JEWISH AMSTERDAM

_{We work with experienced guides, who are all Jewish and the subject of our tour is a soul matter to them. Batya and Meron ten Brink have been licensed tour guides in Israel for the past 30 years. Since the situation in Israel does not enable them anymore to make a living of tourism, they moved to Amsterdam and made Jewish Amsterdam their speciality. They both worked in Israel with their private car and are well known all over Israel in the world of tourism. They speak English, Hebrew, Dutch, French and German.}

_{Our guides speak English, Dutch and Hebrew.}

 _{1) Walk through the Jewish history of Amsterdam.}

_{Our walk starts at the heart of the Jewish history in Amsterdam, the Waterloo Plein. First you enter the City Hall and hear the history of the area. Then you will see the monument for the Jewish resistance fighters, walk through the Jodenbreestraat, pass the House of Rembrandt on your way to the Uilenburger synagogue. You will pass one of the most beautiful renovated factory buildings in Holland, the former diamond factory. The diamond industry is at  the heart of jewish history of Amsterdam.}

_{Our walk takes us to the Portuguese synagoge for an extended visit. (not on saturday)}

_{You will view from the outside the the biggest complex of synagogues in Europe,  which today houses the Jewish Historical Museum.}

_{The history of the Jews in Amsterdam is a very sad and painful history. We will stand at the Auschwitz Memorial, in memory of the six million Jews that were murdered during the Second World War. Almost 70000 of these Jews came from Amsterdam. You will visit the better neighbourhood, called the “Plantage”,  in which 50% of the Amsterdam Jews lived until 1942. Our walk will end at the Hollandse Schouwburg. In this former theatre, the Jews of Amsterdam were gathered by the Nazi-Germans and sent from here to the concentration camps. Today, a Memorial and Museum stand at this site.}

 _{Our basic walk through the Jewish history of Amsterdam takes appr. 3 hours.}

_{Special group rates for min. 15 pax.}

 _{2) The Portugese Synagogue.}

 Visit this impressive complex, which has been built in 1674 and has almost not been changed since then. Hear about the rich history of the Sepharedi Jews of Amsterdam. After you have watched an interesting movie you will be taken on a walk through the huge complex of the synagogue and will hear and see all the details of this fabulous building and its history. Then we will take you to the much smaller winter synagogue. You may finish your visit at the synagogue shop.

3) Bar Mitzvah Tour

See optionals.

_{It is possible to extend our program. Have a look at the optionals down below.  We will be happy to give you all the information you may need.}

_Optionals:

_{Bar-Mitzvah Tour}

_{Looking for a special Bar Mitzvah celebration? Make a choice out of our program or call us for more information.}

_{Our Cantor.}

_{At your request our professional cantor will perform for you in one of the synagogues that you will visit.}

_{The Reformed Synagogue.}

_{The Reformed Synagogue is happy to open its gates for you. You may want to listen to a lecture about the Reformed Jews in Holland.}

 _{The Russian synagogue.}

_{This synagogue is active since 1880, hidden behind a common house door. The interior has a special atmosphere. Services are held every shabbat.  A visit for feinschmeckers.}

_{The Anne Frank House.}

_{You may want to visit the world famous Anne Frank House. This is an important period of Jewish history. A visit takes at least 2 hours. The site is on the western side of the city and it may take some time to get there.}

Kosher Lunch

_{We offer you a kosher lunch, including gefillte fish, chicken soup with meatballs, egg- and tuna-salad and challah bread. Finally we offer you coffee or tea with the special jewish gingercake.}

_{Kosher Dinner.}

_{A visit to the Jewish history of Amsterdam goes well with a nice kosher dinner.}

_{We can offer you several menus at different locations.}

_{A kosher kitchen with a kosher dinner. (max. 10 pax)}

_{You enter the house of a Jewish religious family. The kitchen is strictly kosher. Experience an excellent way of cooking. As a family you may enjoy your 5-course meal. You may have lunch at this place as well.}

_Concert.

_{It will be great to relax after your day of Jewish Amsterdam, listening to a special concert of Jewish music at a special location. We offer you various programs from different musicians.}

Jewish Historical Museum

_{We did not put this museum in our program as it takes a long time to visit. It is certainly worth a visit. We will be pleased to arrange a guided tour for you in this museum.}

_{A classical boat round trip through the canals of Amsterdam. ( 1 hr. + 15 minutes)}

_{After a long walk it will be nice to relax on a luxurious boat and view this lovely city from your chair.}

Jewish Heritage Tours