Israel Retreat
November 2027

Depart from LAX on your international flight to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. Airlines, flights, and times are subject to change without notice.

Note: All international travelers from visa-exempt countries must obtain a valid ETA-IL (Electronic Travel Authorization) before departing. A small fee may apply — visit the State of Israel visa website for details.

• Depart Los Angeles (LAX)
• International flight to Ben Gurion (TLV)
• Secure your ETA-IL before departure

Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Pass through Israel's immigration, gather your luggage, and be greeted by your Philip's House representative — look for the smiling face holding the Philip's House sign!

Transfer to David's Harp Hotel in Netanya on the Mediterranean Sea — near the spot where Jonah set out on his ill-fated adventure, where Peter saw a vision that changed history (Acts 15), and later met the Roman General Cornelius.

• Arrive Ben Gurion International Airport
• Philip's House welcome greeting
• Transfer to Netanya on the Mediterranean
• Overnight: David's Harp Hotel, Netanya

Begin at Caesarea Maritima — the dramatic Roman harbor city on the Mediterranean shore. It was home to Cornelius, the house of Philip, and the prison of Paul. Walk the ancient amphitheater and aqueducts.

Ascend Mount Carmel, where Elijah called down fire from heaven, with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean and the Armageddon valley. Then tour the old city of Nazareth with Pastor Saleem Shalosh — see the home of Mary's mother, the carpenter shop of Joseph, and the synagogue described in Luke 4.

• Caesarea Maritima — amphitheater, aqueduct & harbor ruins
• Mount Carmel — Elijah's altar, views of Armageddon
• Old Nazareth with Pastor Saleem Shalosh
• Joseph's carpenter shop & synagogue of Luke 4
• Overnight: David's Harp Hotel, Capernaum

Walk through Capernaum, the hometown of Jesus — see the synagogue where He worshipped and the ruins of Peter's mother-in-law's house where the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof. Then take a boat cruise on the very water where Jesus walked.

Explore the natural amphitheater that hosted the Sermon on the Mount. Visit Tabgha (the Primacy of Peter), where Jesus restored Peter over breakfast on the shore. Close the day with baptism renewal at Yardenit on the Jordan River, and an evening encounter with Jeff Morgan of Highway 53.

• Capernaum — synagogue & Peter's house ruins
• Boat worship on the Sea of Galilee
• Sermon on the Mount hillside (natural amphitheater)
• Jesus' prayer grotto near the Beatitudes
• Primacy of Peter at Tabgha
• Baptism renewal at Yardenit, Jordan River
• Evening: Jeff Morgan, host of Highway 53

Climb Mount Arbel, where Jesus often climbed and prayed — with panoramic views of the Sea of Galilee far below. Tour Magdala with Father Kelly or Sister Celine — a first-century synagogue and the ancient city of Mary Magdalene, with a stunning picture window overlooking the lake.

Enjoy St Peter's Fish for lunch at Migdal on the shore. Then visit Bethsaida — the home of Peter, Andrew, John, and James, confirmed in 2019 as the biblical El-Araj — and imagine Jesus feeding the 5,000 in the open fields nearby.

• Mount Arbel — climb & panoramic Galilee views
• Magdala — first-century synagogue & encounter center
• Lunch at St Peter's Fish Restaurant, Migdal
• Bethsaida — home of the apostles
• Overnight: David's Harp Hotel, Capernaum

Follow the pathway Jesus took north to Caesarea Philippi — touch the red bedrock where Peter stood, see the literal Gates of Hell carved into the cliff face, and feel the spiritual weight of the place where Jesus declared, "Upon this rock I will build my church."

Hike the rapids of Banias Falls — the thundering headwaters of the Jordan River that inspired Psalm 42. Lunch at Kibbutz Dafna. Then meet Lt. Col. Eyal Dror of the IDF — creator of the Good Neighbor Project. Close the day planting a tree at Kibbutz Snir with views of Mount Hermon.

• Caesarea Philippi — "Upon this rock I will build my church"
• Banias Falls — headwaters of the Jordan River
• Lunch at Kibbutz Dafna
• Lt. Col. Eyal Dror — IDF Good Neighbor Project
• Tree planting at Kibbutz Snir
• Overnight: David's Harp Hotel, Capernaum

Today you drive south toward Jerusalem. Along the way, visit Tel Shiloh — Israel's religious heart before Jerusalem. The Tabernacle stood here for 369 years. Through engaging technology, you can almost see Samuel and David walking by.

Then visit JH Ranch — Israel's premier outdoor leadership training site. Arrive in Jerusalem and check into the Gloria Hotel — nestled inside the ancient Old City just steps from the Jaffa Gate.

• Tel Shiloh — where the Tabernacle stood 369 years
• JH Israel Ropes Course & leadership center
• Arrival in Jerusalem
• Overnight: Gloria Hotel, Old City Jerusalem

Begin at the Garden Tomb — a realistic depiction of a first-century grave and the place where many have experienced communion as never before. Then ascend the Mount of Olives to the Rehavam Overlook for your first panoramic view of the golden Old City.

Follow the Triumphal Entry path down the slope. Enter the olive groves of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in agony the night of His arrest. Then walk the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built around Golgotha itself.

• Garden Tomb — communion at the empty grave
• Mount of Olives — Rehavam Overlook panorama
• Triumphal Entry route down the Mount
• Gethsemane — Church of All Nations & private garden
• Via Dolorosa — Stations of the Cross
• Church of the Holy Sepulcher — Golgotha

Enter the Jerusalem that Abraham and David knew in the City of David excavations. Walk through the ruins of David's palace, past walls Abraham saw, the city Solomon and the prophets knew.

Choose your adventure: Hezekiah's Wet Tunnel (bring a flashlight — the water rises to your knees) or the dry Canaanite-era tunnel. Emerge at the Pool of Siloam and trace the Jerusalem Pilgrim Road — a magnificently preserved first-century stepped street where a blind man descended, washed his eyes, and ascended with new sight.

• City of David — David's palace & ancient walls
• Hezekiah's Wet Tunnel or Dry Tunnel (your choice)
• Pool of Siloam — where the blind man received sight
• Jerusalem Pilgrim Road — the 1st-century stepped street
• Overnight: Gloria Hotel, Old City Jerusalem

Ascend to the Temple Mount — the most contested piece of real estate on earth. On the Foundation Stone, Abraham offered Isaac, David stopped a plague, Solomon prayed and fire fell, and Jesus taught in the courts. Pray at the Western Wall. Sit on the Southern Steps where Jesus taught.

Step into the Upper Room on Mount Zion, where Jesus hosted the first Communion and the disciples waited for Pentecost. Close the evening at Notre Dame — see the evidence for the burial and resurrection of Jesus, and take in the stunning Pentecost mural.

• Temple Mount — the Foundation Stone & Eastern Gate
• Western Wall — prayer time at the Wall
• Southern Steps — where Jesus taught at the Temple
• Upper Room — Last Supper & Pentecost site
• Notre Dame — Shroud of Turin exhibit & Pentecost mural
• Overnight: Gloria Hotel, Old City Jerusalem

Drive east into the Judean wilderness to Qumran — the desert monastery near the Dead Sea where the Dead Sea Scrolls were prepared and later discovered. John the Baptist was familiar with this place. See where Scripture was preserved against all odds for 2,000 years.

Continue to En Gedi, the beautiful desert oasis where King David hid from Saul, wrote Psalm 42, and sheltered in the cave beneath a waterfall. Then float effortlessly in the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea — the lowest point on earth.

• Qumran — where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written & hidden
• En Gedi — David's oasis & desert waterfall
• Dead Sea Swim — float in the saltiest water on earth
• Overnight: Gloria Hotel, Old City Jerusalem

Ponder God's plan for Israel at Yad Vashem — Jerusalem's World Holocaust Remembrance Center, honoring the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Then visit the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In the late afternoon, drive to Ashdod to join the Beit Hallel Congregation for their Shabbat Service with Pastor Israel Pochtar — a congregation that has planted 7 other churches in biblical Judah. Join them for a Shabbat Dinner — your last meal in the Holy Land. Then transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for your overnight departure.

• 9:00 AM — Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
• Dead Sea Scrolls at the Shrine of the Book
• 4:00 PM — Shabbat Dinner with Beit Hallel Congregation
• 5:30 PM — Beit Hallel Shabbat Service, Pastor Israel Pochtar
• Airport drop-off

Your flight departs just after midnight. Thanks to the time zone, you arrive home on the same day — Saturday, November 20.

You now have social media friends in Israel. A part of yourself is left in the Holy Land. You want to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and go back one day soon. Leave friends in Israel — and go home to greater influence for Jesus.

• Overnight flight returns to USA
• Arrive home — Saturday, Nov 20
• Post-trip: Philip's House alumni community
• Your story: go back and take someone with you