English

Hadassah & Jewish National Fund
Israel Family Tour:
Celebrating Hanukkah & our Bnai Mitzvah in Israel
Led by Carol Rosenthal & Miriam Aron
December 24, 2019 - January 2, 2020

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:

INCLUDED:

4 nights Dan Panorama Jerusalem, Jerusalem
2 nights Kibbutz Hagoshrim Guesthouse, Galilee
2 nights Crowne Plaza, Tel Aviv, Israel
All 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
Hanukkah candle lighting
Tree planting
Tour of Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital
B'nai Mitzvah ceremony
Machane Yehuda tasting tour
Ramparts walking tour in the Old City
Meeting with Jerusalem Post correspondent, Gil Hoffman
Nachlaot scavenger hunt
Camel ride and Bedouin hospitality
Jeep tour in the Golan Heights
Chocolate workshop
Hummus making competition
Surrey ride in the Hula Valley Nature Preserve
Visit to goat farm to Teva Ez and meeting with farmer, Rotem Boker
Druze hospitality (included in lunches above)
Visit to Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village
Security briefing at Eshkol Command Center
Visit to Eshkol Protected School
Salad Trail
Meeting with artist, Yaron Bob
Discussin with entrepreneur, Rony Rozen
Taglit Innovation Center visit
Transfer upon arrival and departure with main group
Entrance fees per itinerary
Porterage

NOT INCLUDED:

Roundtrip airfare, taxes and fuel surcharges (Contact Ayelet Tours for flights)
Any border taxes or visas
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: Tuesday December 24, 2019: DEPARTURE

• We depart on our afternoon flight and travel overnight to Israel.

Day 2: Wednesday December 25, 2019: ARRIVAL IN JERUSALEM

• We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. Welcome home! Transfers are provided for a morning arrival at approximately 10AM and an afternoon arrival at approximately 5PM.
• Upon arrival in Jerusalem, we stop atop Mt. Scopus to recite a special “Shehecheyanu” blessing overlooking the City of Gold.
• We check into our hotel and each family will receive a Hanukkiah that we will be lit each day for Hanukkah.
• This evening, we enjoy a welcome dinner, Hanukkah candle lightning and orientation with Hadassah & JNF leadership.

Overnight at Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Day 3: Thursday December 26, 2019: HADASSAH AND CITY TOUR

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital, where we tour the Mother and Child Pavilion. We also visit the new Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower, featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region.
• We celebrate our Bar/Bat Mitzvah at the Abbell Synagogue with its beautiful Chagall windows.
• Next, we experience Machane Yehuda, for a sensual immersion, engaging with the vibrant colors, smells and flavors that will be found in this bustling marketplace. We wander through the pyramids of spices, bright-colored exotic vegetables, nuts, olives, and delicious halva creations and enjoy a tasting tour along the way and enjoy some free time for lunch on our own.
• We visit Ir David, the City of David, just outside the Old City walls, where we wander through the carefully preserved archeological excavations dating back to the time of King David.
• After lunch, we set out on a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter and the Cardo.
• For a different perspective, we enjoy a short walk along the rooftops and ramparts of the Old City, giving us a birds-eye view into the different neighborhoods.
• Next, we tour the Western Wall tunnels, where we discover the archaeological wonders that once remained untouched for centuries.
• We join together for Hanukkah candle lightning, followed by a celebratory dinner in honor of our B'nai Mitzvah.

Overnight at Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Day 4: Friday December 27, 2019: WELCOME SHABBAT

• 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.
• We 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.
• We begin our visit at Yad Vashem, the national memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, with a group memorial service at the Valley of the Communities. (Young children will depart for a tour of the Biblical Zoo). Next, we explore some of the newly found materials relating to places, people, and events connected to the Holocaust, including:
     o The Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations
     o The New Historical Museum
     o The Children's Memorial
• Lunch on our own.
• Time to relax in the market or at our hotel before Shabbat.
• We join together for Hanukkah candle lighting.
• As the sun begins to set, we welcome Shabbat at the Western Wall with the people of Jerusalem, followed by Shabbat dinner in a private room at our hotel with Hadassah & JNF friends.

Overnight at Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Day 5: Saturday December 28, 2019: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Free morning for Shabbat services or just to relax.
• Participate in a scavenger hunt through the diverse Nachlaot neighborhood. It is one of Jerusalem's best-kept secrets. Along the way, we discover this colorful, surprising and eclectic neighborhood.
• We come together for Havdalah and Hanukkah candle lighting overlooking the Old City.
• Free evening in Jerusalem to enjoy a stroll along Ben Yehuda Street, through Emek Refaim Street, or through the Mamilla pedestrian walk, filled with shops and restaurants.
• Optional visit to the Tower of David to see the spectacular Sound and Light show (weather permitting).

Overnight at Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem

Day 6: Sunday December 29, 2019: MASADA & THE DESERT

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We depart Jerusalem and drive south toward the Dead Sea basin.
• Upon our arrival, we ascend Masada by cable car to 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. Learn about the new JNF Torah Scroll initiative on top of Masada and have your very own honorary letter written into a Torah by a Jewish Sofer (scribe). We descend via the Roman ramp.
• For an authentic desert experience, we visit a Bedouin camp and enjoy a camel ride and hospitality in the wilderness.
• We enjoy the mud baths and a float in the healing, salty waters of the Dead Sea, followed by lunch.
• Later this afternoon, we drive along the Jordan Valley to the Galilee to check into our kibbutz.
• We join together for Hanukkah candle lightning and dinner.

Overnight at Kibbutz Hagoshrim, Galilee

Day 7: Monday December 30, 2019: THE GOLAN HEIGHTS

• Breakfast at our kibbutz.
• This morning, we enjoy a jeep tour through 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.
• We take in the views stretching far into Syria from atop Har Bental.
• Next, we enjoy a chocolate workshop with one of Israel's top chocolatiers at Ein Zivan's DeKarina Chocolate Factory.
• We continue to the Hula Valley Nature Preserve, where millions of migrating birds come to rest and eat each year. We enjoy a surrey ride through the heart of this beautiful and peaceful scenery.
• We visit Kurlander Farm, an organic, state-of-the-art dairy farm, where we learn the secrets of milk production, and try some fresh milk and cheese.
• We return to our kibbutz for dinner and a meeting with kibbutz members and youth.

Overnight at Kibbutz Hagoshrim, Galilee

Day 8: Tuesday December 31, 2019: THE ROAD TO TEL AVIV

• Breakfast and check out of our kibbutz.
• This morning, we cross the Galilee to visit the mystical city of Safed, where we visit the ancient synagogues and have time to stroll along the shops in the artists' quarter. While the kids enjoy a candle making workshop, the adults will participate in a Kabbalah workshop and study.
• Next, we participate in a JNF tree planting program at the Lavi Center, connecting us physically and spiritually to the land of Israel.
• 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.
• Our next stop is in a Druze village, where we enjoy the wondeful home hospitality and lunch as we learn about their unique culture.
• We complete our day with a visit to Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village, where we interact with the kids and staff.
• Later this afternoon, we continue to Tel Aviv to check into our hotel.
• Evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Day 9: Wednesday January 1, 2020: ESHKOL REGION

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we visit the Be'er Sheva River Park, a spectacular site co-sponsored by JNF and Hadassah. We learn how the project transformed this site into the warm and welcoming place it is today.
• Next, we stop in Sderot and visit the protected playground for kids.
• This afternoon, we enjoy a picnic lunch at the “Salad Trail”. Here, we see how Israeli innovation is literally making the desert bloom with crops grown out of some of the most inhospitable sands imaginable. We'll pick fruits and vegetables from the self-picking farm, see flying strawberries, tiny orange orchards, racing pigeons and herb gardens.
• In the Eshkol region, we visit the Regional Center for a security briefing at the Command Center.
• We return to Tel Aviv and spend the evening at leisure and enjoy dinner on own.

Overnight at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tel Aviv

Day 10: Thursday January 2, 2020: HIGH-TECH ISRAEL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with young entrepreneur and current Google employee, Rony Rozen, to discuss her story as well as high-tech innovation in this start-up nation.
• Next, we visit the Ayalon Institute, where we discover the underground ammunition factory played a pivotal role in Israel's fight for independence at the end of the British Mandate.
• Lunch on own at the Sarona Market, a world-class dining experience.
• Later, we either explore the Palmach Museum, where we “join up” with the brave paramilitary forces from Israel's pre-statehood days OR walk through the spiraling exhibits of the new Rabin Center, dedicated to commemorating the life and work of Yitzhak Rabin.
• We stroll down Tel Aviv's “Independence Trail” for a historical walking tour with 10 stops located around the Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood where the city was developed.
• We check out of our hotel.
• Tonight, we enjoy a festive farewell dinner with Hadassah and JNF friends.
• We depart for the airport for our overnight flight back to the United States.

Day 11: Friday January 3, 2020: ARRIVE HOME

• We land back in the United States this morning.

The Memories Last Forever!
*Itinerary subject to change and weather permitting