West Jerusalem Tour 

This tour is designed to introduce you to life in West Jerusalem, cover the history of the city in modern times, the intricacies of Israeli culture, and visit several neighborhoods that cover much of the mosaic of Israeli Jewish society, from the ultra-orthodox, to the secular.

For the overwhelming majority of its many thousand year history, Jerusalem was only the small city inside the walls. Only around 1860 were the first houses built outside its walls and within a generation, the city had more than doubled in size, with a new modern city built along the Jaffa Road, catering to new European immigrants, to the city's old elites and to the influx of tourists, pilgrims and adventurers that was made possible with the advent of steamships, paved roads and the railroad.


* In order to not offend the sensibilities of the residents, please wear modest dress - men and women - covered to the neck, to the elbows and below the knees. For ladies, skirts below the knee are preferable, otherwise pants (trousers ) are acceptable. Your cooperation is appreciated.

You'll pass through the Musrara neighborhoodm which was an Arab community until 1948, after which a large population of 'Sephardi' Moroccan Jews settled there in confiscated homes. Today there is a mixed population of ultra-orthodox and Middle Eastern Jews, and a growing population of artists and bohemians.

The nearby Ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea She'arim is a large closed community of pious Jews who dress differently than most Israelis, and shun normal contact with the largely secular Israeli society and the outside world in general. You'll learn about the intricacies of their culture, and see a little about how they live.

Walking along Jaffa Road and the neighboring Street of the Prophets, the tour explores the first monuments, businesses and historical events that shaped modern Jerusalem,. You'll see some of the beautiful and historic sites like the Ethiopian Church and the Ticho house, hidden within today's bustling down town and tells the story of a city that went in two generations from medieval to cosmopolitan to a city divided by new and violent national lines.

Lunch will be in the bustling Machane Yehuda market where a cross-section of Israelis can be seen shopping. It is the largest outdoor market in West Jerusalem.

After lunch, you'll hop on the tram to Mount Herzl. Theodore Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, was originally buried in Austria and his bones were brought here after the founding of the state and placed at the center of what would become the national memorial site. The plaza around Herzl's tomb is the site of the annual ceremonies of  which begins in somber remembrance and continues with parades and fire works for independence day.

Around the plaza is  an ever-growing military cemetery and the tombs of Israel's political leaders, including the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The tour explores the heritage of Herzl, Rabin and other Israeli leaders as well as the ways the state chooses to commemorate its leaders and those who died in the war.

From here, we will walk down the hill to the other part of the memorial – the Yad Vashem holocaust museum. Here, we will tour the impressive historical museum and visit the famous Children's Memorial and explore the links between the tragic history of European Jewry, the founding of the state of Israel and the violence and displacement of the 1948 war.

Looking at the ways Israel chooses to tell its history, and at the things it chooses to leave unsaid, is a powerful way of learning about national ethos and the way that history is constructed by ideology.

The tour ends after the visit to Yad Vashem. You can take the tram back to the center of Jerusalem - about a 20-minute ride, or take a taxi.