The OldNewLand seminar, taking place between December 3 (in Israel) and December 13th, will be led by Haim Aronovitz, Director of Melton Travel Seminars, and accompanied by Rachelle Weiss Crane, Melton Director in Dallas, TX. The seminar is open to all adults who enjoy in-depth educational travel, including all Melton students and graduates.
Seminar Dates: December 3 - 13, 2018
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, December 3
Program commences at the Carlton Hotel, Tel Aviv
Introduction to seminar
Points of Arrival: Earliest Tel Aviv and the Zionists (Field trip to Jaffa port)
Opening Dinner
Overnight: Carlton, Tel Aviv
DAY TWO: TUESDAY, December 4
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: Ramon Inn, Mitspeh Ramon
DAY THREE: WEDNESDAY, December 5
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 - Meeting with Michael Biton, Mayor, native son and community builder
Group Dinner with The Chefs of Yeruham and Summary Discussion)
Overnight: Ramon Inn, Mitspeh Ramon
DAY FOUR: THURSDAY, December 6
Taming the Southern Frontier: BG's Dream
a.m. 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: Mt. Zion Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY FIVE: FRIDAY, December 7
Likrat Shabbat Lechu Ve'Nelcha???
a.m. 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; set out for Shabbat services. Special pre-Shabbat discussion
Shabbat services (optional) and Shabbat dinner
Overnight: Mt. Zion Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY SIX: SHABBAT (Parashat Miketz)
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 6:30 p.m.
Overnight: Mt. Zion Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY SEVEN: SUNDAY, December 9
A Land of Many Voices
a.m. 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: Dan Carmel, Haifa
DAY EIGHT: MONDAY, December 10
Jews and Arabs Together… and Apart
a.m. Study session: Jews and “the Other”: The Portrayal of the Arab in Israeli Literature
Haifa: A Mixed City
Introduction; 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: Kibbutz Lavi, Galilee
DAY NINE: TUESDAY, December 11
Galilee models of “Newer Jews” - Shaping Contemporary Jewish
Self-Expression
a.m. Building an Ideal Society? A short tour of Kibbutz Lavi
Field trip: "From Beit Alfa to Nahalal" - Connecting over eighty years
(1) 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: Mt. Zion Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY TEN: WEDNESDAY, December 12
Is Jerusalem "as a city joined together?"
a.m. 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, Jewish, Moslem and Christian
Debriefing Session and Free Evening
Overnight: Mt. Zion Hotel, Jerusalem
DAY ELEVEN: THURSDAY, December 13
Pulling It All Together: Visions of Zion in Zion
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
For more information or to be notified when
travel dates and prices are available for this seminar, please contact
us.