GENERAL INFORMATION






FLIGHT INFORMATION










* To pre-book a private transfer, at additional cost, for arrival or departure please contact J² Customer Care - customercare@j2adventures.com

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 | PRE-CONVENTION PROGRAMMING


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21 | THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING TOGETHER:
TRACKS TO ENGAGE WITH CRITICAL ISSUES

Please find below descriptions of the tracks and indicate your top 3 preferences.
The duration of the tracks is from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
A required minimum of 15 participants per track.

Track 1 | Israelis and Palestinians: Visit Ramallah and The Palestinian Authority

Delve into the ongoing challenge of the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians with a local guide and officials from the Palestinian Authority. Feel the vibe of the streets of Ramallah. Meet with members of grassroots organizations who are working to create better conditions for Palestinians.

* A non-Israeli passport is required.

Track 2 | Living Together: Lod as One of Israel’s Mixed Cities

Walk through this mixed Jewish-Arab city with a local resident, discussing Lod’s current social climate. Visit Lod’s community center, one of the few in Israel to serve both Jews and Arabs. Meet people affected by the riots who will share different points of view of what happened and how it is reflected in Israel’s current political situation.

Track 3 | Ultra-Orthodoxy in Israel: Beyond Black and White

Journey into the heart of the Haredi world, meeting with people to explore Orthodox society. We will challenge our stereotypes as we explore the values and lifestyle of this complex community through food, shops and art. Meet with women who are finding their place within halacha and the social climate of the Haredi world. Learn how women are fighting to gain power and autonomy in Haredi decision-making and the implications on daily life of the new political map.

* Clothes must cover knees and elbows.

Track 4 | LGBTQ+: Opening the Closet Doors of the Holy City

Jerusalem’s LGBTQ+ community is very different from the one in Tel Aviv. The Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance includes a broad spectrum of people from mixed cultures. Learn from the staff and members of Open House and other organizations about the progress and challenges of the LGBTQ+ community. Visit the landmarks and learn about key historical figures of gay history in Jerusalem.

Track 5 | Al Quds: Palestinian Life in East Jerusalem

The Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah has long been a place of strife and struggle. Gain insights into recent developments in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and visit the proposed site for the new controversial cable car project to see the issues first hand. We will gain a deeper understanding of East Jerusalem overall, looking at the ongoing challenges as well as the points of hope.

Track 6 | Economic Inequality and Food Insecurity: Creating a Just Food System

Learn about the economic gaps in Israeli society from activists who have dedicated their lives to bridging those gaps. Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the wholesale market and learn about the ongoing battle against food waste. Join in and help salvage fruit and vegetables to distribute to the needy.

* Participants need to be physically able to carry bags of fruit/vegetables.

Track 7 | Rahat: Bedouins and Civic Equality

Visit Rahat, the largest Bedouin settlement in Israel, which often also called the only Bedouin city in the world. Here you will uncover important questions such as: What has happened to Bedouin sovereignty? Why are the Bedouins considered an underclass and what are the implications? Learn about efforts to build civic equality and a shared future between Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens despite an increase in violence in the region. Talk with local residents to explore the ways in which their traditional clan and tribal life, work patterns, and gender roles are being transformed by life in a permanent "city."

* Due to the distance traveled, this track will not return to Jerusalem before 7pm. The evening is free once you return.




WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 | POETRY, CULTURE, FOOD, AND ART:
TRACKS EXPLORING ISRAEL THROUGH A CREATIVE LENS

Please find below descriptions of the tracks and indicate your top 3 preferences.
The duration of the tracks is from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

A required minimum of 15 participants per track.

Track 1 | Israel’s Love Affair with Hummus

Beginning at Machne Yehuda and ending in the Old City, visit both East and West Jerusalem in one day. Sample many different kinds of hummus and learn how it became such an important culinary staple in Israel. Engage in the political debate about hummus asking: Is it Israeli or Palestinian?

Track 2 | Academy of Hebrew Language: The World’s Premier Institution for the Hebrew Language

Visit the brand-new visitors’ center of the Academy of Hebrew Language to learn about what it means to have a language that keeps evolving. How do new words come into being? Who makes the decisions? How long does it take? Tour the surrounding sites key to the life of Eliezer Ben Yehuda. Gain a deeper understanding of how deeply Israelis are invested in their language which is only 110 years old.

Track 3 | Graffiti Tour: Jerusalem Street Art

Discover the street art of Jerusalem and what it reveals about life, ideas, and ideology in Israel’s cultural capital. We’ll get unique insight into the artists, the social and political messages that inspire them and experience how contemporary graffiti exists side-by-side with this ancient city.

* This is an outdoor walking tour for the entire afternoon.

Track 4 | Dissolving Boundaries and Activism Through Art: Jerusalem on the Seam

Discover art highlighting the complexities of Jerusalem with guides from Mekudeshet, a cultural organization that creates original art and music to reimagine the holy city as a laboratory for connection between people of all kinds. Meet artists from a variety of creative disciplines and different communities who turn the social, cultural, and political challenges of Jerusalem into fertile ground for creativity and social change.

* This track includes a lot of walking.

Track 5 | The National Library of Israel: People of the Book

The National Library of Israel is home to over five million books including the world’s largest collection of Hebrew-language and Jewish books. View special collections of rare books and maps in rooms that are not commonly open to visitors. Talk with library curatorial staff about how technology is changing the way that Israel’s literary heritage is protected and made available to all.

Track 6 | Vertigo Dance Company: Spirituality, Ecology, and Movement

Vertigo is an Israeli modern dance company that combines exhilarating movement with important social messages. Visit with dancers at their Ecological Art Village on Kibbutz Nativ HaLamed-Heh to learn about this community that lives and creates together.

Track 7 | Inspired by Nature: Putting our Thoughts into Prayer

Hike in the Jerusalem hills, revel in nature and join leading liturgist Alden Solovy as he shares his greatest passions – hiking and writing liturgy. We will spend time hiking, reflecting and writing, guided to create our own poetry and prayer.

* This will be an easy hike and sneakers are sufficient. Be ready to be out in nature and sit on the ground.

Track 8 | Follow the Book: A Pigeon and A Boy

Take a literary and historical walking tour as we explore the San Simon neighborhood in Katamon while reading from 'The Pigeon and a Boy', an award-winning novel about the importance of finding one’s way home. Uncover this unique area through the themes of home, family, and history, as woven into this tender love story. Readers know that the book begins with a fighter sharing something he saw during the battle around the San Simon monastery during the 1948 War of Independence. See how accurate the book is in its portrayal of the battleground and discover lesser-known historical spots.

* This track will be best enjoyed by being familiar with the book.





THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 | ISRAEL THROUGH THE EYES OF MARAM COLLEAGUES


Track 1 | Living 1 Kilometer from the Gaza Border: Spirituality, Resilience, Community

Visit Kibbutz Nachal Oz and Kibbutz Kfar Aza with Rabbi Yael Vurgan. Meet with local activists and learn about their creative and resilient approaches to living with the challenges of ongoing sirens and bombings. Visit the Sapir College campus and meet members of the Reform congregation in Sha'ar HaNegev to learn about their interfaith activities and peace initiatives.

Track 2 | Conversion and its Challenges

Meet with the Rabbis at Beit Daniel/Mishkenot Jaffa for an in-depth conversation about Reform conversion in Israel. Joining the conversation will be Rabbis Galia Sadan and Grisha Kotlyar who handle Reform conversion in Israel along with Australian-born advocate Nicky Maor. This trip will include a visit to the Tel Aviv mikveh and a conversation about political and feminist aspects of mikvaot in Israel.

Track 3 | Spiritual Caregiving at Tel HaShomer Hospital

Yehudit Edelman-Green is the only female Reform rabbi working in pastoral care at a public hospital in Israel. She will give a tour of the Hematology and Oncology wards and discuss the spiritual caregiving she does there. Toronto-based Rabbi Elyse Goldstein will engage people in exploring the question “what if we aren’t b’seder?” Study texts together on the temporary nature of our lives and the lives of our loved ones, and see where they touch us and move us both pastorally and personally.

Track 4 | Ethiopian Activism in Gedera and Reform Jewish Life at Kibbutz Gezer

Visit Kibbutz Gezer and its thriving Reform congregation where we will meet Ethiopian activists from Gedera to learn about their entrepreneurial ventures and achievements as well as community challenges. The trip will be led by Rabbi Myra Hovav, Rabbi Dana Sharon, and Rabbi Steve Burnstein. Lunch will be provided by the Ethiopian activist initiative of Beit Ambosa and will be followed by a short musical prayer.

Track 5 | Coexistence and Social Change in Jerusalem

Join Rabbi Oded Mazor, Rabbi Noa Mazor, Rabbi Yehoyada Amir and Rabbis for Human Rights for a geopolitical tour of Beit Safafa, an Arab section of Jerusalem, to learn about the challenges they face, everyday tension, and reasons for optimism. Enjoy an Arab lunch in Beit Safafa and then continue on to visit the Yad b’Yad Jewish-Arab elementary school, one of Israel’s seven intentionally mixed schools.

Track 6 | Sustainability and Urban Gardening

Join Rabbi Tamir Nir and Rabbi Stacey Blank for a tour of the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood, home to immigrant populations from mixed backgrounds and the school Bayit VaGan. Then visit the unique outdoor congregation, Achva BaKerem, to learn about the food they grow. Prepare an outdoor lunch together and join in prayer and song in the beautiful outdoors.

Track 7 | Sephardi and Ashkenazi Judaism: Leading to a Thriving Reform Community in Israel

Rabbi Gabby Dagan of Or Chadash was raised as a Sephardi-Mizrahi boy in a Yeshiva Gedola in Kfar HaRoeh. Rabbi Naama Daphne Kellen, also of Or Chadash, was raised in the Zionist Kibbutz movements in Mikveh Yisrael. Visit Rabbi Kellen’s kibbutz childhood home and meet its youth and then visit the Yeshiva and learn Torah from one of their most well-known Orthodox Rabbis. Discover together if this constitutes a contradiction with Reform Judaism in modern Israel or if it serves as a component of our complex identity.




FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 | TEL AVIV MARATHON & KABBALOT SHABBAT

Tel Aviv Marathon
The Tel Aviv Marathon includes both running and walking (at a fast pace) options for distances of a marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K.
The duration of the Tel Aviv Marathon is from 6:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
Alternative programming will be provided for those not participating in the marathon.

In order to participate, you must register and pay separately for the marathon through the official website: Tel Aviv Marathon Registration (Click here - link will open in new window).
* Please note: fill in your passport # as your ID# in the registration form.

Registration deadline:
- Standard registration - January 21, 2023
- Late registration - February 18, 2023
Kick-off for each track/distance are (Kick-off times):
  • Marathon - 7:00
  • Half-Marathon - 6:20 or 6:30
  • 10K - 8:45, 9:00, 9:15, or 9:30
  • 5K - 10:30 or 10:45
Transfer for each track from the hotel to the kick-off point and back to the hotel will be provided.
Runners kits will be picked up and available for collection at the David Intercontinental in Tel Aviv prior to the marathon. Please choose 'Azrieli Mall, Tel-Aviv' during registration for distribution of Runner Kit.

Tel Aviv Marathon updates and cancellation policy



Kabbalot Shabbat
Please find below the Kabbalot Shabbat options and indicate your top 3 preferences.
Each option has a maximum capacity of 25 participants.

Option 1 | Hod Ha Sharon with Rabbi Efrat Rotem

Option 2 | Kehilat Achvat Yisrael, Rishon L'Zion with Rabbi Tamara Shifrin

Option 3 | Kehilat Ha Lev, Tel Aviv with Rabbi Rodrigo Baumworcel

Option 4 | T’filat Ha’adam, Cesaria with Rabbi Ayala Samuels

Option 5 | Shoham with Rabbi Rinat Zsfania

Option 6 | Kehillat Yuval, Gedera with Rabbi Dana Sharon

Option 7 | Kehillat Kodesh v’Hol, Holon with Rabbi Galit Cohen Kedem

Option 8 | Or Chadash, Haifa with Rabbi Gabby Dagan & Rabbi Naama Daphne Kellen

Option 9 | Leo Baeck Center, Haifa with Rabbi Oshrat Morag & Rabbi Ariella Graetz

Option 10 | Congregation Yozma, Modi'in with Rabbi Nir Barkin

Option 11 | Kehilat Ra'anan Beit Samueli, Ra'anana with Rabbi Chen Ben Or Tsfoni