English

Hadassah's 2nd
Geopolitical Mission to Israel
Led by Natalie Silverman
February 19 - March 2, 2018

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.

SAVE up to $855 per person in honor of the:

100th Anniversary of HMO (Hadassah Medical Organization)
100th Anniversary of the School of Nursing
100th Anniversary of the Department of Opthalmology
70th Anniversary of the State of Israel

$3,850 Now $2,995

*Discounts applied during booking process.

Tour Overview:

Download a PDF version:

7 nights Orient Hotel, Jerusalem
1 night Kibbutz Hagoshrim Guesthouse, Upper Galilee
1 night plus late check out David Intercontinental, Tel Aviv
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe air-conditioned vehicle with an English speaking guide
Breakfast daily
5 dinners, including Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem
4 lunches, including Shabbat lunch in Jerusalem
Farewell cocktail
Tree planting
Salad Trail visit
Hostess throughout
Speakers as per itinerary
One evening of music
Transfers included if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees as per itinerary 
Porterage

NOT INCLUDED - 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
($20.00 per person, per day-pre-collected)
Any meals not listed above
Any items of a personal nature
Travel insurance
(highly recommended)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Monday, February 19, 2018: DEPARTURE

• Depart JFK on our overnight flight to Israel (group flight departs at 7:00PM).

Day 2: Tuesday, February 20, 2018: WELCOME TO ISRAEL: “THE QUIET BEFORE THE STORM”

• We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in the late afternoon, where we are met and assisted by an Ayelet Tours representative. Welcome Home! (Group arrival at 1:00PM).
• We begin our tour at the Biblical Gardens, where we plant a tree and take in the panoramic views of Tel Aviv to the east and the Mediterranean to the west.
• Drive to Jerusalem along route 443, crossing the green line for the first time!
• Upon arrival, we stop atop Mt. Scopus to say the “Shehecheyanu” as we look out over the City of Gold for the first time.
• We meet with the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, and receive a briefing on where Jerusalem is today after 50 years of reunification.
• Check in to our hotel and refresh.
• We enjoy a welcome dinner and orientation at a Jerusalem restaurant.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 3: Wednesday, February 21, 2018: JERUSALEM THROUGH THE TRUMP-NETANYAHU PRISM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Gil Hoffman, chief political correspondent of the Jerusalem Post, to discuss Israeli politics today.
• Visit the Knesset and meet with members from the government party and the opposition.
• Explore the interplay between demographic, security and historical issues with the backdrop of the Jerusalem hills, as we take a guided geopolitical tour through Jerusalem.
• Drive to the top of the Mt. of Olives for an introduction to the landscape of Jerusalem.
• Stop at Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold's grave to pay our respects.
• This afternoon, we are joined by Retired Colonel Miri Eisin, a former international media advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel and a former Israeli government spokesperson.
• “Defining the Line on the Outskirts of Jerusalem”: Drive to Mount Scopus for a look toward Maaleh Adumim to the east and the Shuafat Refugee Camp to the north. Drive through the neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze'ev and Beit Hanina.
• Lunch on own en route.
• Spend the afternoon at the Hartman Institute learning about and discussing relations between Israel and the diaspora, and how the dissolution of the Western Wall compromise has placed an unprecedented strain on the relationship.
• Dinner together this evening at a local restaurant with Rabbi Michael Melchior, an internationally renowned Jewish leader, thinker and activist, and former member of the Knesset.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 4: Thursday, February 22, 2018: OUR CUTTING EDGE HOSPITAL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Miriam Peretz, 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.
• Continue with a visit to Ein Karem Hadassah Hospital, where we tour the Sarah Wetsman tower, featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region. Meet with staff and patients and see how Hadassah can be a guiding model of how all peoples can work and live together in this region.
• Visit Har Adar for a unique view point of Jerusalem and the surrounding area, presented by Mr. Avi Lavsky.
• Lunch on own this afternoon.
• Meet with a representative from Shalom Achshav, a non-government organization, liberal advocacy and activist group whose aim is to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Later this afternoon, we explore Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem's outdoor marketplace, filled with foods of every variety. Dinner this evening at the market.
• Enjoy a late night walking tour through Mea Shearim, Jerusalem's Orthodox neighborhood, to see the challah bakeries, busy with preparation for the coming Sabbath.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 5: Friday, February 23, 2018: SHOAH TO SHABBAT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we meet with Holocaust survivor, Rena Quint, followed with a group debate: “Seventy years later - have we made the survivors proud in Israel and the diaspora?”
• Explore the amazing archaeological wonder of Ir David (City of David), a meticulously preserved site dating back to the time of King David.
• Visit the moving 9/11 Memorial, the only memorial to 9/11 outside of the United States, and pay tribute to those who perished on that fateful day.
• Visit the newly opened Remembrance Hall at Mt. Herzl in memory of over 23,000 fallen soldiers and victims of terror in Israel.
• Continue to Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Visit the Children's Memorial and walk the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations. End the visit with a group memorial service at the Valley of the Communities.
• Spend the remainder of the afternoon at leisure.
• We join together at the Western Wall for some reflection as Shabbat arrives. Within minutes you will hear the siren of Shabbat sounding, the bells of the churches and the muezzin calling the Muslims for prayer. This is Jerusalem!
• We join together for Oneg Shabbat and home hospitality dinner with Barbara Sofer OR dinner at our hotel.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 6: Saturday, February 24, 2018: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Free morning for Shabbat services at one of the nearby synagogues; list and maps will be provided; OR join our guide to visit a number of typical synagogues on the area.
• Shabbat lunch at our hotel, with an open discussion on all that we have seen until this point, as well as preparations for next week.
• Meeting with Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli-Arab journalist, lecturer and documentary filmmaker.
• As Shabbat comes to an end, we come together for Havdallah at our hotel overlooking Jerusalem.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Sunday, February 25, 2018: ESHKOL & BE'ER SHEVA ON THE GAZA BORDER

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we drive to Netiv HaAsara, located next to the Gaza Strip, where an electric fence and concrete walls were built for protection from Palestinian fighters. We visit the Peace Wall and hear how residents chose to deal with this challenging situation.
• Stop at the Erez crossing to see how trucks with goods cross in to Gaza every day from Israel.
• We travel south to the Eshkol Regional Center at the Command Center for a security briefing.
• Visit Eshkol's elementary school, an amazing fortified campus and educational center, including the opportunity to celebrate Purim with the kids.
• Drive along the border and see where and how close the Hamas tunnels were found. We hear a briefing about Hamas and the current situation.
• 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.
• Visit the JNF/Hadassah park in the desert in Be'er Sheva.
• Continue to the Be'er Sheva River Park, a massive water, environmental and economic development project that is transforming the riverfront into a 1,700-acre civic paradise.
• Visit one of the Bedouin “cities” built today to learn about their growing population.
• Return to Jerusalem for dinner on own.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 8: Monday, February 26, 2018: FROM THE SHOMRON TO RAMALLAH

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• “Israelis and Palestinians: When Reality and Fiction Meet” with Palestinian Affairs journalist Avi Issacharov, who also wrote and produced the highly acclaimed Israeli TV production of Fauda, a geopolitical thriller about Israelis and Palestinians.
• Depart for Rawabi, the new Palestinian city north of Ramallah, for a glimpse at this unique project, a synthesis between private enterprise and public resources to create a new urban reality in Palestinian society. Meet with developer Bashar el Masri.
• Visit Ramallah, the current capital of the Palestinian Authority and meet with PA and/or financial leaders.
• Lunch together this afternoon.
• Visit Shilo, one of the flagship settlements of the Gush Emunim Settlement Movement to meet with Daniella Weiss, one of the founders of the movement.
• Close our day with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We meet with Akiva Tor, Head of the Bureau for World Jewish Affairs & World Religions.
• Dinner on own tonight.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 9: Tuesday, February 27, 2018: THE EASTERN BORDER

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• Drive north via Route 6, and stop for a visit and meeting with the Israeli-Arab leadership in Um El Fahem.
• Drive up to the Golan and take an amazing jeep tour on the border with Syria. We receive a briefing regarding ISIS, and the many disparate organizations fighting in Syria today, and hear where we stand in relation to this situation.
• Relax with a visit to the Golan Winery, including a wine tasting.
• Check in to our kibbutz and enjoy dinner together.

Overnight in the Galilee

Day 10: Wednesday, February 28, 2018: THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST

• Breakfast and check out of our kibbutz.
• Today, we drive along the Lebanese border, with views into Lebanon, stopping at Kibbutz Malkia, a strategic overlook. Here we will meet with the IDF unit on the border and kibbutz security personnel to learn about the steps they take to protect a small frontier community.
• Visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village, where we interact with the kids and staff and enjoy lunch with them.
• Visit the Intelligence Museum in Herzliya for a briefing on possible threats to Israel in the foreseeable future, and how we plan to cope with them.
• Check in to our hotel in Tel Aviv and enjoy dinner and an evening at leisure on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 11: Thursday, March 1, 2018: INNOVATION CENTRAL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with a speaker on economics. We learn how regional politics can affect the economy and how economics could help resolve the situation in the Middle East.
• We visit Independence Hall, site of the signing of Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948, including the special exhibits for Israel's 70th.
• Moving from the history of Israel to the future, we visit the Taglit Innovation Center for a glimpse into Israel's hi-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 leading entrepreneurs.
• Continue with a visit to the Rabin Center, dedicated to the life and work of Yitzhak Rabin. Its spiraling exhibits lead us through the history of the modern state and broader world history, through the prism of the life of one of Israel's most beloved leaders.
• Lunch on own this afternoon.
• We join together for a relaxing farewell cocktail, and the chance to reflect upon all that we have seen and experienced together.
• Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for our overnight back to New York.

Day 12: Friday, March 2, 2018: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive at JFK at 6:00AM.


THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!!


*Itinerary subject to change