GUIDED TOURS of JEWISH NEW YORK & VICINITY

FIRST JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD IN NEW YORK CITY
This two-hour walking tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's book, "Jewish Heritage Trail of New York." It includes stops at the Jewish Plymouth Rock, Fraunces Tavern, site of North America's first synagogue, Federal Hall - where George Washington was sworn in as President of the United States, the New York Stock Exchange, Bowling Green, Ground Zero, Castle Clinton, Emma Lazarus' historic plaque, the Jerusalem Grove, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Cost: $20/person (minimum 10 people) or $300/group (Does not include entrance to Museum of Jewish Heritage)

ELLIS ISLAND
This three-hour guided tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's book, "Ellis Island Guide with Lower Manhattan." It includes a ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty and a tour on Ellis Island with its Museum of Immigration and Wall of Honor, with over 400,000 names. The tour includes a visit to the archaeological remains of Fort Gibson, an exciting film about how the 12 million immigrants arrived and were processed, and a stop in the Great Hall with its magnificent Guastavino vaulted ceiling and beautiful chandeliers. Cost: $20/person (minimum 10 people) or $300/group Does not include ferry tickets.

HARBOR TOUR OF JEWISH NEW YORK CITY
Join us on Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 11:00am for a delightful tour of the Jewish sites in New York harbor including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, the Liberation Monument, Castle (Kessel) Garden, Fraunces Tavern, Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Heren Gracht, First Jewish Settlement in America, the Lower East Side, Williamsburg and much more.
Tickets: Adults $25, group of 20 or more $20.
Reservations are strongly recommended.

HASSIDIC WILLIAMSBURG
This two-hour walking tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's book,"Guide to Jewish New York City." It includes visits to the Satmar Hassidim in Williamsburg. See the great synagogues (including the new 6,000-seat Satmar shul) established by each Hassidic group. See the grand mansions of the present and former Satmar Rebbes. See a glorious High Victorian Gothic Jewish temple built in 1876. Depending on the time of year when visiting, see the hundreds of succahs built on specially-designed terraces. Cost: $20/person

SYNAGOGUES OF NEW YORK
This bus tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's book "Synagogues of New York City." It includes visits to some of the prominent congregations in the city such as the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, the Central Synagogue, the Bialystoker Synagogue, the Civic Center Synagogue - which seems to float between two century-old loft buildings. Note: Some congregations allow visits only on Sundays while others only allow visits on weekdays. Three or four synagogues would be included in each field trip. Cost: $300/group (Some congregations require donations) Fee does not include charter bus.

JEWISH HARLEM
A two-hour walking tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz lecture program, "The Wandering Jews of New york City." It includes stops at the old Fire Tower in Mt. Morris Park, the beautiful brownstones built in the late 19th century which are now being restored, site of "Suicide Curve" on the old Ninth Avenue El, the Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation and the magnificent former synagogues such as Temple Israel of Harlem, Ansche Chesed and Shaare Zedek of Harlem. Cost: $20/person (minimum 10 people)
Note: Groups of 40 or more can also have an optional field trip to the Jewish Theological Seminary and Grant's Tomb. Group Rate: $300 plus $100 for JTS docent (excluding charter bus)

JEWISH NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
A four-hour bus tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's book, "Jewish New Jersey in Vintage Photographs." It starts in Liberty State Park and views of the haunting Liberation Monument. There are breathtaking vistas of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Stop at the old New Jersey Railroad Terminal-where millions of immigrants coming from Ellis Island first stepped foot on "free" American soil. The trip continues to downtown Newark and a fully guided tour of the world-class New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The bus continues to view the former flagship store of Bambergers and the old Jewish section with stops at Prince Street, site of New Jersey oldest synagogue building. On the High Street Historic District, the bus stops at the former YMHA of Newark and two magnificent former synagogues. The tour ends near the former home of Philip Roth and a unique elliptical temple, where Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt performed. Cost: $300/group (plus $3/person for the NJ Performing Arts Center tour) Fee does not include charter bus.

SUBWAYS OF NEW YORK CITY
This exciting tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's latest book, "Subways of New York City in Vintage Photographs." It is also based on the photographic exhibit which Oscar Israelowitz served as guest curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1973, "Watch the Closing Doors-Mosaics of the New York City Subways." Members of the tour travel to select subway stations in Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn and explore the glorious original art still found in todays subway stations. We will also see the first subway station built in 1904 under City Hall with its glorious Guastavino arched ceilings and chandeliers. Cost $20/person

JEWISH HUDSON VALLEY
This four-hour bus tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's book, "Welcome Back to the Catskills." It includes visits to West Point Military Academy and its beautiful Jewish Chapel. In the military cemetery are the graves of Colonel "Mickey" Marcus and his wife. Marcus was one of the creators of the Israel Defense Forces in 1948. The tour continues north along the Hudson Valley with a stop at the Gomez House, which was built by a Sephardic Jewish fur trader in the 1700s. The trip concludes at the Kedem Kosher Winery with wine tasting. Cost: $300/group (excluding donation at the Gomez House) Fee does not include charter bus. This trip is only given in the summer.

JEWISH CATSKILLS
A delightful four-hour bus tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's lecture program and book, "Welcome Back to the Catskills." It starts in the Ellenville Synagogue and a talk about the first Jewish farmers from the 1840s. The trip continues to the Delaware and Hudson Canal Museum, the oldest street in the Untied States and a talk of a Huguenot House in New Paltz. The tour concludes in a grist mill which is "taken over" by Hassidic groups after the High Holy Days to grind flour used in the production of hand-made "shmurah" matzoh. Cost: $300/group Note: This tour is only given in the summer. Fee does not include charter bus nor extrance fees to the D & H Canal Museum, the Huguenot House, nor the grist mill.