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Celebration Across the Nation:
A Yom HaAtzmaut Mission
Led by Aileen Bormel
May 6-17, 2019

Tour Rates & Dates:

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Tour Overview:

Join the celebration as Israel marks 71 years since her founding!

INCLUDED:

6 nights Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
2 nights Kibbutz Hagoshrim Guesthouse, Upper Galilee
1 night Carlton Hotel Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe air conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
6 dinners, including Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem
3 lunches
Tree planting
Emek Tzurim dig
Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebrations
Meeting with Miriam Peretz
Shabbat walking tour in the Old City
Meeting and dialogue with Khaled Abu Toameh
Tour of Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital
Meeting with a member of the Knesset
Shuk bites at Machane Yehuda
Hummus making competition
Jeep tour of the Golan Heights
Druze home hospitality (included in lunches above)
Tour at Kibbutz Malkia
Visit to Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village
Taglit Innovation Center visit
Transfer upon arrival and departure with main group
Entrance fees
Porterage

NOT INCLUDED:

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

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Monday, May 6, 2019: DEPARTURE

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

Day 2: Tuesday, May 7, 2019: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

• We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, where we are assisted by an Ayelet Tours representative. Welcome home!
• Our tour begins at the biblical landscape reserve, Neot Kedumim. Here, we plant trees, connecting us physically and spiritually to the land of Israel.
• We ascend to Jerusalem. Upon our arrival, we stop atop Mt. Scopus to say the “Shehecheyanu” as we take in the panoramic view of the City of Gold for the first time.
• We check into our hotel, and after time to refresh, we enjoy an early welcome dinner together.
• We join the people of Israel at the Western Wall for the opening of Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day, including a ceremony featuring the President of Israel.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 3: Wednesday, May 8, 2019: YOM HAZIKARON

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit Latrun, Israel's outdoor armored corp museum, for a memorial service in honor of Yom Hazikaron.
• Next, we return to Jerusalem and visit Emek Tzurim to take part in a sifting project digging through the Temple Mount rubble. New and important finds are made here every day!
• We continue to Ir David, the City of David, where we wander through the carefully preserved archaeological excavations dating back to the time of King David.
• Tonight, we enjoy a festive holiday dinner party at a local restaurant, then join the people of Jerusalem to celebrate in the streets as Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, begins.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 4: Thursday, May 9, 2019: YOM HA'ATZMAUT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit Ammunition Hill, the official museum symbolizing the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem. Its new multimedia film helps visitors better understand the events and battles of 1967.
• We enter the Old City for a tour of the Western Wall tunnels, where we discover the archaeological wonders that once remained untouched for centuries.
• While in the Old City, we stroll through the Jewish quarter.
• This afternoon, we enjoy a barbeque lunch to celebrate in traditional Israeli style.
• Spend the evening at leisure and enjoy dinner on own.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 5: Friday, May 10, 2019: JERUSALEM WE REMEMBER

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Miriam Peretz, to hear about her 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 new Remembrance Hall built to honor those who gave their lives fighting for Israel.
• This evening, we welcome Shabbat at the Western Wall with the people of Jerusalem, followed by Shabbat dinner at our hotel.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 6: Saturday, May 11, 2019: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Spend the morning at leisure attending Shabbat services on own or relaxing.
• This afternoon, we set out on a walking tour of the Old City, including visits to the Arab shuk and the Christian quarter, where we stroll along the Via Dolorosa and end at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• As Shabbat comes to an end, we join together for Havdallah.
• This evening, we meet with Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli-Arab journalist, lecturer and documentary filmmaker, to hear about the current state of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
• Dinner on own this evening.
• Optional visit to the Tower of David for the spectacular Sound and Light show (weather permitting).

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Sunday, May 12, 2019: HADASSAH AND JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin our day with a visit to Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital, where we tour the Mother and Child Pavilion. We get an inside look at the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower, featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region, and also visit the synagogue featuring the famed Chagall windows.
• Next, we meet with a member of the Knesset to hear about the current state of affairs in Israeli politics.
• We continue to the renovated Israel Museum, where we visit the famous Shrine of the Book, home to the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the miniature scale model of Jerusalem from the time of the Second Temple.
• We end our day on a joyful note, with a visit to Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem's outdoor marketplace, filled with foods and spices of every variety. Together we will take part in the “shuk bites” program, allowing us to enjoy a varied taste of the market. Remain at the market for dinner on own and see the artistic graffiti on the closed shutter stall doors.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 8: Monday, May 13, 2019: THE DEAD SEA BASIN

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We depart early this morning and travel south to the Dead Sea basin.
• Upon our arrival, we take a short hike to the hidden waterfalls in the desert oasis of Ein Gedi.
• We ascend Masada by cable car to view the remains of King Herod's fortress, including the walls, synagogue and bathhouses, as we learn about the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the Roman forces.
• We descend the mountain and head to the beach for lunch and an unsinkable swim in the healing, salty waters of the Dead Sea.
• Later this afternoon, we make our way north through the Jordan Valley, stopping at Dubrovin Farms for an exciting hummus making competition.
• We continue to the Galilee to check into our kibbutz and enjoy dinner together this evening.

Overnight in the Galilee

Day 9: Tuesday, May 14, 2019: THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH

• Breakfast at our kibbutz.
• Today, we set out on an exciting jeep tour through the Golan Heights, passing former Syrian bunkers on the way to the top of Har Bental, where we take in the views reaching far into Syria.
• Next, we visit a nearby Druze village for lunch and home hospitality, as we learn about their unique culture.
• We enjoy the remainder of our afternoon in the mystical city of Safed, where we stroll through the cobblestone streets to view the ancient synagogues and admire the crafts in the artist's quarter.
• We return to our kibbutz this evening for dinner together.

Overnight in the Galilee

Day 10: Wednesday, May 15, 2019: THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST

• Breakfast and check out of our kibbutz.
• Today, we drive along the Israeli-Lebanese border, with views into Lebanon, stopping at Kibbutz Malkia. Here, we will meet with an IDF unit on the border and kibbutz security personnel to learn about the steps they take to protect a small frontier community.
• We visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village, where we interact with the kids and staff.
• Time for lunch on own in the quaint village setting of Zichron Yaakov.
• We travel south along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea, the former Roman capital of the area, where we see the ancient theater and the aqueduct.
• We continue to Tel Aviv to check into our hotel and enjoy a relaxing evening and dinner on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 11: Thursday, May 16, 2019: HIGH-TECH ISRAEL

• 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, including the special exhibits in honor of Israel's birthday.
• Nearby, we tour the cutting-edge Taglit Innovation Center for a glimpse into Israel's high-tech advances in the fields of science, medicine, security and space. We visit the interactive exhibition and continue with a meeting with one of Israel's innovative entrepreneurs.
• We complete our tour in Old Jaffa, where we stroll through the cobblestone alleyways to see the crafts in the artist's colony, visit the ancient port and take in the views of the sea.
• We check out of our hotel.
• This evening, we join together for a festive farewell dinner as we recall all that we have experienced on this amazing journey together.
• We transfer to the airport for our overnight flights back to the United States.

Day 12: Friday, May 17, 2019 WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.



THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!
*itinerary subject to change