July 5-13
Day 1
• Travel Day
Day 2
• Arrivals in Israel
• Check-in to JCC Maccabi ‘Olympic village’ accommodations
• Orientation and welcome event
Day 3
• Sports Practices and Trainings
• JCC Maccabi Kabbalat Shabbat
Day 4
• JCC Maccabi Shabbat Experience
Day 5
• Sports Competition or practices
• Opening Ceremony
Day 6-9
• Sports Competition continued
• Hang Time: opportunities to participate in a variety of free-time activities with fellow JCC Maccabi teens and to meet with influential Israeli speakers, coaches, and professional athletes.
• Mifgash (encounter) experience with Israeli peers
• JCC Cares community service projects
• Large social and cultural events
• Closing Party
July 14-25
Northern Israel
From Rappelling or rafting and sport activities to the Aqua Kef inflatable water park every teen will get a taste of adventure before exploring Israel’s Northern borders. Look out into Lebanon from the summit of Mt. Bental, a dormant volcano, or hear the heroic tale of superspy Eli Cohen while taking in the view of Syria during a hike of the Golan Heights.
Continue to experience the beauty of the Galilee with a Lake Kinneret dinner cruise, visit a kibbutz, and tour and enjoy free time to explore the ancient and mystical town of Tzfat.
Tel Aviv
Explore Israel through the lens of sport. Visit Kfar Maccabiah, home of the Global Maccabi Movement, to enjoy a fun day of sport activities and interactions with leading figures in the Israeli sport world and visit the newly minted International Jewish Sport Museum. Be inspired by visits to leading social impact organizations including Israel Sport Center for the Disabled or Peres Center for Peace.
Walk in the footsteps of the nation’s pioneers as groups visit Independence Hall, the very site that in 1948 Israel’s first Prime Minster, David Ben Gurion declared the State’s independence. Take in the history of Machon Ayalon, a secret underground ammunition facility, before soaking up the beauty and history of the city of Jaffa with a stroll through the ancient port and the colorful flee market.
Get active with a Krav Maga workshop or surfing lesson in the Mediterranean and enjoy free time to relax and refresh at Tel Aviv’s world-famous beach, peruse Nahalat Binyamin artisan market or barter for souvenirs at Shuk Ha’Carmel.
Experience the party as ALL JCC Maccabi groups reunite and join thousands of other North American Jewish teens for a night of food, entertainment, and fun at the RootOne Big Tent event.
Southern Israel
A once in a lifetime experience as all 1,000 JCC Maccabi athletes reunite in the desert for an overnight Bedouin tent experience and dinner feast. An action filled adventure awaits with opportunities to camel ride, float in the Dead Sea, hike and swim under the waterfalls of Ein Gedi and experience the magic of scaling the Herodian desert fortress of Masada for sunrise.
Jerusalem
For the final four nights of this ultimate Jewish peoplehood program, all delegations will reunite in the city that is the heart and soul of the Jewish people – Jerusalem. 1,000+ teens and chaperones will stay at one hotel complex, celebrating a very special JCC Maccabi Shabbat experience including a transformative and emotional Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel, before continuing to experience all that Jerusalem has to offer.
Teens will explore thousands of years of Jewish history as they walk the streets of the Old City and rooftops of the Jewish Quarter and splash through Hezekiah’s underground aqueduct.
The group will pay their respects at Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center and Mount Herzl National Cemetery to honor Israel’s founders, leaders, and fallen soldiers.
No trip to Israel’s capital city can be complete without experiencing the vibrancy of modern Jerusalem. Teens will have free time to shop and taste their way around Machane Yehuda market and enjoy an evening on Ben Yehuda Street.