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The OldNewLand: Herzl's Dream Revisited Seminar, taking place in Israel, will be led by Haim Aronovitz, Director of Melton Travel Seminars. The seminar is open to adults who enjoy in-depth Jewish educational travel, including all Melton students and graduates.
We are so pleased that you are interested in travelling with Melton! As you may know, Melton provides the educational content for its seminars, but is not a travel agency. Gil Travel Agency (“Gil”) is the travel logistics provider for this seminar and is responsible for the collection of all deposits and other fees. Because Melton does not collect any travel deposits or fees, it is not responsible for any financial loss associated with a cancellation of this seminar for reasons beyond Melton’s control, including COVID.
We encourage you to read Gil’s Travel Protection Recommendation thoroughly, advising that you purchase comprehensive travel insurance that covers both “cancellation for any reason” and for “COVID-related” reasons. Even where your destination does not presently restrict travel due to COVID, we still recommend you purchase a policy with such coverage.
Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to travelling and learning with you.
If you would like to be notified when registration for this seminar opens, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The Melton Travel Team
Itinerary
NOTE: The seminar starts in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon (DAY ONE) and ends in Jerusalem on the following Thursday (DAY ELEVEN). The last day includes dinner, but ends in time for late-night flights out of Israel.
DAY ONE: MONDAY
Program commences at our hotel in Tel Aviv (in the case of a group flight a transfer will be provided from the airport).
Introduction to seminar
Points of Arrival: Earliest Tel Aviv and the Zionists (Field trip to Jaffa port)
Opening Dinner
Overnight: Tel Aviv
DAY TWO: TUESDAY
a.m.
Tel(s) of Spring: 100 Years On… and 3800 Years Back…
The View From Above (Tel Aviv from the hotel roof)
Study session: The Place of the City in Zionist Thought
Field trip to southern Tel Aviv: The New Invisibles and Social Responsibility: Foreign Workers and Other Challenges to Israeli Society
Lunch at leisure
p.m. Leave Greater Tel Aviv for Negev
Deep Are the Wells of the Past (Field trip to Tel Beer Sheva)
Travel to Mitspeh Ramon
Group dinner at hotel and debriefing session
Overnight: Mitspeh Ramon
DAY THREE: WEDNESDAY
a.m.
Of Cosmic Beginnings & Visionaries (Day commences before dawn!!)
Desert Encounters (Pre-dawn overlooking the Ramon Crater; study session)
Breakfast at the hotel and rest of morning free
Lunch at leisure
p.m.
At Ben Gurion's Sde Boker home: BG's Vision of the Negev & Israeli Society
Yeruham: Redeveloping Development Towns - Tour of Yeruham and study with educators from Atid Bamidbar center
Group Dinner with The Chefs of Yeruham and Summary Discussion
Overnight: Mitspeh Ramon
DAY FOUR: THURSDAY
a.m.
Conquering the Southern Frontier: BG's Dream – Visit The Institute for Desert Studies, Midreshet Sde Boker
Facing the Challenge: Taming the Desert… or Adapting to it?
Brief stop at BG's graveside overlooking Nahal Zin
Lunch at leisure at Ben Gurion University Campus in Beer Sheva
p.m.
Bedouin Education: The Challenges of Integration in Contemporary Israeli Society (Visit a school and discussion OR Meet with Students at Ben Gurion University)
Proceed to Jerusalem; Check in and group dinner
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY FIVE: FRIDAY
a.m.
Likrat Shabbat Lechu Ve'Nelcha
Shabbat Shalom? Jews vs. Jews in Jerusalem and Israel
(Study session; Self-guided field trip exploring Haredi neighborhoods)
(Optional) Exploration of Machaneh Yehuda, Jerusalem's fresh produce market and neighborhood
Rest of the afternoon free
Erev Shabbat
Meet in the lobby; special pre-Shabbat discussion
Shabbat services (optional) and Shabbat dinner
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY SIX: SHABBAT
a.m.
Free time (list of synagogues provided)
Noon: Parashat Hashavua study session followed by lunch and afternoon rest
p.m.
Neighborhood walk: Exploring Komemiyut
Snacks and discussion: On Jerusalem, Jews and Shabbat
Havdalah; Free evening from 5:45 p.m.
Overnight: Haifa
DAY SEVEN: SUNDAY
a.m.
A Land of Many Voices
The Battle to Build a Nation: Field visit to Ayalon Institute, Nes Tsiyona, OR Palmach Museum, Ramat Aviv
Travel North along the Coastal Road
Lunch at leisure in Zichron Yaakov
p.m.
Ein Hod vs. Ayn Houd: The Art of Symbols (Tour of the village; study session)
Travel to hotel in Haifa
Dinner at the hotel and debriefing session
Overnight: Haifa
DAY EIGHT: MONDAY
a.m.
Jews and Arabs Together… and Apart
Study session: Jews and “the Other”: The Portrayal of the Arab in Israeli Literature
Haifa: A Mixed City
Introduction at Beit Hagefen
Meeting with Haifa activist and educator and Field Trip in Wadi Nisnas
Lunch at leisure
What Role Does the IDF Fulfill in Building the New Israel? Meet with IDF soldiers or with special pre-IDF Mechina program
Group Dinner
Overnight: Haifa
DAY NINE: TUESDAY
a.m.
In the Footsteps of Herzl: Crossing "The Valley"
Building an Ideal Society? An Encounter at Kibbutz Beit Alfa
Field trip: "From Beit Alfa to Nahalal" - Connecting over eighty years
(1) "Not In My House!!" - The Beit Alfa Synagogue at Kibbutz Heftsiba
(2) Mt. Gilboa - Site and Text in context: The Deaths of Saul and Jonathan
Break for lunch
p.m.
(3) Field trip to Nahalal cemetery: Whatever Happened to “The Blue Mountain”?
Dinner en route to Jerusalem
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY TEN: WEDNESDAY
a.m.
Is Jerusalem "as a city joined together"?
Study session: Palestine and Israel in Mirror Verses
Jerusalem - The View Along the Seam (Field trip)
Group Lunch
p.m.
Voices in Dialog: An Encounter with Jerusalemites
Debriefing Session and Free Evening
Overnight: Jerusalem
DAY ELEVEN: THURSDAY
a.m.
The Whole Megilla - What Vision of Zion Does The Declaration of Independence Represent? (Study session in Liberty Bell Garden)
Justice in Jerusalem: Visit to the Supreme Court of Israel
Visit The Hebrew University on Mount Scopus and meet with leading scholar
p.m.
Lunch at leisure and free time in city center
Summary Session: The Old-New Homeland: Modern Israel and the Jewish People
Festive Farewell Dinner (1 group transfer is offered to Ben Gurion Airport for departing flights).
Note: Itinerary subject to change. Museum visits and personal shopping time may be disrupted due to unforeseen circumstances or the many religious, state and local holidays observed in the destinations being visited.