Educational Tourism

Our staff conduct seminars, tours and talks throughout the Galilee. We believe that encountering people, sites and texts is the best way to clarify the complexity of the issues. The Galilee, our ''home territory'' is a microcosm of Jewish and Israeli society. Side by side with historical sites from the Biblical, Roman, medieval and early Zionist periods live varied communities in a multicultural society. Jews, Arabs, Druze, Circassian, Beduin, religious and secular, ''new agers'' and soldiers, new immigrants and old-timers - all are represented in the Galilee. The co-existence of old and new creates thrilling educational experiences which we enjoy exploring with our students.

We have extensive experience working with groups from abroad, be it youth groups, educators or families, organizing and leading seminars of various lengths - from 1 hour to 2 weeks.

Our catalog:

Living in the Galilee today

ProgramDescriptionTimeTargetAudience
Neighbors - personal encounteran examination of the challenge of creating a Jewish, democratic state: introductory lecture, and structured discussion with Jewish and Palestinian residents of the Galilee, citizens of Israel, in their village or town.2.5 hrs8th gr.

and up,

families

The Shorashim Story - lecture/ discussiona close-up look at Jewish settlement in the Galilee today: Moshav Shorashim as a case study - history, demography, pioneering, community, pluralism, privatization, coexistence1 hrall ages
Utopia Now! - simulation

(at Shorashim)

simulating the planning and creation of a new community: teams try to reach consensus on guiding values, governance, economy, religious life, admission policy, etc.; comparison of results to the real history of Shorashim1.5 hrs;longer version availableall ages,families

Jewish history in the Galilee

ProgramDescriptionTimeTargetAudience
The Silence of Rabbi Yossi - study toura seminar/tour integrating text study with a tour of the magnificent excavations at Zippori. Key topics: living in two cultures; development of the Oral Law2 hrs10th gr.

and up

A Tale of Two CitiesA seminar/tour integrating text study, experiential activities and a tour of two impressive historical sites. Activities can include firing Roman-era catapults, drawing water from ancient cisterns, making mosaics and individual exploration. Key topics: the Great Revolt, living under Roman rule.1 day7th gr. And up, families
Lost in Safed - experiential explorationa structured tour of Safed in small groups, based on a fictional mystery plot, involving text study, visual cues, and personal encounters2.5 hrs10th gr. and up,

families

Akko gamea structured small-group navigational game in the narrow streets of the Old City of Akko, in which participants are exposed to Akko multi-layered history as well as its multicultural present2 hrs8th grade and up, families
Sites and Sources - study tours· Bet She’arim· Yodfat· Haifa· Korazim· Kinneret graveyard2 hrs10th gr.

and up

Special Activities - simulation activities at Shorashim· the Midrash Game: understand the process of Oral Law

2 hrs8th gr. and up
Lectures· the “denominations” in Judaism, past and present

· the New Jew: Zionism as a revolution in Jewish identity

· the Jewish roots of Christianity

· spiritual search in the Galilee

1.5 hrs10th gr. and up

    » Back to Program Areas

    Our participants report

    Sophie, a year course participant from Netzer in England, writes:

    I was in 'The Human Mosaic of the Galilee' which involved visiting an Arab, Druze and Jewish village near-by. In the Arab village, Madj el Krum, we went to one of the schools there and spoke to a young 22 year-old woman who was an English teacher. Before the discussion started she amazed us all by telling us she was the youngest of seventeen children! Wow and I thought I had a big family. After telling us a little bit about the school she opened the discussion to questions from the group. We talked about the split loyalty of being stuck in the middle of Israel and being fired at by other Arabs, we talked about her desire for basically one secular state, the need for open dialogue between the communities, her claim that Hezbollah were by no means a terrorist organisation and many, many other topics. Although we found difficult a lot of what she said it was amazing to be able to have such an open and honest conversation even about some things we so vastly disagreed with. After the Arab village we went to a Druze village for some lunch and a discussion with some of the teenagers roughly our age. It was fascinating the contrasting nature of the two groups affiliation with Israel. The Druze teenagers happily and proudly called themselves Israeli whereas the woman in the Arab school said that if asked she would either say she was from Palestine or just a 1948 Arab. The Druze boys also happily served in the army. It was also interesting to observe how contained their lives are. They would never consider permanently moving away from the village and if they married a non-Druze person they themselves would still be accepted but their children wouldn't be considered Druze. I also found out things I didn't realise about the Druze religion, such as it being a secret religion that all over the world only the religious and practising Druze know the intricate beliefs and practices.

    The Nesiya blog reports:

    our Israel explorers traveled to the city of Acco, where they explored Jewish and Arab relations in this mixed city, including a visit to a mosque, independent exploration of the Old City of Acco in small groups, and a workshop with an Israeli-Arab artist. Both groups were also thrilled to spend time in the afternoon relaxing and cooling off in the pool at the Acco Beach Hotel. On Thursday, K1 traveled to Dir el Asad and K2 to Majd al Krum, Arab villages near the northern city of Karmiel, where they met with local high school students for workshops, games, conversations and meals during which they explored commonalities, differences, and questions of identity and community.