Hanukkah Events in Nature

KKL-JNF and the Matte Yehuda Regional Council, the Tammuz Community of Beit Shemesh, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Kehillah organization, are pleased to invite you to join local residents for a Hanukah celebration in the forest. We will start with a Maccabee walk, climbing the trails of Masua Britain Forest toward Mitzpe Masua (depending on the weather). At Mitzpe Masua there will be a holiday happening for families, with arts and crafts to make ancient coins and a Hasmonean clay lamp, great games and other surprises such as complimentary doughnuts. The event will be accompanied by songs with a band of musicians courtesy of the Regional Council.

Duration 3 hours.

Families with children are invited to come and orienteer with KKL-JNF National Civil Service volunteers in Ben Shemen Forest in the footsteps of the story of the Hasmoneans. In the beginning of the event, we will get acquainted with the basic concepts of orienteering, and then each family will navigate in the area. There will be rest stops at destination points along the way, with activities for learning about the places and hearing Hanukah stories.

We will be going on an adventure outing starting at dusk and ending as night falls in the scenic Ben Shemen Forest. We will drive on the forest roads, park our cars at the endpoint, walk between the trees in the forest, hear stories about the place in the past, hear stories about trees and agricultural settlement, and conclude with chocolate fondue and herbal tea. Children age 5 and up will receive lanterns.

At the Hiking in Boots Festival, KKL-JNF National Civil Service volunteers are pleased to invite you on a winter hike in Ofer Forest between the puddles and in the spirit of the holiday. Our feet will help us get acquainted with the forest, the plants that grow in it and with the human connection to the place. At the end of the trip, there will be activity stations related to Hanukah, KKL-JNF and the natural surroundings.

The KKL-JNF tours are FREE, and advance registration is not necessary.

The Hiking in Boots Festival, the Hof Hacarmel Regional Council and KKL-JNF are pleased to invite you to a bus tour from Tel Aviv to the expanses of the Carmel mountain range for a close-up look at how the wonders of nature are being assisted by man to rehabilitate the forest after the big fire. We will commune with the memory of the victims of the Carmel disaster, see the Carmel panorama from the Sayarim Scenic Lookout commemorating Ido Shapira and hike a loop trail 2 kilometers long that is part of the Israel National Trail. The tour will conclude with Hanukah candle lighting.

The Hiking in Boots Festival, the Hof Hacarmel Regional Council and KKL-JNF are pleased to invite you to an outing on the trails of the Hof Hacarmel Forest. From the Tefahot Recreation Area, we will walk toward the Atatürk Recreation Area. On the way, we will see the breathtaking landscapes and diverse colors of the forest, and we will learn about the Israel National Trail through walking and the content.

Duration 4 hours.

Easy level.

Number of participants is limited.

A hike to the mysterious Etry antiquities from the time of Bar Kochba, where we will hear fascinating stories about things that happened there in ancient times. We will conclude with Hanukah candle lighting in the remains of a public building that may have been a synagogue in the distant past. The tour will be guided by a KKL-JNF guide.