English

Israel Through Nature's Lens
Tu Bishvat in Israel
Led by CarolAnn Schwartz
February 5-16, 2020

Tour Rates & Dates:

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*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.
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If Land & Air price is displayed, the air portion includes tax and fuel surcharges, which are subject to change until ticketed.


Group flights available on El Al from JFK.  Contact Ayelet Tours for
connecting flights from any city at 800-237-1517 x340.

Tour Overview:

INCLUDED ON THIS AMAZING TRIP:

3 nights Crowne Plaza, Tel Aviv
1 night Leonardo Negev , Be'er Sheva
5 nights Dan Panorama, Jerusalem
All touring an a deluxe air-conditioned vehicle with an expert English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
Welcome dinner at a Tel Aviv restaurant
Private Shabbat dinners in Tel Aviv & Jerusalem
Machane Yehuda chef tour and dinner
"Women Cook" dinner in Sderot
Salad Trail visit with lunch
Tree planting at the JNF/Hadassah park
Visit to Eshkol Protected School
Meeting with artists Yaron Bob
Tour and tasting at Tzuba Winery
Transfer included if arriving/departing with main group
Wine at welcome, Shabbat and farewell dinners
Entrance fees as per itinerray
Porterage
Bottled water on the bus
Whisper headsets

NOT INCLUDED:

Roundtrip airfare, departure taxes and fuel surcharges
(group flights available - contact Ayelet Tours for connecting flights at 800-237-1517 x340)
Border taxes or visa fees
Tips to guide, driver and dining room waiters ($22 per person, per day; pre-collected)
Meals not listed above
Items of a personal nature
Travel insurance (highly recommended)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Wednesday, February 5, 2020: DEPARTURE

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

Day 2: Thursday, February 6, 2020: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!

• We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport early this morning and are assisted by an Ayelet Tours representative. Welcome home!
• We begin our tour at Neot Kedumim Biblical Gardens for a special program connecting us to the biblical land, and enjoy a shepherd's welcome snack.
• Our next stop is at the Agam Museum to view the abstract artworks described as a “visual symphony” of images based on Jewish-Kabbalistic iconography and discover its connection to the land of Israel.
• We continue to our hotel in Tel Aviv to check in and refresh.
• This evening, we join together for a tour orientation and welcome dinner.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 3: Friday, February 7, 2020: EXPLORING THE FOUNDATION OF THE STATE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we enjoy a walking tour through Neve Tzedek, one of the first neighborhoods in Tel Aviv, then follow Independence Trail through the Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood, where the city was originally developed.
• We continue along Bialik Street for a visit to the Bauhaus Museum located on the ground floor of a building built in the Bauhaus style in 1934.
• At Trumpeldor Cemetery, we see the final resting place of Shoshana Damari, Arik Einstein, Haim Nachman Bialik and others. We hear music played by local musicians.
• Later this afternoon, we experience the multi-ethnic weave of Tel Aviv through tastings at the Levinsky Market, with flavors and aromas from all over the Balkans and Greek Isles. We explore the market and the dried fruit shops as Israelis prepare for Tu Bishvat.
• As the sun sets, we join together for Shabbat dinner in a private room at our hotel.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 4: Saturday, February 8, 2020: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Enjoy Shabbat at leisure. Option to visit the Diaspora Museum or the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on own.
• Dinner on own this evening.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 5: Sunday, February 9, 2020: ECOLOGICAL ISRAEL

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we visit Ariel Sharon Park to tour the three recycling facilities and learn about ecology in Israel.
• Our ecological theme continues at the Shafdan as we learn how water is recycled and used to make the desert bloom.
• Next, we visit the Weizmann Institute, where a scientist will speak about new water treatment plants and water usage in Israel.
• We spend our afternoon in the nearby Bedouin town of Rahat, where we visit the homes of some of the community's inspiring Bedouin women and families whose children attend Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village.
• We continue to Sderot for a special dinner prepared by “Women Cook” who come from different culinary traditions; Moroccan, Tunisian, Ethiopian and many more. This initiative was created to empower women and give them an opportunity to be economically independent and preserve their rich cultural traditions. During dinner, we will hear the story of the synagogue, we are dining in.
• We check into our hotel in Be'er Sheva later this evening.

Overnight in Be'er Sheva

Day 6: Monday, February 10, 2020: TU BISHVAT IN THE SOUTH

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We begin our day planting trees at the JNF/Hadassah park project, blossoming amidst the desert sands around Be'er Sheva.
• We travel to the Eshkol region to visit the Protected School. Here, we witness the bravery and hope of the children and teachers and view the buildings used for both learning and shelter, followed by a Tu Bishvat celebration with the kids.
• We continue to the “Salad Trail” to 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 pick and taste fruits and vegetables from the self-picking farm and encounter flying strawberries, tiny orange orchards, racing pigeons and herbal gardens. Our program also includes a Tu Bishvat Seder lunch.
• We complete our day at the workshop of Yaron Bob. 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”.
• We ascend to Jerusalem, stopping atop Mt. Scopus to say the “Shehecheyanu” as we look out over the City of Gold for the first time together.
• We check into our hotel and refresh, followed by an evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Tuesday, February 11, 2020: MODERN JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we visit Ein Kerem Hadassah Hospital for a tour of the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower, featuring the most modern hospital facilities in the region. We meet with staff and patients and take an in-depth look at this cutting-edge medical facility and how it has adapted to ever-changing needs.
• Next, we tour Yad Vashem, the national memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Here, 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
• We complete our visit at Yad Vashem with a group memorial service at the Valley of the Lost Communities.
• This evening, a chef accompanies us to the lively Machane Yehuda for a sensual immersion, engaging with the vibrant colors, smells and flavors that are 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 a vegetarian dinner together with our purchases.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 8: Wednesday, February 12, 2020: THE BEAUTY OF ISRAEL

• Breakfast at 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 drive through the Jezreel Valley and stop at Utopia Orchid Park, a tropical rain forest with thousands of orchids from around the world as well as a variety of other plants and animals.
• We continue to Shiloh, where Joshua divided the land between the tribes and where the tabernacle stood for almost 400 years.
• We return to Jerusalem for a relaxing evening and dinner on own.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 9: Thursday, February 13, 2020: ANCIENT JERSUALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we enter Jerusalem's Old City and set out on a walking tour of the different neighborhoods. We begin in the Jewish quarter with time for shopping in the Cardo market, followed by the Arab market (shuk). In the Christian quarter, we stroll along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• This afternoon, over coffee and cake, we meet with scholar Rachel Korazim for a dialogue entitled “Love to Hadassah, Jerusalem and Israel in Poetry”.
• Spend the evening exploring Jerusalem and enjoying dinner on own. We suggest a visit to Ben Yehuda Street or Emek Refaim.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 10: Friday, February 14, 2020: NATURE & WINE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we set out on a short hike in the Sataf Forest in the Jerusalem mountains.
• At the nearby Tzuba Winery, we enjoy a tour and tasting.
• This afternoon, we visit the Israel Museum to view the exhibits leading us from biblical times to the present.
• This evening, we welcome Shabbat at the Western Wall with the people of Jerusalem, followed by a Shabbat farewell dinner in a private room at our hotel.

Overnight in Jerusalem
Day 11: Saturday, February 15, 2020: A JERUSALEM SHABBAT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Spend the day at leisure attending Shabbat services, exploring Jerusalem or relaxing.
• Tonight, we join together for Havdallah, marking the end of Shabbat and the beginning of a new week.
• We check out of our hotel and transfer to the airport for our overnight flights back to the United States.

Day 12: Sunday, February 16, 2020: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.


THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!
*itinerary subject to change