army cemetery at Mt. Herzl. We pass by the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Then on to ancient Jaffa (New Testament Joppa) where the Apostle Peter had a vision, while sitting on the
rooftop of the House of Simon the Tanner, and he received God's command to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 11- Wednesday-Departure
Tel Aviv Beach
After breakfast we take our leave from Jerusalem and check in for our homebound flight at Ben Gurion Airport.
