High up on a strategic ridge overlooking the main thoroughfare connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem stands a massive, scar-ridden concrete fortress. This is Latrun, home to Yad LaShiryon, Israel’s official memorial site for the Armored Corps and one of the largest, most diverse collections of tanks and combat vehicles anywhere on earth. For thousands of years, whoever controlled this specific hill controlled the gateway to Jerusalem, from the biblical battles of Joshua and the M

Tucked away in the lush Refaim Valley, Ein Yael (the Living Museum) is a breath of fresh air, literally and historically. While the rest of Jerusalem focuses on the monumental and the political, Ein Yael focuses on the human. This is an active archaeological site where the Roman and Byzantine periods come to life through ancient agriculture, craftsmanship, and spring-fed gardens. For families on an Israel private tour, it is a place to get your hands dirty in the best way pos