Jewish/Zionist Sites
Donna Gracia Museum, Tiberias
An image of Dona Gracia appears on an Israeli stamp.
500 years ago Dona Gracia was a Jewish woman, born in Portugal to a Jewish family who had been forced to convert to Christianity. She remains a model of commitment to one’s heritage in the face of danger. She was able to utilize her family’s great personal wealth for the benefit of her community.
When her husband died in 1536 she inherited his family’s banking and business interests. She moved to Antwerp and was able to relocate many Jews from the dangers of Portugal and the Spanish Inquisition, to the Ottoman Empire. In Europe a time-honored Jewish tradition was the bankrolling of empires. Gracia was able to leverage her position and wealth to gain concessions on behalf of her community from the Ottoman Empire. Despite her wealth Gracia was arrested and spent two years in prison in Italy. Upon her escape she traveled to Istanbul to meet the Sultan, where she paid for property in the Holy Land, determined to redeem the land for Jewish settlement.
Grave of Maimonides and other Sages, Tiberias
The tomb of the great Jewish sage and physician Maimonides (Rambam) is the best known of Jewish tombs in the holy city of Tiberias but it is by no means the only one. Tiberias is also the site of the great second century sage Rabbi Akive, and his wife Rachel, and the miracle worker Rabbi Meir Baal Haness. It is customary among followers of Kaballah (Jewish Mysticism) to go to the sages graves at night and pray there.
Israeli Air Force Museum (Hatzerim)
If you’re an aircraft enthusiast, specifically military aircraft, you must make the trip to the Israeli Air Force Museum during your stay in Israel. An hour and a half from Jerusalem and a few minutes less from Tel Aviv, the museum displays both Israeli and enemy aircraft by the dozens including the two mainstays of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), the F-16 and the F-15
Meah Shearim
Demographics are very clear, This is the future of the Jewish people. This is Israel’s greatest challenge, beyond its relations with its surrounding states and neighbors.
Arbel National Park
Get away on a spectacular romantic hike on the Arbel cliff, overlooking the Sea of Galilee almost 400 meters below you. Here you’ll meet serious hikers doing the 1000 kilometer long Israel Trail. The views are excellent. Look north-east and see Mt. Hermon, Israel’s northern-most border. The Golan beckons you from across the Sea of Galilee and Egyptian-built pilgrim boats float serenely below on the lake. To the north the peaks of the Upper Galilee stand out, with the mystical city of Safed clearly visible amongst the hills.
Lachish
“And inasmuch as my lord sent to me concerning the matter of Bet Harapid, there is no one there. And as for Semakyahu, Semayahu took him and brought him up to the city. And your servant is not sending him there any[more -], but when morning comes round [-]. And may (my lord) be apprised that we are watching for the fire signals of Lachish according to all the signs which my lord has given, because we cannot see Azeqah.
Lachish Letter #4 found at Lachish describing the fall of Azeqah which was, apart from Lachish itself, the last fortress protecting Jerusalem from the Assyrian onslaught
Sde Boker, Ben Gurion’s Home and Gravesite
Sde Boker represents the unfinished dream of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, to populate and develop the Negev Desert (50% of Israel’s territory) by the Jewish people’s as a”vital element of our renaissance in Israel.” Equidistant between the southern vacation port of Eilat and cosmopolitan Tel Aviv in the center of the country, Sde Boker grabbed Ben Gurion’s attention one day as he was driven past the tiny kibbutz. He admired the pioneering spirit of the young farmers there and asked, after he retired the first time from the Premiership, to be made a member. He was granted his wish but his membership was hotly contested and only passed by one vote! Ben Gurion and his wife Paula are buried at Sde Boker, overlooking the Nahal Tsin nature reserve.
Megiddo
Megiddo is the preeminent archaeological site in Israel by virtue of the sheer quantity of civilizations unearthed bere by excavators. Although the site was last inhabited during the period of Alexander the Great in the 4th century before the commone era it still bears witness to pivotal battles in ancient history due to its strategic location along the Via Maris, the ancient highway connecting Egypt and Mesopotamia, and running through the Land of Israel.
Megiddo is the original name, in Hebrew, for the Greek Armageddon, the place, according to Revelations 16;16 where the final battle between g0od and evil will occur, ushering in a thousand years of peace and the Messhiah. Highlights here include the Israelite gate, a cultic site used for thousands of years by successive civilizations and the outstanding water tunnel, a source of life for the town’s inhabitants during times of enemy siege.
Naboth’s Vineyard
“Have you murdered and also taken possession?”
Kings 1 21:18
Baniyas/Caesarea Philippi
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church.…“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”.
Matthew Chapter 16
Caesarea Philippi later came to be known as Baniyas, an Arabic corruption of the Greek word Panias, a place named after the Greek God Pan who was worshiped here over 2,000 years ago. Today we celebrate the place for two reasons: it’s life giving waters, a source of the Jordan River, and the place where Saint Peter comes to prominence in the Gospels, declaring that Jesus was the Christ.