Rising From the Ashes
Poland and Israel Tour
Led by Aileen Bormel
November 8-18, 2020


Tour Rates & Dates:

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Group flights roundtrip Newark now available, including flight from Warsaw to Tel Aviv.  Choose Tour Package w/ Airfare during booking process.


Tour Overview:



INCLUDED ON THIS DEEPLY MOVING JOURNEY:

1 night Hotel Bristol, Warsaw (full tour only)
2 nights Holiday Inn, Krakow (full tour only)
4 nights Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
1 night Sheraton Hotel, Tel Aviv
All touring and sightseeing in a deluxe air-conditioned vehicle with expert English-speaking guides
Breakfast daily
Welcome dinner in Warsaw (vegetarian; full tour only)
Dinner at the Krakow JCC with community members (full tour only)
Welcome dinner in Jerusalem
Private Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem
Machane Yehuda chef tour and dinner
Farewell dinner with "Women Cook"
Druze lunch and home hospitality
Meeting with Holocaust survivor, Rena Quint
Dialogue with Jerusalem Post correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh
Meeting a member of the Knesset
Visit to Taglit Innovation Center
Transfer if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees as per itinerary
Porterage
Bottled water on the bus
Whisper headsets

NOT INCLUDED:

Roundtrip airfare, departure taxes and fuel surcharges (group flights coming soon)
Internal flight from Krakow to Tel Aviv
Border taxes or visa fees
Tips to guides, drivers and dining room waiters ($22 per person, per day; pre-collected)
Meals not listed above
Items of a personal nature
Travel insurance (highly recommended)



Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Sunday, November 8, 2020: DEPARTURE

• We depart the United States on our overnight flights to Poland.

Day 2: Monday, November 9, 2020: WELCOME TO POLAND!

• We arrive in Warsaw and are met and assisted by an Ayelet Tours representative.
• This afternoon, we explore the POLIN Museum (The Museum of the History of the Polish Jews). The Hebrew word Polin means either Poland or "rest here" in English and is related to a legend of the arrival of the first Jews in Poland. The museum sits on the former site of the Warsaw Ghetto and features a multi-media narrative exhibition about the vibrant Jewish community that flourished in Poland for a thousand years.
• We check into our hotel with time to refresh, followed by a welcome dinner (vegetarian) together this evening.

Overnight in Warsaw

Day 3: Tuesday, November 10, 2020: JEWISH WARSAW

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We begin our day with a tour of Warsaw's Jewish sites. We start in the former Warsaw Ghetto, followed by the Jewish Resistance Bunker at Mila 18 and the Stawski Street buildings, where the SS had their headquarters. We also visit the Umschlagplatz, where thousands of Warsaw Jews were gathered for final transport to Treblinka, and end at the Gesia cemetery.
• We board our train to Krakow this afternoon.
• Upon arrival, we meet with Jonathan Ornstein, the Executive Director of the Krakow JCC, to hear about Jewish life in Krakow today and enjoy dinner with members of the community.
• We check into our hotel later this evening.

Overnight in Krakow

Day 4: Wednesday, November 11, 2020: KRAKOW & AUSCHWITZ

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit the Little Museum at the Drugstore, then pass by Schindler's Factory and drive across the bridge past Plaszow, where we will visit tomorrow.
• We continue to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the infamous Nazi concentration camps, where many Jews and other perished in WWII. Here, we see the museum and pay tribute to the many victims.
• We return to Krakow for time to reflect, followed by an evening at leisure and dinner on own.

*Note: Those on the Israel only tour will depart from the United States this evening.
Overnight in Krakow

Day 5: Thursday, November 12, 2020: KRAKOW TO TEL AVIV

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we visit the former site of the Plaszow Concentration Camp constructed on the grounds of two Jewish cemeteries in a suburb of Krakow. The camp was populated by Jewish prisoners when the Krakow ghetto was liquidated in March 1943. A large and imposing memorial stands on a hillside marking the site.
• Time permitting, we stop to see the famous Wawel Castle, once home to the kings of Poland and now one of the country's premier art museums.
• We transfer to the airport for our flight to Israel. Upon arrival, we are met by our local Ayelet Tours representative. Those on the Israel only tour will arrive and meet us at the airport.
• We ascend to Jerusalem, stopping atop Mt. Scopus to say the “Shehecheyanu” as we look out over the City of Gold for the first time together.
• We check into our hotel and refresh before our welcome dinner this evening.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 6: Friday, November 13, 2020: WE REMEMBER

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Rena Quint, Holocaust survivor and author, to hear her story of survival.
• Next, we tour Yad Vashem, the national memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Here, we explore some of the newly found materials relating to places, people, and events connected to the Holocaust, including:
o Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations
o Exhibit of children's drawings
o Children's memorial
• We complete our visit at Yad Vashem with a group memorial service at the Valley of the Lost Communities.
• Enjoy time at leisure to explore Jerusalem on own.
• As the sun begins to set, we join together to welcome Shabbat at the Kotel with the people of Jerusalem, followed by a private Shabbat dinner at our hotel.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Saturday, November 14, 2020: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we set out on a walking tour to the Mt. Zion Hotel to see the Cable Car Museum used to secretly transport supplies for residents and defenders of the Old City and commemorating Israeli ingenuity during the War of Independence.
• Atop Mt. Zion, we take in the panoramic view of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, then walk to the bottom to visit the Dormition Abbey.
• We return to our hotel for Havdallah, marking the end of Shabbat and the beginning of a new week.
• Early this evening, we meet with Jerusalem Post Palestinian Affairs correspondent, Khaled Abu Toameh, for a lecture entitled “A Snapshot of Palestinian Society”.
• Dinner on own tonight.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 8: Sunday, November 15, 2020: DISCOVERING JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital for a tour of the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower, featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region. We meet with staff and patients and take an in-depth look at this cutting-edge medical facility and how it has adapted to ever-changing needs.
• Next, we visit the Knesset, Israel's parliament building, and meet a member of the Knesset to hear about the current state of affairs in Israeli politics.
• We continue to Ir David, the City of David to view the old and new excavations, followed by a viewing of the 3D movie about the history of ancient Jerusalem.
• We go underground in the Old City for a behind the scenes tour of the Western Wall tunnels, where we discover the archaeological wonders that once remained untouched for centuries, including some of the newest excavations.
• Tonight, a chef accompanies us to the famed Machane Yehuda for a sensual immersion, engaging with the vibrant colors, smells and flavors that are found in this bustling marketplace. We wander through the pyramids of spices, bright-colored exotic vegetables, nuts, olives, and delicious halva creations. Our chef will introduce us to the most characteristic ingredients of the local cuisine and to the Israeli food habits, while we prepare dinner together with our purchases.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 9: Monday, November 16, 2020: DIGGING INTO ISRAEL

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• Today, we visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village, where we interact with the kids and staff and visit the village, including their working farm and winery.
• Next, we visit Ein Hod, an artist's village located at the foot of Mt. Carmel, where we meet with one of the artist residents in their gallery.
• We continue to the Druze village of Daliyat el Carmel, where we enjoy lunch and home hospitality as we learn about their unique culture and lifestyle.
• We travel to Haifa and drive to the top of Mt. Carmel to take in the panoramic views overlooking the beautiful Bahai Gardens.
• We drive south along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea, the former Roman capital of the area, to view the ancient theater and the aqueduct.
• We reach Tel Aviv and check into our hotel, followed by an evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 10: Tuesday, November 17, 2020: HIGH-TECH ISRAEL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we meet with Rony Rozen, founder and CEO of the app company PoccaDot, and current employee at Google, to hear her story “From Manhattan to Tel Aviv”.
• We stroll through the Neve Tzedek neighborhood to see the artistic graffiti painted on the walls and buildings of the community.
• Next, we follow Independence Trail for a walking tour through the Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood, where the city was originally developed.
• We continue to the cutting-edge Taglit Innovation Center to catch a glimpse of Israel's high-tech advances in the fields of science, medicine, security and space in the interactive exhibition, followed by a meeting with one of Israel's up and coming entrepreneurs.
• Our next stop is at the Agam Museum to view the abstract artworks described as a “visual symphony” of images based on Jewish-Kabbalistic iconography.
• This evening, we check out of our hotel and enjoy a festive special farewell dinner prepared by “Women Cook” who come from different culinary traditions; Moroccan, Tunisian, Ethiopian and many more. This initiative was created to empower women and give them an opportunity to be economically independent and preserve their rich cultural traditions.
• After dinner, we transfer to the airport for our overnight flights back to the United States.

Day 11: Wednesday, November 18, 2020: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.



THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!
*itinerary subject to change