English

Hadassah Fashion, Food, Wine & Design
Mission to Israel
Led by Liz Alpert & Anastasia Torres-Gil
Aug 30 - Sept 11, 2016

Tour Rates & Dates:

There are no Departure Dates available for this Package.
*Please note that all rates displayed are based on standard room double occupancy.
All rates above are in US Dollars, and are based on full payment by credit card unless otherwise noted.
If check payment discount is available for this tour, it can be selected after clicking "BOOK" above.
(Deposit can still be paid by credit card). Upgraded room categories may be available to book later in the booking process.
If Land & Air price is displayed, the air portion includes tax and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change until ticketed.

Tour Overview:

Download a PDF version:

Love a good fine wine, and a meal to remember? This is the tour for you! See how Israel stacks up with the best of the cosmopolitan centers, all while maintaining its link to history, and its eye on cutting edge design and innovation. Get an intimate look into Israel's vibrant fashion scene. Experience cuisine featured in the upcoming PBS documentary The Search for Israeli Cuisine, a film by Roger Sherman and Florentine Films. Enjoy wine tasting at beautiful wineries featured at www.StyleMitzvah.com.

Watch the Fashion, Food, Wine & Design video! Click here

4 nights Mount Zion Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel
2 nights Rimon Inn/ Ruth Rimonim, Safed, Israel
4 nights Market House Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe
air-conditioned vehicle with an English speaking guide
Breakfast daily
Private showings at Maya Negri, Mika Barr & Gideon Oberson
Insider's look at fashion designers with TLVstyle
Visit Bahai Gardens
Guided tour and sampling of dynamic Israeli cuisine
Art & Design tour of Safed
Briefing with Hadassah Mt. Scopus Directo
Behind the scenes tour of Israel Opera House
Wine tasting at Yarden, Flam, Dalton & Meir Shfeya
Dinner at celebrity Chef Meir Adoni's Blue Sky
Chocolate workshop with Chocolatier De Karina
Sunset cruise on the Kinneret
Entrance fees and speakers as per itinerary
Porterage

These prices do not include:

Roundtrip airfare, departure taxes and fuel surcharges
(listed separately)
Any border taxes or visas
Tips to guides, driver, and dining room waiters
($15.00 per person, per day-pre-collected)
Any items of a personal nature
Travel Insurance
(Highly recommended)

To download the PDF flyer, click HERE

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1, Tuesday, August 30, 2016: DEPARTURE

• We depart in the early afternoon on our overnight flight to Israel.

Day 2, Wednesday, August 31, 2016: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

• Early arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, with assistance by an Ayelet representative - Welcome Home!
• We start our mission with a stop at Neot Kedumim, the Biblical botanical garden, to learn about food from biblical times. We visit the herb gardens & the ancient olive press winery, and sample delicious goat cheeses.
• Upon arrival in Jerusalem, we stop atop Mt. Scopus to recite a special “Sh'heheyanu!” blessing overlooking the City of Gold.
• Check into our hotel with time to relax and adjust to the time change.
• We will enjoy a special welcome orientation and meet our Israeli friends.
• This afternoon, we walk along Ben Yehuda and Mamilla Streets with our tour leaders for a discussion about the Israeli food revolution and street food, as featured in the upcoming PBS documentary, “The Search for Israeli Cuisine".
• Dinner on own.

O/N Mt Zion Hotel, Jerusalem  
Day 3, Thursday, September 1, 2016: HADASSAH IN DEPTH

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Visit HMO Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem including:
      o The new Sarah Wetsman Tower, including a meeting with the Tower's design team.
      o The Chagall Windows Synagogue
      o A briefing with the First Care trauma staff
• Walk through the picturesque village of Ein Kerem. Here we see the many historical and religious sites, including Mary's spring and the garden of the Church of the Visitation.
• Lunch on own, where we have an opportunity to taste some of the Israeli street food such as Falafel, Shawarma Schnitzel, and more.
• Visit the Betzalel School of Art and Design; tour the historic school where we'll meet teachers and students to discuss innovative new techniques and trends in jewelry design.
• Dinner tonight at the Flam Winery in the Judean Hills, as featured on www.StyleMitzvah.com. Flam Winery is a family owned business, started by Israel Flam, one of the pioneers of the Israeli Wine Industry, who earned his viniculture degree from the University of California, Davis. Flam's award-winning wines are terroir-driven. We will dine at the winery, which is also the home of the Flam family. Then meet with Gefen Flam, who is the brand manager, to talk about wine and the wine business in Israel.
• Enjoy a night Challah bakery tour in the Orthodox neighborhoods of Jerusalem, where the bakeries are running at full speed to prepare for Shabbat.

O/N Mt Zion Hotel, Jerusalem

Day 4, Friday, September 2, 2016: TASTE OF JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Visit the amazing newly uncovered underground areas of the Western Wall Tunnels.
• Walking tour of the Jewish Quarter and the Cardo.
• Visit the Israel Museum, to view the recent exhibition on costume designs: past and present.
• Continue to the Machane Yehuda Market where we tour the market with a Chef and prepare our own fresh food with him before having “lunch with the Chef.”
• Welcome Shabbat on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking Mt Zion.
• Shabbat dinner hosted at the home of Barbara Sofer (or at the hotel with guests - based on group size).

O/N Mt Zion Hotel, Jerusalem

Day 5, Saturday, September 3, 2016: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Free morning for Shabbat services or just to relax.
• Walking Tour: Enter the Old City for a guided visit through the Christian Quarter, including part of the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Lunch on our own.
• Continue to Yemin Moshe, one of the first neighborhoods outside the Old City walls, and an artist colony today. Meet one of the artists working in the area.
• We meet with a Young Judaea alum, who will speak about YJ entrepreneurs and their experience in Israel.
• Havdalah with Barbara Goldstein on the rooftop of our hotel overlooking the Old City.
• Free evening in Jerusalem.
• We gather for an informal walking tour led by Mission leaders with a list of featured optional dining options along Emek Refaim.

O/N Mt Zion Hotel, Jerusalem

Day 6, Sunday, September 4, 2016: EXPLORING THE JORDAN VALLEY RIFT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We start our day with a design tour of the Supreme Court, known as one of the most beautiful and innovative buildings in Israel. We see and learn about the building's connection to our legal tradition, country and city.
• Visit Mt. Scopus Hadassah Hospital where we will meet the director and enjoy a tour of the campus and the Healing Garden.
• We depart to the Dead Sea and enjoy lunch on our own in the area.
• We meet at Kibbutz Almog to learn about the agriculture and special plants of the area.
• Continue north along the Jordan Valley.
• We visit the Kinneret Cemetery, where we visit the gravesites and hear the stories of Rachel the Poet and Naomi Shemer. We will read and sing their songs and link to our surroundings through words and sounds.
• Visit the spice factory at Kfar Tavor, where more than 300 spices are made from locally grown herbs. We will also visit the Marzipan Museum.
• Check into our hotel in Safed.
• Tonight we enjoy dinner at our hotel.
• Optional Kabbalah workshop and a night walking tour in the old city of Safed.

O/N Ruth Rimonim Hotel, Safed

Day 7, Monday, September 5, 2016: FLAVORS OF THE NORTH

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Explore the mystical city of Safed, center of Kabbalah study and practice. Here we visit the Ha'ari and Caro Synagogues. We also visit an art gallery and meet with the artists.
• Ascend the Golan Heights.
• Visit to the Druze village of Bukhata. Enjoy/Experience a dialogue with communal leaders on their complex relationship to Israel in the wake of the Syrian Civil War.
• Enjoy a traditional Druze lunch and hospitality and meet with the woman behind this restaurant, who took her love of Druze cooking & turned it into a blossoming business.
• We take in the panoramic views from Mt. Bental (overlooking the abandoned Syrian town of Kuneitra). Our view helps give up clear insights into Israel's security situation in the Golan Heights, and the enormous challenges it faced in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
• We enjoy a chocolate workshop with one of Israel's top chocolatiers at Ein Zivan.
• Visit the Yarden winery, opened by a former Young Judean'.
• Enjoy a sunset cruise on Lake Kinneret.
• This evening, we enjoy a special dinner at Decks Restaurant on the Sea of Galilee.

O/N Ruth Rimonim Hotel, Safed

Day 8, Tuesday, September 6, 2016: SAMPLING THE COAST

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Hike atop Mt. Arbel overlooking the Kinneret.
• Drive to Haifa, where after enjoying a panoramic view of the bay, we visit the Bahai Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and learn about its special design.
• Visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya youth village, where we will have a tour of their award-winning dairy and enjoy sampling their highly acclaimed wine made by their students.
• Visit to the Tishbi Winery, including lunch.
• Visit Zichron Yaakov - stroll the streets, browse through the shops & cafes of this charming European style village. We'll also visit the Nili Spy Museum in town.
• Dinner at Celebrity Chef Meir Adoni's Blue Sky Restaurant.

O/N Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv


Day 9, Wednesday, September 7, 2016: DIGGING INTO TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• The Story of Tel Aviv, guided walk through Neve Zedek and what was Ahuzat Bayit, exploring the origins of the city of Tel Aviv, its people and places. We continue through Tel Aviv's White City, one of the largest concentrations of Bauhaus buildings in the world.
• Visit Independence Hall, site of the signing of Israel's Declaration of Independence.
• Continue to The Library in the city center - Space for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The Library provides a shared-working space and hub facilities for teams dedicated to developing internet startups and technology companies. In addition, The Library offers networking events, meet-ups, and professional infrastructure for young entrepreneurial visionaries. We will tour the sight and meet with some of these entrepreneurs.
• Visit the Lewinsky Market. Together we'll take part in the “shuk bites” program, allowing us to enjoy a varied taste of the marketplace in a fun and new way.
• Afternoon visit to the fashion designer studios of Mika Barr & Maya Negri. We will meet the designers and see their products.
• Late afternoon tour of Southern Tel Aviv following the graffiti and the way different aspects of life in Tel Aviv are shown on the walls.
• Dinner tonight will be a Vegan experience at the Zakaim Restaurant.

O/N Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Day 10, Thursday, September 8, 2016: HIGH FASHION FRONTIERS

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Visit the Shenkar Design School and meet with the teachers, designers and the students.
• Continue to the ‘Turning the Tables” Design Studio. Meet the director and learn about this Hadassah Foundation-funded nonprofit's important work to help victims of sexual trafficking.
• At the Sarona Complex, we visit the museum and have some free time for lunch. We have time to browse in the boutiques.
• We visit the charming studio of Galit Reisman and some of her in-house designers and learn about the massive growth and challenges of the Israeli fashion design industry. We are then welcomed in the Gidon Oberson studio, where we learn firsthand about the history of the family and the worldwide business today.
• Explore Gan Hahashmal in Tel Aviv. It has been transformed from the once declining neighborhood that it was into what is now one of Israel's hippest alternative locales for young fashion and jewelry designers.
• Dinner tonight is on our own in the recently renovated port of Tel Aviv.

O/N Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Day 11, Friday, September 9, 2016: FROM ANCIENT JAFFA TO CUTTING EDGE DESIGN

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Start our day with a walking tour through the amazing flea market in Old Jaffa.
• Stop at the famous Abulafia bakery for a delicious snack.
• Continue with a visit to the Design Museum Holon, which opened in March 2010 and has quickly established itself as one of the world's leading museums of design. We will visit the main exhibits and learn from one of the directors of the museum about the new design innovations coming out of Israel today.
• Spend time strolling among the artists and entertainers filling the streets at Nachalat Binyamin's open air art market.
• Shabbat dinner with Hadassah friends in a private room.

O/N Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Day 12, Saturday, September 10, 2016: SHABBAT IN TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Free day for Shabbat services or just to relax and enjoy the beach.
• This evening, we join together for a closing Havdalah service on the beach.
• Depart for the airport for our flight back to the United States.

Day 13, Sunday, September 11, 2016: WELCOME HOME

• We arrive home!


THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!!



*Itinerary subject to change.