Hadassah Florida Mission Israel Seeing is Believing Led by Marion Aronheim, Linda Goldstein Dorrie Kahn & Susan Lafer October 18 - 31, 2017</br> - Ayelet Tours - Israel Tours - Jewish Heritage Tours - Bar/Bat Mitzvah Tours

Day 1, Wednesday, October 18, 2017: DEPARTURE

• We depart this afternoon on our overnight flight to Israel.

Day 2, Thursday, October 19, 2017: ARRIVAL IN JERUSALEM

• Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, with assistance by an Ayelet representative - Welcome Home!
• Travel up to Jerusalem.
• Upon arrival in Jerusalem, we stop atop Mt. Scopus to recite a special “Sh'hekiyanu!” Blessing overlooking the City of Gold.
• Enjoy a welcome dinner and orientation together with Hadassah Leadership.

O/N Jerusalem

Day 3, Friday, October 20, 2017: WELCOME SHABBAT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Visit the Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, where we explore some of the newly found materials relating to places, people and events connected to the Holocaust, including:
• The Avenue of the Righteous
• The new Historical Museum
• The Children's Memorial
• We end our visit at Yad Vashem with a group memorial service at the Valley of the Lost Communities.
• Visit Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem's outdoor marketplace, filled with foods of every variety. Allowing us to enjoy a varied taste of the marketplace in a fun and new way.
• Time to relax in the market or at our hotel before Shabbat.
• Oneg Shabbat at the Southern Wall.
• We welcome Shabbat at the Western Wall with the people of Jerusalem.
• Shabbat dinner in a private room with Hadassah friends.

O/N Jerusalem

Day 4, Saturday, October 21, 2017: SHABBAT SHALOM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Free morning for Shabbat services or just to relax.
• First Timers:
    o Guided walking tour through the historical and charming neighborhood of Yemin Moshe. Continue to the Jerusalem Tower of David Museum. Then enter the Old City where we explore the Bazaar/Shuk, and the Christian Quarter.
OR
     o Participate in a Scavenger Hunt through Nachla'ot - this diverse neighborhood is one of Jerusalem's best-kept secrets. As part of this interactive activity, we will discover this colorful, surprising and eclectic neighborhood (space is limited - pre-registration required)..
• Havdalah with Barbara Goldstein on the rooftop of our hotel overlooking the
Old City.
• Free evening in Jerusalem - enjoy a stroll along Ben Yehuda Street, through Emek Refaim Street or visit the Mamilla pedestrian walk, filled with shops and restaurants.

O/N Jerusalem

Day 5, Sunday, October 22, 2017: HADASSAH AND CITY TOUR

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Gil Hoffman, chief political correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, for an in-depth and entertaining look at Israeli current events.
• Continue with a visit to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem, where we tour the Mother and Child Pavilion. We also visit the newly opened Sarah Wetsman tower, featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region.
• Lunch (on own).
• Explore the bunkers at 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.
• Jerusalem Startup Hub - Visit the new Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation in Jerusalem. Located in the heart of the city, the Hub opened its doors in March 2013. JSH aims to be the center of start-up development in Jerusalem, a hub for break-through technological ideas with global implications.
• Dinner at a local Middle Eastern Restaurant.

O/N Jerusalem

Day 6, Monday, October 23, 2017: IN JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at hotel
• Visit the Ir David Excavations just outside the Old City walls, where we wander through the carefully preserved archeological excavations dating back to the time of King David.
• Tour the Western Wall Tunnels:
    o First Timers: Walk along the underground tunnel.
    o Second Timers: Tour the underground Mikvaot (ritual baths) in the area leading to the temple.
• For a different perspective, we enjoy a short walk along the rooftops and ramparts of the Old City.
• Lunch (on own) in the Jewish Quarter.
• Visit the Burnt House excavations and enjoy some free time for shopping and strolling in the Cardo.
• Visit Ein Tzurim - a live archaeological site, where we have the opportunity for a hands-on dig. Join us in uncovering the glorious past of the Temple Mount. Sift through rubble that originated in ancient buildings from the Temple Period and learn about findings from archaeologists.
• Dinner In a winery setting.

O/N Jerusalem

Day 7, Tuesday, October 24, 2017: MASADA & THE DESERT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Check out of our hotel.
• We depart Jerusalem and drive toward the Dead Sea Basin.
First Timers:
    o Ascend to Masada's summit by cable car. Here we view the remains of King Herod's palace and fortifications, and hear the story of the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the approaching Roman armies.
    o We descend down the ramp to the West.
    o For an authentic desert experience, we visit a Bedouin camp and enjoy a camel ride and Bedouin Hospitality in the wilderness.
Second Timers:
• We enjoy lunch at the spa and an unsinkable swim in the salty waters of the Dead Sea.
• Drive along the Jordan Valley to our Kibbutz in the north.
• Dinner at our kibbutz.

O/N in the Galilee

Day 8, Wednesday, October 25, 2017: THE GOLAN HEIGHTS

• Breakfast at our kibbutz.
• Enjoy a drive along the Lebanese border, stopping at a strategic overlook at Kibbutz Malkia. Here we will meet with the IDF unit on the border and kibbutz security personnel to learn about the steps they take to protect this small frontier community.
• We next cross the Galilee to visit the mystical city of Safed. Visit the old Synagogues, participate in an interactive calligraphy workshop and tour the galleries.
• We continue with a Jeep tour up to the Golan Heights. Atop the Golan, we take in an amazing view and see the memorial to those soldiers who lost their lives capturing this crucial spot from Syrian forces in 1967 at Mitzpe Gadot.
• Take in the views stretching far into Syria from atop Har Bental.
• We enjoy a chocolate workshop with one of Israel's top chocolatiers at Ein Zivan's Dekarina Chocolate Factory.
• End our touring day today with a visit to a nearby winery, including wine tasting before returning to our Kibbutz.
• Dinner at our kibbutz followed by a meeting with Kibbutz members.

O/N in the Galilee

Day 9, Thursday, October 26, 2017: TO TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at our kibbutz.
• Check out of our kibbutz.
• This morning, we'll tour the Hula Valley Nature Preserve, where millions of migrating birds come to rest and feed each year on their route between Europe and Africa. Enjoy a surrey or golf cart ride through the heart of this beautiful and bucolic scene.
First Timers:
    o In Haifa, we stop atop Mt. Carmel, where we take in the panoramic views of the port city, and admire the beautiful Bahai Temple and Persian Gardens
    o Visit a Druze vilage and enjoy the wondeful home hospitalaty
Second Timers:
    o Visit Atlit, site of the British Internment camp for thousands of Jewish refugees, who were caught attempting to immigrate to Israel during the British Mandatory period; followed by a dialogue with Murray Greenfield, who was detained here.
• Visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya youth village, where we interact with the kids and staff and see the work Hadassah does with Ethiopian youth.
• Continue with a visit to Zichron Yaakov. Stroll the streets, browse the shops and learn the secrets of the Nili Spies amid this European style village's charming shops and cafes. We'll enjoy lunch (on own) along the main promenade.
• Continue to Tel Aviv for check in.

O/N Tel Aviv

Day 10, Friday, October 27, 2017: STARTUP NATION

• Breakfast at our hotel.
First Timers:
    o Visit the Palmach Museum, where we “join up” with the brave paramilitary unit from Israel's pre-statehood days.
    o Uncover the secrets of the Ayalon Institute, where an underground ammunition factory played a pivotal role in Israel's fight for Independence at the end of the British Mandate.
Second Timers:
    o Walk down the spiraling expositions of the new Rabin Center, dedicated to commemorating the life and work of Yitzhak Rabin with special exhibits.
    o See a different angle of Tel-Aviv on a “graffiti tour”. Find out which streets turned into a gallery of art works and learn about the artists and their message: Do they want to be famous or prefer to remain unknown? What happens when a work of art is erased? Is this art? And what is graffiti in general?
• Visit Nachalat Binyamin, the first and largest open-air craft market in Israel; also one of the most spectacular.
• Enjoy the afternoon at leisure (on own).
• Shabbat dinner with Hadassah friends in a private room at our hotel.

O/N Tel Aviv

Day 11, Saturday, October 28, 2017: SHABBAT IN TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Free day for Shabbat services or just relax and enjoy the beach.
• This evening, we join together for a Havdalah service on the beach.
• Free evening in Tel Aviv

O/N Tel Aviv

Day 12 Sunday, October 29, 2017: A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Drive south and visit the JNF/Hadassah project of a park in the desert.
• Continue to the Eshkol region, bordering Gaza; visit the Regional Center for a security briefing at the Command Center.
• We will speak with students and teachers about their lives as we tour the Eshkol Region's Protected School. We witness their bravery and hope as we view the buildings used for both learning and shelter.
• Enjoy a picnic lunch at the “Salad Trail” in the Eshkol region on the border with Gaza. See how Israeli innovation is literally making the desert bloom - with crops grown out of some of the most inhospitable sands imaginable.
• Visit Bnei Netzarim, a "Halutzit" (a new village that is in the process of being built on the Gaza/Egyptian Border). Talk to the people building a new life and a new family and who are literally, holding the border.
• We end our day with a visit to exquisite blacksmith, Yaron Bob. Struck by the terror of shell attacks, Yaron decided to transform something horrible into something beautiful - and so began “Rockets into Roses”.

O/N Tel Aviv

Day 13 Monday, October 30, 2017: TEL AVIV - HUB OF INNOVATION

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Meeting with young entrepreneur Rony Rozen to discuss her story, as well as Hi-Tech innovation in this Start-Up nation.
• 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.
• Continue to Tel Aviv's White City, one of the largest concentrations of Bauhaus in the world.
• Continue to the Taglit-Birthright Israel Innovation Center- The center presents startups and technology companies In addition, entrepreneurial visionaries that makes Israel the startup nation it is today
• We proceed to Rothschild Boulevard. In the past few years, The Boulevard has attracted major high-tech companies. We will visit the headquarters of a startup nation company.
• Visit the fashion designer studios of Maya Negri. Learn about the way they started a business from nothing in Tel-Aviv into a brand recognized the world over.
• Farewell dinner together this evening at a local restaurant.
• Depart for the airport for our flight back to the United States.

Day 14 Tuesday, October 31, 2017: ARRIVAL HOME

• We arrive home!

OR CONTINUE ON AN EXTENSION TO
EILAT/PETRA

Day 13 Monday, October 30, 2017: TO EILAT

• For those continuing on the post tour, transfer to the airport for our flight to Eilat.
• Upon arrival in Eilat, we are transferred to our hotel for check in.

O/N Eilat

Day 14 Tuesday, October 31, 2017: PETRA - THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We cross the border into Jordan and begin our full day tour of Petra, the Red Rose City. Explore the Nabatean City (as seen in Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade).
• Walk through the Siq and view the ancient temples.
• Discover the famous Treasury, Roman Theater, and more at the Eighth Wonder of the World.
• Pass Wadi Ram before returning to Israel.

O/N Eilat
(Note border taxes are due in USD at the border crossing - currently $65 per person. In addition, visa cost and processing fee of $69 will be pre-collected.)

Day 15, Wednesday, November 1, 2017: FREE DAY IN EILAT & DEPARTURE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Enjoy a day of leisure at our hotel on the shores of the Red Sea. Optional on own activity suggestions include visiting the Underwater Aquarium, OR enjoying a barbecue lunch and snorkeling cruise on the Red Sea, OR just relaxing poolside or seaside!
• Depart for the airport to connect with our flight home to the United States.

Day 16, Tuesday, November 2, 2017: DEPARTURE

• We arrive home.

The Memories Last Forever!

*Itinerary subject to change

BOOK THIS TOUR

Hadassah Florida Mission
Israel
Seeing is Believing
Led by Marion Aronheim, Linda Goldstein
Dorrie Kahn & Susan Lafer
October 18 - 31, 2017

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