Day 1 May 25-26, Monday/Tuesday (Never really slept so it counts as one long day!)

Most of us met at Briarwood on Monday AM and drove to Atlanta. A few folks met us there. Half of the 60 person team flew Luftansa while the other thirty flew Air France. We all arrived in Tel Aviv in the late afternoon of Tuesday May 26, 2015 and met our Guide, Deena & Bus Driver, Avi (diminutive of Abraham) before heading out to Old Jaffa and on to Netanya for the night.

Deena's fact of the day: kosher... Even the glue on Israeli stamps is kosher Many things are the same as my 2009 trip but one amazing improvement is the Whisper Headphones that allow you to hear your guide as you walk around a site or in the middle of a crowd without having to strain to understand.

Ben Gurion Tel Aviv Airport is actually located in the city of Lydda/Lud which is where Tabitha/Dorcas lived when Peter prayed to restore her. The State of Israel is comparable to size of New Jersey or you could fit the State of Israel 27 times in the State of California. Tel Aviv-Yafa was established in 1909. It is the second most populous city in Israel, behind Jerusalem. Tel Aviv is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, covering 20 square miles. Tel Aviv has the second-largest economy in the Middle East after Dubai, and one is of the most expensive city in the world. The Old New Land is a utopian novel published by Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, in 1902. Outlining Herzl's vision for a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, Altneuland became one of Zionism's establishing texts This text is the origin of the name Tel Aviv Tel: "old mound" Aviv: New "spring" (implies new life) from Ezekiel's prophecy of the dry bones…

Ezekiel 37:21-22 " then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall no longer be two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms."

Five reasons to see OLD JAFFA 1. Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.” 2. It was also the home of Tabitha (Dorcas) whom Peter raised and “this became know all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord” (Acts 9:32-43). 3. And Peter was staying there at the home of Simon the Tanner when Cornelius, the God-fearing centurion, sent for him to come to Caesarea Maritima (Acts 10:1-8). 4. Jaffa was port used to import materials for the first temple. 2 Chronicles 2:16 ”And we will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you in rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.” 5. Jaffa was the same port used for 2nd temple Ezra 3:7 “So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.”

*Text never says Philip came to Joppa but he preached up the coast and settled in Caesarea so it seems very likely.

Among the city streets of old Jaffa is a hidden work of Ran Morin's known as the Floating Orange Tree. Finished in 1993, this is a small orange tree that is elevated off of the ground by a large earthenware jug hung by metal chains from the walls of houses nearby. The tree is growing out of the pitcher, trying to break it. Morin sought to emphasize the increasing world of separation between man and nature, as "creatures that grow in containers."

Thoughts about the Hanging tree: Biblical comparison of humanity to trees.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:3

• Grows in the Stone: Growth stunted need room to grow beyond

• Hanging above the ground. Need to put down roots for a firm foundation

At about 1300 BC the Hittite empire from Asia Minor pushed south into Syria and Canaan, threatening the Egyptians who controlled these land. The Egyptians tried to block the Hittites and engaged in a a series of battles. This threat increased the importance of Jaffa.

The climax of the Hittite-Egyptian wars came in the battle of Kedesh in Syria (1274BC) during the reign of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. The treaty of Kedesh, which is the earliest documented peace agreement, finally brought peace to the region. Archaeological evidence found in the excavations of Jaffa, as well as other Egyptian documents, are dated to the reign of Ramses II (1279–1213 BC). The lintels of the gate, bearing the titles of Ramses II, were unearthed in Jaffa.

Excavations are like a multi-layer cake. Tel: Not a natural mound but location of previous civilization

The Gate of Faith: A large statue, made of Galilee stone, was sculpted by the sculptor Daniel Kafri of Jerusalem between the years 1973-1975. The statue stands at the top of the Peak Park in Old Jaffa. The statue, of two 4 meter tall pillars upon which rests a stone, also 4 meters in length, resembles a gate. The sculpted gate is the gate of entry to the Land of Israel, and represents the promise of the land to the Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. On the two pillars appear the three Patriarchs – who received the promise – and the top stone signifies the beginning of that promise's realization via the capture of Jericho and the Land of Israel by Joshua.

The first pillar recounts the tale of the binding of Isaac. This is an extraordinary portrayal of the binding – Abraham is seen kneeling on the ram, and holding up his son Isaac. Isaac lies with his face, resembling Abraham’s, turned upward. The second pillar depicts Jacob’s dream, where the land was promised to his offspring. Jacob rests on the land and the stone is under his head. Above him are two angels, one ascending and one descending, facing opposite directions, and the rhythm of the wings creates an association with a ladder. The top beam represents the realization and depicts the capture of Jericho. The priests surround the city of Jericho, holding horns and are seen carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

The Inheritance for Dan was originally in the Jaffa area on the coast but they were run out by the Philistines. “The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. 41 And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir- shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene- berak, Gath- rimmon, 46 and Me- jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa. 47 When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans —these cities with their villages.” Joshua 19:40-48

1799: Napoleon conquered the entire coastline up to acre. NETANYA: Spent First Night in Netanya at the Seasons by the Sea Boutique Hotel

Netanya is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. Its 8.7 miles of beaches have made the city a very popular tourist resort. A significant percentage of the city’s population consists of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, France, and Ethiopia, and the city is home to a notably large population of Anglo-speaking immigrants from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.