Pioneers
The pioneers (chalutzim) were the late-19th and early-20th-century Jewish immigrants who established the agricultural communities of pre-state Israel. Discussed here as part of the Sharon Plain’s founding-era history.
10 articles
10 articles
Settlement of the Jordan Valley
A day through the Jordan Valley and the southern Sea of Galilee: the Harod Spring, the Roman bridge and hydroelectric ruins at Old Gesher and Naharayim, the Kinneret Courtyard and Rachel the Poet, Degania, the Motor House and the Kinneret Cemetery.
Settlement of the Jezreel Valley
A field trip across the Jezreel Valley tracing the early-Zionist settlement of the area: Tel Yoqneam, the Valley Railway museum, the Templer villages of Bethlehem of Galilee and Waldheim, the Nahalal cemetery, Merhavia and Sejera.
Campus Eilat Day One: Northern Arava and Ovda Valley
Day one of Campus Eilat: heading south through the northern Arava and into the Ovda valley, taking in Ein Hatzeva, the Peace Route lookouts, Shacharut, the Leopards Temple and the Kasui sand dunes.
Settlement of the Negev in the Modern Period
A field trip through the north-western Negev and Gaza Envelope: water and security at Nir Am, the Black Arrow memorial, the RAF and ANZAC memorials in the Beeri Forest, the Maon Synagogue mosaic, Mitzpe Gvulot, the Nachal Besor bridge and Kibbutz Ruchama.
Zichron Yaakov and surroundings
A field trip from Zichron Yaakov and the First Aliyah pioneers to Baron de Rothschild's mausoleum at Ramat Hanadiv, the Etzel and Roman ruins at Shuni, the Mei Kedem aqueduct and the Atlit detention camp.
Campus Upper Galilee day three: Eastern Upper Galilee
Our campus moves to the Eastern Upper Galilee, taking in Roman ruins at Tel Kedesh, battle sites at Tel Chai and the Koach Fortress, the Tanur waterfall, a view into Lebanon from Metulla and the vast tel of Hazor.
Campus Upper Galilee day one: Western Upper Galilee
The first day of our three-day campus in the Upper Galilee: an arab cemetery at Kfar Yasif, a crusader sugar refinery, the Adamit and Goren parks, the grottoes at Rosh Hanikra, and two memorials to war-of-independence operations.
Haifa
A day in Haifa: the Bahai Gardens spilling down Mount Carmel, the Ahmadiyya mosque, Stella Maris and the cave of Elijah, the German Colony, and a hike in Nachal Siach to round off.
Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi on the western shore of the Dead Sea: a hike up the David stream past plunge pools and a Chalcolithic temple, a Byzantine synagogue with a cryptic curse, the date palm groves, the Dead Sea sinkholes and a final stop at the kibbutz botanical gardens.
The Sharon Plain
A day on the Sharon coastal plain, off the regular tourist trail: viewpoints at Tzur Natan, an Ottoman tomb on a Samaritan synagogue, the Crusader ruins of Kakun, a soft-shelled turtle hike along Nachal Alexander, the Cheftzi-ba farm, and the cliff-top archaeology of Apollonia.
If you are going to Israel, you would be mad not to give him a call.
Amol Rajan, BBC presenter and broadcaster
Having been on trips in Israel with seven different tour guides, Samuel stood above all the rest.
Seasoned Israel traveller
Samuel is one part walking encyclopedia, one part storyteller, one part stand-up comedian.
Berkeley Haas Business School student