Join noted tour guide, author and architect, Oscar Israelowitz, on a series of wonderful fully-guided tours of Jewish New York City. Some of the tours include:

TOUR #1. The Lower East Side

With its collection of hundred-year-old synagogues, original tenements, an historic Jewish mural, "shteebl row," the last yeshiva in the neighborhood, the "Chazir Mark," the old Jewish Daily Forward Building, and lots more. This tour includes a stop at the Pickel Guys, where you can get a sour pickel directly from the barrel.

TOUR #2. First Jewish Neighborhood in America
(Battery Park--The Financial District--1654)

Stops along this exciting tour include the Jewish Plymouth Rock, Fraunces Tavern with its Jewish connection, site of North America's first synagogue. the New York Stock Exchange, Ground Zero, Castle Clinton, the Jerusalem Grove, Emma Lazarus' historic plaque, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

TOUR #3. Ellis Island.

After the ferry takes us out to the Statue of Liberty, we continue to the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration. Explore how 12 million immigrants were processed and permitted to enter the "Goldenah Medina." There is a beautiful film portraying how the immigrants from Europe left their small villages, travelled the rough Atlantic Ocean and arrived in America. We continue through three floors of exhibits in the museum.

TOUR #4. Chassidic Williamsburg

This tour takes us to a unique section in Brooklyn where a visitor will feel that he or she is in another planet. We visit the present-day shtetl of Williamsburg, where the locals dress as if they were still living in the "Old Country." We see the mansions of the Satmar Rebbe, the Great Synagogue of Williamsburg, and the oldest synagogue building in Brooklyn, built in 1876.

TOUR #5. Synagogues of New York

This tour includes stops at some of the most beautiful and historic synagogues in the city, including Temple Emanu-El, the Central Synagogue and the Spanish & Portuguese Congregation. Reservations must be made well in advance in order to gain access to these congregations. We may substitute other synagogues if some of them are not available for tours on the day of your arrival.

TOUR #6. Jewish Harlem

This fascinating neighborhood was once home to well over 160,000 Jewish people. There are remnants of their historic synagogue buildings and yeshivas. the noted Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt lived in Harlem for many years. Our tour goes through the historic and elegant brownstone townhouse section in the Mount Morris Historic District. We also see where former President Bill Clinton still has his office.

TOUR #7. Subways of New York City

This fun tour takes us underground into the subways of New York. We explore the history of its construction and visit select subway stations which portray original artwork in the form of terra-cotta bas reliefs and exquisite mosaic tiles. We also see the first subway station built below City Hall with its beautiful arched ceiling covered with Guastavino tiles and its original chandeliers. There is a Jewish connection to the first subways in New York which we will explore.

Israelowitz Tours has been conducting public and private tours for over thirty years. We can customize a tour to meet your needs and budget.
Oscar Israelowitz is also a noted author of over sixty books including his most recent "United States Jewish Travel Guide--Tenth Edition." It features do-it-yourself tours of the major cities in America. Of special interest is the section on California. There are do-it-yourself tours of the homes of the Jewish movie stars, a tour of the Jewish Gold Rush towns near San Francisco, and a list of kosher wineries (some offering tours of their facilities). There are lists of hundeds of kosher restaurants and eateries, synagogues, JCCs (Jewish Community Centers), Historic Sites and Jewish Museums, and a list of all of the mikvehs in the United States.

Please visit our website for more information at: www.israelowitzpublishing.com

LOWER EAST SIDE

This two-hour walking tour is based on Oscar Israelowitz's book, "Lower East Side Tourbook". It includes stops at the old Jewish Daily Forward Building, Seward Park's "Chazir Mark," the Educational Alliance with its Hall of Fame and Chaim Gross Gallery, Shteeble Row, the Jewish Mural at the Bialystoker Home for the Aged, the last boys' yeshiva in the neighborhood, the Eldridge Street Synagogue, Orchard Street and, of course, the Pickle Guys with its outdoor pickle barrels.

Cost: Individuals: $20/person. Group Rate: $10/person (20 people minimum) or $400 per busload.

FIRST JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD IN NEW YORK CITY
LOWER MANHATTAN-FINANCIAL DISTRICT

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: Individuals: $20/person. Group Rate: $10/person (20 people minimum) or $400 per busload. (Does not include entrance fee 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: Individuals: $20/person. Group Rate: $10/person (20 people minimum) or $400 per busload. Does not include ferry tickets.

HARBOR TOUR OF JEWISH NEW YORK CITY

Join us for a delightful 90-minute 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, Titanic Memorial, First Jewish Settlement in America, The Brooklyn Bridge, the Lower East Side, Williamsburg and much more.
Charters Available for Groups of 73 or 148 people.

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: Individuals: $20/person. Group Rate: $10/person (20 people minimum) or $400 per busload.

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 tour. Cost: $400 per busload (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: Individuals: $20/person. Group Rate: $10/person (minimum 20 people) or $400 per busload.

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 at the former home of Philip Roth and a unique elliptical temple, where Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt performed.

Cost: $400 per busload (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 (minimum 10 people)

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: $400 per busload. Fee does not include charter bus, nor entrance fee at West Point, nor donation at the Gomez House). 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.

Cost: $400/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.

JEWISH FARMERS OF NEW JERSEY

Four-hour bus tour through southern New Jersey includes stop at the Jersey Homesteads (today's Roosevelt), site of Ben Shahn's mural and experimental Bauhaus-style architecture; the Alliance Jewish cemetery (first Jewish farm community in New Jersey), Brotmanville and Norma. A special stop includes a visit to the new Museum of Woodbine Heritage. Woodbine was the first all-Jewish town in the world. Its mayor, police chief, fire chief, town council were all Jewish. Everyone spoke Yiddish.

Cost: $400 per busload. Fee does not include bus charter.

JEWISH PHILADELPHIA

This delightful 6-hour bus tour includes stops at the first Sephardic congregation in the city, Mikveh Israel (1740) and the oldest Ashkenazic congregation in the country, Rodeph Sholom (1795). Other stops include the National Museum of American Jewish History, the Liberty Bell, the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Entebbe Memorial honoring the sole martyr, Yoni Netanyahu, (Bibi's brother) who died during the heroic rescue of the Israeli hostages held in Entebbe, the Albert Einstein Medical Center with its landmark 1901 synagogue designed by the first American Jewish architect, Arnold Brunner. The trip concludes with a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright's glorious synagogue in Elkins Park.

Cost: $500 per busload Fee does not include charter bus, museum entrance, or donations at local synagogues.