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Discovering Israel
Led by Rabbi Andrew Bloom
June 9 - 20, 2022

Tour Rates & Dates:

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GROUP FLIGHT INFORMATION
FlightDateDepartureArrival
AA 18June 9, 2022DFW at 8:40 pmTLV at 6:00 pm (next day)
AA 19June 19, 2022TLV at 11:10 pmDFW at 5:10 am (next day)

Tour Overview:

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Israel is a land of connections and reconnections, of nostalgia and rediscovery. Come discover Israel for the first time, or re-discover it anew. Traveling together as a community, we will bond through our shared experiences. We’ll have amazing adventures and enhance our understanding of culture and archaeology, religion and politics, the ancient and the modern, as we delve in-depth into Israel’s millennia-old legacy as heart of the Jewish People.

ON OUR JOURNEY WE WILL:
  • Encounter Israel’s “must do” experiences, including; Jordan River Rafting, Mount Herzl, Yad Vashem, Mystical Safed, The Golan Heights, and Masada.
  • Discover the charm, delight and complexity of Jerusalem’s Old City, including: the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter and a spectacular rooftop vista.
  • Celebrate our B'nai Mitzvahs overlooking the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
  • Sample local delicacies at Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market, Jerusalem’s Machane Yehudah, a Golan chocolate factory and an award-winning winery.
  • Enjoy lunch and an unsinkable swim in the healing waters of the Dead Sea.
  • Explore the cobblestone alleyways of Old Jaffa, admiring the art galleries and learning about the ancient port.

    • AND SO MUCH MORE!

    INCLUDED:
  • All touring and sightseeing in a deluxe air-conditioned vehicle with an expert English-speaking guide
  • Tips to guides, driver, and dining room waiters (For more information on Ayelet’s tipping policies, click here)
  • Whisper headsets throughout
  • Breakfast daily
  • 2 Lunches (Shabbat Lunch and Dead Sea Lunch)
  • 6 Dinners (Welcome Dinner in Tel Aviv, Shabbat Dinner in Jerusalem, 2 Kibbutz Dinners, Genesis land dinner and experience (camels, etc), and Farewell Dinner)
  • Participate in a live Archeological Dig
  • Explore Israeli innovation at the Taglit Innovation Center
  • Experience rafting down the Jordan River in the north
  • Receive an IDF northern border briefing at Misgav Am
  • Enjoy a Safed Candle Workshop
  • Airport Transfers included if arriving/departing with the main group
  • Entrance fees as per itinerary
  • Porterage
  • Bottled water (2 bottles per person per day on the bus)

NOT INCLUDED:
  • Roundtrip airfare, departure taxes and fuel surcharges
  • Border taxes or visa fees
  • Any meals not listed above
  • Any items of a personal nature
  • Any costs associated with testing or related to proof of Covid/vaccine status - Currently proof of traveler health insurance and vaccination are required to enter Israel.
  • Travel insurance (recommend group policy is available - click here for policy info)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Thursday, June 9, 2022: DEPARTURE

• We depart on our overnight flight to Israel.

Day 2: Friday, June 10, 2022: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

• Shalom and Bruchim Habaim—Welcome to Israel! Our time in this incredible land has officially started and our excitement mounts as we set off on the adventure ahead. We arrive just in time to welcome the Sabbath in Tel Aviv. An Ayelet representative, will meet us just beyond passport control in the baggage claim area and assist us through customs. Our bus will be waiting to transfer us to Tel Aviv, a short drive away.
• We check in into our hotel, freshen up and gather for Kabbalat Shabbat, followed by Shabbat dinner at our hotel. Shabbat shalom!

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 3: Saturday, June 11, 2022: SHABBAT IN THE FIRST HEBREW CITY

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Shabbat morning services in Tel Aviv.
• Our afternoon walking tour takes us along Independence Trail through the Rothschild District to discover the architectural, cultural and intellectual foundations of this great city.
• After Havdallah we enjoy a group dinner at the famous Yemenite restaurant Maganda.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 4: Sunday, June 12, 2022: THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• Stop at the cutting-edge Taglit Center for Israeli Innovation, located in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, for a glimpse into Israeli advances in science, medicine, technology, security and space via the interactive exhibition.
• Before departing Tel Aviv, we visit Old Jaffa, the ancient port city where the prophet Jonah set sail, to wander through the cobblestone alleyways and admire the artist galleries, all framed by views of the sea. We stop at a dramatic overlook of Tel Aviv to share our hopes and expectations for the journey ahead of us.
• Visit the Ayalon Institute and discover the underground ammunition factory that played a pivotal role in Israel’s fight for independence.
• Travel along the Mediterranean coast to the Caesarea National Park, the Roman regional capital. Here, we view the ancient theater, stroll through the hippodrome and stand in awe at Herod’s palace and harbor.
• Travel north to the Galilee. We check into our hotel and have time to relax and refresh before dinner together.

Overnight in Galilee

Day 5: Monday, June 13, 2022: ADVENTURE IN THE GOLAN HEIGHTS

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Ascend to the top of Mount Bental, a former Israeli bunker overlooking the ruins of Quneitra and the Valley of Tears. As the full vista comes into view, we reach a deeper understanding of both the past and present complexities facing Israel in a hostile Middle East.
• We set out to the Golan Heights, admiring the stark beauty of this windswept plateau.
• In the Upper Galilee, hike through the Hermon Stream (Banias) Nature Preserve. Here, we enjoy the confluence of nature and Roman ruins, a trail suspended just meters over the rushing water and cap off our experience by visiting the splendid waterfall.
• Embark on a rafting expedition down the Jordan River, meandering through its curves and enjoying the lush scenery along its banks.
• We return to our hotel and have time to refresh before dinner.

Overnight in Galilee

Day 6: Tuesday, June 14, 2022: MYSTICAL GALILEE

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We visit Kibbutz Misgav Am, located along the Israeli-Lebanese border, for a meeting with Arie, a kibbutz representative. We learn about life on a modern kibbutz, especially one so close to the border, and bring snacks and treats for the IDF soldiers on guard duty there.
• We travel to the mystical city of Safed, birthplace of Kabbalah and home to legends, myths and miracles. We will wander the cobblestone alleys, visit the ancient Caro or Ha’ari synagogues, hear stories of the great mystics and stroll through the enchanting artists’ quarter. We complete our exploration of mystical Safed with a hands-on experience, crafting candles for Kabbalat Shabbat in the city where the tradition was created.
• We ascend to Jerusalem, stopping at the Haas Promenade to say Shehecheyanu as we together enjoy our first glimpse of the City of Gold.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Wednesday, June 15, 2022: DEAD SEA BASIN

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We depart early this morning and travel south to the Dead Sea basin. Upon arrival, we ascend the imposing mountain of Masada by cable car to view the remains of King Herod’s fortress, including the synagogue, walls and bathhouse, as we learn about the Jewish Zealots’ fateful last stand against the Roman forces.
• We enjoy a short hike to the hidden waterfalls in the desert oasis of Ein Gedi, where the up-and-coming David hid from King Saul.
• We head to the beach for an unsinkable swim in the luxuriating, salty and mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea, where we can cover ourselves in silky, healing mud and float at the lowest place on Earth. Lunch is included.
• Overlooking Wadi Kelt in the Judean Mountains, we stop for authentic Biblical hospitality at Genesis Land. We will ride camels, bake pita and enjoy a traditional hafla dinner

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 8: Thursday, June 16, 2022: BNAI MITZVAH

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Morning B’nai Mitzvah ceremony and service near Montefiore’s Windmill, overlooking the old city walls in Yemin Moshe, the first neighborhood established outside the old city.
• We travel south to Beit Guvrin to Dig for a Day on a real, live archaeological expedition! Through our digging and sifting, we will uncover the ancient past, hidden for over 2,200 years, and turn their trash into our treasure.
• Enjoy an evening at leisure, possibly visiting the Machane Yehuda open-air market.
• Those interested can walk together to the nearby pedestrian area along Ben Yehuda street.
• Dinner on own and an evening at leisure.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 9: Friday, June 17, 2022: MEMORY AND REMEMBERANCE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Tour Yad v’Shem, Israel’s memorial to the Holocaust, to view the many moving exhibitions, including the Hall of Names, the Children’s Memorial and the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations. We will have a guided experience through the museum. We have lunch on own at the museum cafeteria.
OR
• Those with younger children visit the nearby Biblical Zoo.
• Visit Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery, to pay our respects by the gravesites of some of Israel’s most prominent leaders, including Theodore Herzl, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, in addition to hearing about the many lesser-known heroes of Israel’s wars buried here.
• Partake in a fun scavenger hunt near the Yemin Moshe neighborhood, the first neighborhood founded outside the Old City Walls.
• We return to our hotel to freshen up before Shabbat.
• We celebrate Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel (Western Wall) to experience the electric atmosphere as Jews from around Jerusalem and the entire world gather to welcome the Sabbath Bride.
• Tonight, we have dinner together at our hotel..

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 10: Saturday, June 18, 2022: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We have the morning available for t’fillah with Rabbi Bloom, perhaps at one of Jerusalem’s many synagogues.
• After lunch at our hotel, we have a walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. We enter the Ottoman walls via the Jaffa Gate and stroll past colorful and exotic vendors in the Arab shuk. Our path continues to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus was crucified, and through the Christian and Muslim Quarters, including the bustling alleys of Via Dolorosa.
• We have the rest of the afternoon at leisure before joining for Havdalah and dinner on own.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 11: Sunday, June 19, 2022: HOLY JERUSALEM

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We visit Yad L’Kashish, the Lifeline for the Aged, an artisan workshop which empowers and supports hundreds of elderly and disabled Jerusalem residents.
• We tour the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, passing by the rebuilt Hurva Synagogue, the golden menorah and other sites, including time to shop in the ancient Cardo Market, today filled with Israeli designers and artisans.
• It is time for a stop at the Kotel, or Western Wall, built 2,000 years ago by King Herod to dignify and support the Second Temple. At this silent monument, a witness to triumph and tragedy, to hope and despair throughout the generations, we take time to reflect and pray, perhaps wedging a sacred note into a stone crevice and enveloping ourselves in the sense of holiness pervading the plaza.
• Head underground to the Western Wall Tunnels. This is an opportunity to discover the many layers of Jerusalem’s history, passing through grand building projects spanning the centuries from ancient Rome through the modern day.
• Visit Ir David, the City of David, where the stories of the Biblical King David come to life through the palace excavations, underground passageways and monumental fortifications. For the fearless, descend with a flashlight into Hezekiah’s Tunnel, a 2,700-year-old pitch-black water-filled tunnel—a marvel of engineering—that brought water into the ancient city.
• We enjoy farewell dinner at a restaurant before our transfer to the Ben Gurion Airport for our flight home.

Day 12: Monday, June 20, 2022: ARRIVING HOME

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.

THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!
(Itinerary subject to change)