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Explore, Rejoice & Experience Israel: Hadassah Purim Mission
Led by Debbie Kessler & Sandy Sidorsky
March 17-27, 2019

Tour Rates & Dates:

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Tour Overview:

Purim in Israel is an experience filled with unbridled joy. We'll join the celebration, and explore Israel's spirit of innovation, from haute couture fashion to gourmet cuisine, and from high tech advances to medical miracles.

INCLUDED:

6 nights Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
2 nights Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel & Towers, Tel Aviv
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe, air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
Welcome dinner
Shabbat dinner with lone soldiers in Jerusalem
Purim dinner party
Levinsky market chef tour with dinner
Farewell dinner in Tel Aviv
Wine tasting and lunch
Picnic lunch
Security briefing in Eshkol
Visit to Salad Trail
Meeting with artist, Yaron Bob
Emek Tzurim dig
Old City Shabbat walking tour
Dialogue with journalist Khaled Abu Toameh
Sound and Light show
Visit to Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village
Meeting wtih entrepreneur Rony Rozen
Visit to Taglit Innovation Center
Visit to Maskit Fashion Factory
Entrance fees per itinerary
Transfer upon arrival and departure with main group
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
Any items of a personal nature
Travel insurance (highly recommended)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Sunday March 17, 2019: DEPARTURE

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

Day 2: Monday, March 18, 2019: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

• We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport and are assisted by an Ayelet Tours representative. Welcome home!
• We travel to Jerusalem to check into our hotel.
• Atop the Mt. of Olives, we say the “Shehecheyanu” as we take in the panoramic view of the City of Gold. We also pay our respects at Henrietta Szold's grave.
• This evening, we join together for a welcome dinner at our hotel.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 3: Tuesday, March 19, 2019: MODERN 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 also visit the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower, featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region, and visit the synagogue featuring the famed Chagall windows.
• Next, we see Yad Vashem in a completely new light, as we view the moving exhibitions focusing on children's drawings and art created during the Holocaust. We complete our visit with a memorial ceremony at the Valley of the Communities.
• Atop Mt. Herzl, we visit the new Remembrance Hall built to honor those who gave their lives fighting for Israel. We'll take a walk through the military cemetery, where we pay our respects and hear important stories about the life and work of Israel's past leaders, such as Theodore Herzl, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, as well as stories of lesser known heroes.
• 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. You may choose to remain at the market for dinner on own, then see the artistic graffiti on the closed shutter stall doors.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 4: Wednesday, March 20, 2019: BE'ER SHEVA & ESHKOL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we journey south to see the Hadassah/JNF Park in Be'er Sheva and plant a tree at the Hadassah Grove.
• Our next stop is at the Eshkol Regional Council for a security briefing at the Command Center along the fence between Israel and Gaza.
• We continue to 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 meet Yaron Bob at his workshop this afternoon. Struck by the terror of shell attacks, Yaron decided to transform something horrible into something beautiful - and so began his artwork known as “Rockets to Roses”.
• Dinner on own tonight.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 5: Thursday, March 21, 2019: PURIM IN THE OLD CITY

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin our day at Emek Tzurim, where we participate in a dig that is sifting through the Temple Mount rubble. New and important finds are made here every day!
• Nearby, at Ir David, the City of David, we wander through the carefully preserved archaeological excavations dating back to the time of King David.
• We continue in the Old City for a tour of the Western Wall tunnels. Here we discover the archaeological wonders that once remained untouched for centuries.
• While in the Old City, we visit the Jewish quarter, including time to shop in the Cardo market, and a chance to glimpse the way Purim is celebrated here.
• Later this afternoon, we return to Jerusalem and visit a local synagogue for a megillah reading, followed by a Purim dinner party. The streets will be filled with revelry this evening, and we'll join in! Chag sameach!

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 6: Friday, March 22, 2019: JERUSALEM ABOVE AND BELOW

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit the Soreq caves to see the beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations. Following our tour inside the cave, we stroll through the adjacent area to view the fauna and flora.
• This afternoon, we visit a local winery for a tour and select wine tasting and lunch.
• We return to our hotel to relax and refresh.
• As the sun begins to set, we join together for Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel, followed by Shabbat dinner joined by IDF lone soldiers and Hadassah friends.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Saturday, March 23, 2019: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Free morning to attend Shabbat services at a variety of synagogues in the area. Optional visit to a number of synagogues with the guide.
• This afternoon, we set out on a walking tour through the Old City, including stops in the Jewish quarter and at the Arab market. We also visit 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.
• We meet with Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli-Arab journalist, lecturer and documentary filmmaker, to hear about the current state of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
• Enjoy the evening at leisure and dinner on own.
• Optional visit to the Tower of David Sound and Light Show (weather permitting).

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 8: Sunday, March 24, 2019: ZICHRON TO TEL AVIV

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we travel north and visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village, where we interact with the kids and staff and visit the village, including their working farm and winery.
• We continue to the European style village of Zichron Yaakov to visit the Nili Spy Museum.
• This afternoon, we arrive in Tel Aviv and check into our hotel.
• A chef leads us through the Levinsky Market 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. Our chef will introduce us to the most characteristic ingredients of the local cuisine and to the Israeli food habits, while we prepare dinner together with our purchases.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 9: Monday, March 25, 2019: THE FOUNDATIONS OF A MODERN NATION

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin our day at the Rabin Center, where the spiraling exhibits lead us through the modern history of the state and broader world history, through the prism of the life of one of Israel's most beloved leaders, Yitzhak Rabin.
• Our next stop is at the Ayalon Institute, where we discover the underground ammunition factory that played a pivotal role in Israel's pre-statehood days.
• This afternoon, we participate in an army boot camp activity, followed by a picnic lunch in the Ben Shemen Forest to relax and refuel.
• We return to Tel Aviv for an evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 10: Tuesday, March 26, 2019: TEL AVIV - LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with young entrepreneur, Rony Rozen, to discuss her story, and how it fits into the narrative of 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.
• Moving from the founding of Israel to its innovative future, we visit the 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 afternoon with a visit to the “Maskit” Fashion Factory in Jaffa, Israel's re-born fashion house. Here, we see how Israel's history intertwines with today's fashion. We'll hear their story of starting a fashion business from the ground up in Tel Aviv, and their ascent to worldwide recognition.
• We check out of our hotel and enjoy a festive farewell dinner, as we recall all that we have experienced together on this journey.
• We transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for our overnight flights back to the United States.

Day 11: Wednesday, March 27, 2019: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.


THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!
*itinerary subject to change

For optional tours to Eilat and Petra, please contact Ayelet tours 1-800-237-1517 or ayelet@ayelet.com.