Cuba: land frozen in time - so close, yet decades away. A Jewish community dedicated to its heritage across half a century of isolation and prevalent atheism. A rich and vibrant island culture, filled with dance and song, classic cars and donkey carts, rum, and cigars. Experience all this and more as we step back in time together.ON OUR 7-NIGHT JOURNEY WE WILL...
- Hear fascinating lectures by Prof. Stephen Berk
- Enjoy a week of vibrant cultural discovery and a Jewish humanitarian effort via a special US State Department license
- Experience Cuba with all our senses amidst a mixed, vibrant and vital culture locked in time; step back to 1959 and see the cars smell the unique foods, hear the incredible music and sway to the sounds of Cuba!
- Visit the communities of Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Havana, and experience their unique joie de vivre
- Visit with Cubans and see their culture, art and Latin flair!
- Share Shabbat with locals in a land essentially absent of anti-Semitism
- Meet with community leaders and hear their rich stories going back 500 years to Columbus
INCLUDED:
Roundtrip international airfare from Florida (exact schedule TBA)
3 nights
Melia Cohiba Hotel, Havana Cuba
2 nights
Melia San Carlos, Cienfuegos, Cuba
2 nights
Melia Cohiba Hotel, Havana Cuba
All touring on an air-conditioned vehicle with an expert English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
6 dinners, including Shabbat dinner in Havana
5 lunches
Entrance fees and activities per itinerary
Exit tax
Cuban emergency medical insurance
NOT INCLUDED:
Roundtrip domestic airfare
Cuban travel visa (purchase directly from airline on day of departure - Religious Activities category CFR515.566)
Tips to guide, driver & waiters
Meals not listed
Items of a personal nature
Gifts and aid (suggestions provided in advance)
Any costs associated with testing or related to proof of Covid/vaccine status.
Travel insurance (
group policy is available)
ABOUT OUR SCHOLAR:
Dr. Stephen M. Berk is a Professor of History at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Dr. Berk has partnered with Ayelet Tours for over twenty years and led over 100 trips to Russia, Spain, Europe, Israel and Eastern Europe. It is a privilege to have him with us! He has been named the Henry and Sally Schaeffer Chair of Holocaust and Jewish Studies at Union College. Dr. Berk is considered a superb lecturer and teacher. He is the author of Year of Crisis, Year of Hope: Russian Jewry and the Pogroms of 1881-1882 and is presently writing a book entitled, Our People Are Your People: American Jewry and the Struggle for Civil Rights 1854-1965. Dr. Berk is also the author of many articles on Eastern Europe, Russian Jewish History, anti-Semitism and American policy in the Middle East. He has lectured in numerous cities for UJA and Israel Bonds as well as at many colleges and universities throughout the United States.