English

Celebrating Purim & The Power of our Homeland
Led by Dr. Ofelia Averack
February 23 - March 4, 2021

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.

Super Early Bird Discount:
Save $600 per person if registered by December 22, 2020!
(Discount applied after clicking "book" above)

Group flights coming soon.

Tour Overview:

INCLUDED:

5 nights Dan Panorama, Jerusalem
2 nights Crowne Plaza, Tel Aviv
All touring and sightseeing in a deluxe air-conditioned vehicle with an expert English-speaking guide
Breakfast daily
5 dinners, including Shabbat dinner & Purim party in Jerusalem
2 lunches
VIP visit to Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) Ein Kerem
Presentations by local leaders, journalists and entrepreneurs
Tree planting
Salad Trail experience
Visit to Hadassah's Meir Shfeya Youth Village
Interactive tour of the Taglit Innovation Center
Tel Aviv graffiti tour
Entrance fees as per itinerary
Porterage
Bottled water on the bus
Whisper headsets

NOT INCLUDED:

Roundtrip airfare, departure taxes and fuel surcharges (group flights coming soon)
Border taxes or visa fees
Tips to guide, driver and dining room waiters ($25 per person, per day; pre-collected)
Meals not listed above
Items of a personal nature
Travel insurance (recommended - group policy available)


Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Tuesday, February 23, 2021: DEPARTURE

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

Day 2: Wednesday, February 24, 2021: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive in Israel, exit the passport control area, and are met by Michaela, Ayelet Tours' representative. Welcome home!
• We ascend to Jerusalem, stopping atop Mt. Scopus to say the “Shehecheyanu” as we look out over the City of Gold.
• We check into our hotel and refresh, before enjoying a welcome dinner together with Hadassah friends this evening.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 3: Thursday, February 25, 2021: ISRAEL THEN AND NOW

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we experience dynamic education and inspiration with a visit to Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) at Ein Kerem. While there, we enjoy VIP meetings with the medical staff and leadership. We visit the Round Building, the center of Covid-19 treatment and hear about plans for future expansion/renovation.
• Our next stop is at 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.
• We continue to the Old City and go underground for a behind the scenes tour of the Western Wall tunnels, where we discover the archaeological wonders that once remained untouched for centuries, including some of the newest excavations.
• This afternoon, we have time to relax at our hotel or to explore on our own.
• Tonight, we take an in-depth look into the contemporary art scene. We will visit important galleries and unique art spaces.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 4: Friday, February 26, 2021: WE REMEMBER / EREV SUSHAN PURIM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We enjoy a presentation by a journalist speaker on “The Power of Our Homeland”.
• Next, we tour Yad Vashem, the national memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust including:
o Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations
o Exhibit of Children's drawings
o Children's memorial
• We continue to Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem's military cemetery, where we pay our respects at the gravesites of Theodore Herzl, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, followed by a stop at the new Remembrance Hall. We complete our visit with a group memorial service.
• We return to our hotel for time to relax and refresh.
• As the sun begins to set, we join together to welcome Shabbat at the Kotel with the people of Jerusalem, followed by a private Shabbat dinner and Purim party.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 5: Saturday, February 27, 2021: SHABBAT SHALOM!/ SUSHAN PURIM IN JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin with a walking tour through the Jewish quarter, including synagogues celebrating Sushan Purim.
• We enjoy Shabbat lunch together at Beit Shmuel.
• This afternoon, we set out on a walking tour of charming Yemin Moshe, one of Jerusalem's historic neighborhoods established in the late 1800s outside the Old City.
• As evening sets in, we join together for Havdalah before we attend the Megillah reading at a local synagogue.
• Tonight, we enjoy dinner together and celebrate at a special Purim party.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 6: Sunday, February 28, 2021: SOUTHERN ADVENTURES

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• We begin our day at the JNF/Hadassah park project, where we plant trees amidst Be'er Sheva's blossoming desert sands.
• Next, we tour the Eshkol border, located just a few miles away from Gaza, and learn how the residents cope with living in this community.
• We continue to the "Salad Trail", where we 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 from the kibbutz's self-picking farm, learn about the growing method of the “flying strawberries”, tiny orange orchards, racing pigeons and herbal gardens. We complete our visit with a delicious lunch.
• Next, we visit the Soda Stream Factory in the Negev, a company dedicated to employing Jews, Palestinians, and Bedouins.
• We enjoy an authentic Bedouin dinner in the desert this evening and return to Jerusalem later tonight.

Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Monday, March 1, 2021: THE ROAD TO TEL AVIV

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• Today, we visit Hadassah's Meir Shfeyah Youth Village, where we interact with the students and staff and visit the village, including its working farm and winery.
• We continue to the European style village of Zichron Yaakov to visit the Nili Spy Museum.
• We reach Tel Aviv and enjoy lunch on own in the city center.
• This afternoon, we visit Beit Hatfutsot (The Diaspora Museum), recently renovated and featuring interactive audio-visual exhibits that bring life and color to the vibrant history of the Jewish people outside the land of Israel following the destruction of the Second Temple.
• We check into our hotel before an evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 8: Tuesday, March 2, 2021: THE FOUNDATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Rony Rozen, one of Israel's up and coming entrepreneurs, currently a Google employee.
• We stroll through Neve Tzedek to see the artistic graffiti painted on the walls and buildings and learn how it is an important form of expression in the community.
• Our walking tour continues with a stroll along Independence Trail through the Ahuzat Bayit neighborhood, where the city was originally developed.
• At the Taglit Innovation Center, we catch a glimpse into Israel's high-tech advances in the fields of science, medicine, security and space in their interactive exhibition.
• Next, we enjoy a graffiti tour through southern Tel Aviv to view the images created by young Israelis, illegal immigrants and protesters.
• Later this afternoon, a chef accompanies us to the Carmel Market 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. After our introduction to the fundamentals of Israeli cuisine, we prepare dinner together with our purchases.

Overnight in Tel Aviv

Day 9: Wednesday, March 3, 2021: EXPLORING TEL AVIV

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Our first stop today is at the Ayalon Institute, where we discover the underground ammunition factory that played a pivotal role in Israel's fight for independence.
• Next, we enjoy a visit to the amazing Agam Museum to view the abstract artworks described as a “visual symphony” of images based on Jewish-Kabbalistic iconography.
• We return to Tel Aviv for an afternoon at leisure to explore at our own pace.
• Tonight, we enjoy a festive farewell dinner, where we recall all that we have experienced on this journey together.
• We transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for our overnight flights back to the United States.

Day 10: Thursday, March 4, 2021: WELCOME BACK!

• We arrive back in the United States this morning.


THE MEMORIES LAST FOREVER!!
*itinerary subject to change