English

Takin' it Easy Hadassah Tour to Israel
Led by Susan Lafer
October 30 - November 10, 2019

Tour Rates & Dates:

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Save $765 over the rates listed above!
Early Bird discount applied during the booking process. 
Click BOOK above to begin.  Rates are valid until July 30, 2019.

Tour Overview:

A tour of Israel at a slower pace with an emphasis on fun and culture!

INCLUDED:

4 nights Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers, Tel Aviv
2 nights Beresheet Hotel Mitzpe Ramon, Mitzpe Ramon
3 nights Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe air-conditioned bus with an English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
6 dinners, including Shabbat dinners in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
Meeting with entrepreneur, Rony Rozen
Shabbat walking tour in Neve Tzedek
Visit to Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village
Meeting with Reuma fashion designer
Dialogue with Bedouin families and community members in Rahat
Jeep tour into the Ramon Crater
Salad trail with light lunch
Visit to Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital
Geopolotical bus tour with Retired Colonel Miri Eisin
Emek Tzurim dig
Meeting with Miriam Peretz
Shabbat walking tour in the Old City
Meeting and dialogue with Khaled Abu Toameh

NOT INCLUDED:

Roundtrip airfare, taxes and fuel surcharges (subject to change until ticketed)
Border taxes or visa fees
Tips to guide, driver and dining room waiters ($20 per person, per day; pre-collected)
Meals not listed above
Items of a personal nature
Travel insurance (highly recommended)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Wednesday, October 30, 2019: DEPARTURE

• We depart the United States on our overnight flight to Israel.

Day 2: Thursday, October 31, 2019: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

• We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport and are met by an Ayelet Tours representative. Welcome home!
• We transfer to our hotel in Tel Aviv to check in and refresh.
• We set out to visit Old Jaffa for a walking tour and welcome ceremony overlooking the sea in this ancient port city.
• This evening, we enjoy a welcome dinner and orientation at a local restaurant with Hadassah friends.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 3: Friday, November 1, 2019: ISRAEL PAST TO PRESENT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with young entrepreneur, Rony Rozen, to discuss her story, as well as high-tech innovation in this start-up nation.
• Next, we visit Independence Hall, site of the signing of Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948.
• This afternoon, we visit the Rabin Center, where the spiraling exhibits lead us through the modern history of the state and broader world history through the prism of the life of one of Israel's most beloved leaders, Yitzhak Rabin.
• This afternoon, we visit Nachalat Binyamin to browse the local crafts and watch the entertainers who bring the streets of Tel Aviv to life.
• As the sun begins to set over Tel Aviv, we enjoy Shabbat dinner together at our hotel.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 4: Saturday, November 2, 2019: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Optional Shabbat services this morning at a local synagogue on own (options will be provided).
• We take a guided walk through the neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, one of the first neighborhoods built outside of Jaffa in the late 1800's.
• As Shabbat comes to an end, we join together for Havdallah on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Free evening to discover Tel Aviv and enjoy dinner on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 5: Sunday, November 3, 2019: THE MANY SIDES OF ISRAEL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we travel north and visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village, where we interact with the kids and staff.
• We discover the European style village of Zichron Yaakov and tour the Nili Spy Museum.
• This afternoon, we visit the studio of fashion designer Reuma, where we meet the designers and see their innovative styles.
• Spend the evening at leisure discovering the metropolitan city of Tel Aviv and enjoying dinner on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 6: Monday, November 4, 2019: BEDOUIN EMPOWERMENT

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• Today, we visit the Hadassah/JNF Park in the desert in Be'er Sheva.
• We gain a deeper understanding of the life of the Bedouin in the Negev during a tour of the city of Rahat, including meetings with Deputy Mayor, Dr. Amer al-Huzayl and Dr. Sarab Abu Rabia-Quieder of Ben Gurion University. We will address the challenges facing the Bedouin townships and explore the empowerment of women in Bedouin society.
• We visit Sde Boker to see David Ben Gurion's gravesite and original hut.
• We continue to Mitzpe Ramon to check into our resort and refresh.
• This evening, we enjoy dinner together at our resort.

Overnight in Mitzpe Ramon

Day 7: Tuesday, November 5, 2019: SOUTHERN ADVENTURES

• Breakfast at our resort.
• We set out on a jeep tour into the majestic Ramon Crater.
• Next, we visit the Mitzpe Ramon Visitor's Center, which combines exhibits about Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, along with information on the natural creation of the massive crater.
• This afternoon, we take it easy and relax by the pool or enjoy getting pampered at the resort's spa.
• Dinner together at our resort this evening.

Overnight in Mitzpe Ramon

Day 8: Wednesday, November 6, 2019: ESHKOL REGION

• Breakfast and check out of our resort.
• Today, we travel to the Eshkol region for a security briefing at the Command Center.
• We visit Eshkol's Protected School, an amazing fortified campus and educational center, including the opportunity to meet some of the kids and see the classrooms that double as shelters.
• Our next stop is at the “Salad Trail”, where we will participate in a unique hands-on agricultural tour, and witness how Israeli innovation is literally making the desert bloom with crops grown out of some of the most inhospitable sands imaginable. We will pick and taste fruits and vegetables straight from the kibbutz's self-picking farm, and encounter flying strawberries, tiny orange orchards, racing pigeons and herbal gardens. We enjoy a light lunch here.
• We ascend to Jerusalem, stopping atop Mt. Scopus upon arrival to say the “Shehecheyanu” as we look out over the City of Gold.
• We check into our hotel and enjoy dinner together this evening.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 9: Thursday, November 7, 2019: CUTTING-EDGE ISRAEL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Continue on a VIP visit to Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital, for an in-depth look at this cutting-edge medical facility and how it has adapted to ever-changing needs. Our visit includes meetings with leading medical doctors and researchers, all working to change the face of modern medicine.
• We set out on a geopolitical bus tour with Retired Colonel Miri Eisin, a former international media advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, and a former Israeli government spokesperson.
• Our next stop is at Emek Tzurim for a hands-on archaeological experiencing sifting through the Temple Mount rubble. New and important discoveries are made here every day!
• We enter the Old City for a stroll through the Jewish quarter, including a chance to shop in the Cardo market.
• This evening, explore Jerusalem and enjoy dinner on own. We suggest a visit to the Mamilla promenade or Ben Yehuda Street.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 10: Friday, November 8, 2019: REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Miriam Peretz, to hear about life as the mother of two fallen IDF soldiers and learn how she was able to make something good out of something terrible. Miriam has become a public speaker, teaching soldiers, bereaved families, parents of incoming IDF soldiers and Jews around the world about the importance of her sons giving their lives to defend Israel.
• At Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the Holocaust, we engage in an eye-opening experience as we view the many moving exhibitions, including the Hall of Names and the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations. We end with a memorial service at the Valley of the Communities.
• We continue to Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem's military cemetery, where we pay our respects at the gravesites of Theodore Herzl, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. We also visit the Remembrance Hall built to honor those who gave their lives fighting for Israel.
• This evening, we enjoy Kabbalat Shabbat at the Western Wall with the people of Jerusalem, followed by a festive farewell Shabbat dinner with Hadassah friends.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 11: Saturday, November 9, 2010: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Enjoy the morning at leisure to relax or attend Shabbat services on own.
• This afternoon, we return to the Old City for a walking tour, with visits to the Arab market and the Christian quarter, where we stroll along the Via Dolorosa, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• We return to our hotel to meet with Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli-Arab journalist, lecturer and documentary filmmaker, to hear about the current state of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
• As Shabbat comes to an end, we join together for Havdallah.
• We check out of our hotel and transfer to the airport for our overnight flight back to the United States.

Day 12: Sunday, November 10, 2019: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.


THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!
*itinerary subject to change