2nd Timers Trip
Led by Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman
ISRAEL
See it in a whole new light, Panim el Panim


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.

Tour Overview:

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Every day will be a face-to-face experience with an Israeli builder or hero—an innovator or pioneer. Our journey will be hands-on, encountering off-the-beaten path people and places, learning from ancient artifacts and new age discoveries, a cultural, socio-historical, spiritual unearthing of Israel from inside-out!

INCLUDED:

3 nights Carlton Hotel Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv
2 nights Beresheet Hotel Mitzpe Ramon, Mitzpe Ramon
3 nights Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
All touring and sightseeing per an agreed upon itinerary in a deluxe air-conditioned vehicle with an English speaking guide
Breakfast daily
5 dinners, including Shabbat dinners in Tel Aviv & Jerusalem
2 Lunches (Shekel chesed program and Shabbat Lunch at Bulghourji)
Jaffa co-existence tour
Winery tour and tasting
Dialogue with Murray Greenfield
Meeting with Shosh at Café Gotha in Sderot
Meeting with Dr. Sarab Abu Rabia-Quieder of Ben Gurion University
Salad Trail
Meeting with Yaron Bob
Visit to Shai Seltzer's cheese farm
Meeting with Alec Isaacs
Three Faiths Tour of Jerusalem with Hanna Bendkowsky
Visit to Yad B'yad
Art workshop with Rabbi Matt Berkowitz of Kol HaOt
Old City walking tour with Professor Paul Liptz
Transfers included if arriving/departing with the main group
Entrance fees as per itinerary
Porterage

NOT INCLUDED:
Roundtrip airfare, departure taxes and fuel surcharges (available during registration)
Any border taxes or visas
Tips to guides, driver, and dining room waiters ($18.00 per person, per day-pre-collected)
Meals not listed above
Any items of a personal nature Travel insurance (highly recommended)

Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Thursday February 14, 2019: DEPARTURE
• We depart New York on our overnight flight to Israel.
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Day 2: Friday, February 15, 2019: WELCOME TO ISRAEL!
• We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport and are met by an Ayelet Tours representative.
• We begin our time in Israel with an orientation tour of Tel Aviv, starting at Rabin Square.
• Next, we walk through Nachalat Binyamin and Carmel Market, with time for lunch (on own).
• Continue to our hotel to check in, relax, and refresh.
• As the sun begins to set, we join the innovative Beit Tefila Yisraeli for Kabbalat Shabbat, including a short discussion with Rabbi Estaban Gottfried, followed by a welcome Shabbat dinner at our hotel.
Overnight in Tel Aviv
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Day 3: Saturday, February 16, 2019: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• Today, we set out to explore Bialik Street, including the chance to visit some of the excellent (if often overlooked!) small museums in the area, such as the Gutman Museum, Bialik House and the Reuven Rubin house.
• We continue to Sarona Market for lunch on own and a world-class dining experience.
• This afternoon, through Beit Daniel, the progressive congregation in Tel Aviv, we'll visit Old Jaffa for a co-existence tour. This experience brings together a Jewish and an Arab tour guide to explore the mixed city of Jaffa, where Arabs and Jews live side by side. Tracing the different historical narratives, we explore the possibility of creating a common future and shared society.
• Enjoy the evening at leisure to discover this bustling metropolis.
Overnight in Tel Aviv
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Day 4: Sunday, February 17, 2019: MEDITERRANEAN COAST

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We travel north along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea, the former Roman capital of the area, where we visit the Ralli Museum, filled with Latin American and Spanish paintings and sculptures as well as 16th to 18th century paintings depicting biblical themes.
• We continue to the Tishbi Winery in Zichron Yaakov for a tour and tasting.
• Next, we visit Atlit, site of the British Internment camp for thousands of Jewish refugees, who were caught attempting to immigrate to Israel during the British Mandatory period, followed by a dialogue with Murray Greenfield, who was detained there.
• Later this afternoon, we return to Tel Aviv for an evening at leisure and dinner on own.
Overnight in Tel Aviv
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Day 5: Monday, February 18, 2019: HEADING SOUTH

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• This morning, we depart Tel Aviv and travel south to the Negev Desert.
• We meet Shosh and hear her story at Café Gotha in Sderot, a social café that employs young people with disabilities and at-risk youth.
• Next, we drive to the Bedouin city of Rahat for a meeting at the Municipal Communal Center (Matnas) of Rahat. Here, we meet Dr. Sarab Abu Rabia-Quieder of Ben Gurion University for a discussion entitled “Bedouin Women in the Negev: Transition and Empowerment”.
• We visit Saroka Medical Center with a chance to perform the mitzvah of bikur cholim and learn about how this hospital handles war related trauma issues.
• We continue south to Mitzpe Ramon to check in to our hotel and refresh.
• Tonight, we enjoy dinner together at our hotel.
Overnight in Mitzpe Ramon
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Day 6: Tuesday, February 19, 2019: SOUTHERN ADVENTURES

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we set out for a delicious adventure at 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. 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 continue with a hike at Ein Avdat, a spectacular natural canyon where springs descend in a series of breathtaking waterfalls.
• We return to our hotel later this afternoon for a relaxing evening and dinner together.
Overnight in Mitzpe Ramon
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Day 7: Wednesday, February 20, 2019: RELAXATION & THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM

• Breakfast and check out of our hotel.
• Enjoy the morning to relax by the pool or get pampered at the hotel's spa.
• We check out of our hotel and travel north to tour the ancient and modern agriculture surrounding the Sataf Forest, including a visit to Shai Seltzer's cheese farm.
• We ascend to Jerusalem, stopping atop Mt. Scopus to take in the panoramic view and say the “Shehecheyanu” as we look out over the City of Gold.
• We check in to our hotel and enjoy an evening at leisure and dinner on own.
Overnight in Jerusalem
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Day 8: Thursday, February 21, 2019: YEARNING FOR PEACE

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we meet with Alec Isaacs, who shares his story and his project Siach Shalom, a possible game-changer in the seemingly endless struggle for peace.
• We enter the Old City for “The Three Faiths Tour of Jerusalem” with Hanna Bendkowsky. We spend the morning seeing the incredible patchwork of religious life in one of the most interesting and complex cities in the world. Along the way, we visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Stations of the Cross, the Dome of the Rock, and the Kotel (Western Wall).
• Lunch at the Harutzim Café in Talpiot run by Shekel, providing community services for 8,000 people with special needs from every sector of Israeli society: Jews, Arabs, Christians, religious and secular.
• After lunch, we visit Yad B'Yad, a cutting edge, unique Jewish-Arab School, to meet faculty and students.
• Evening at leisure to discover Jerusalem and enjoy dinner on own.
Overnight in Jerusalem
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Day 9: Friday, February 22, 2019: MODERN JERUSALEM

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• We begin our day touring the newly renovated Israel Museum, where we visit the famous Shrine of the Book to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and view the miniature scale replica of ancient Jerusalem.
• We explore the power of Jewish ideas, texts and values during a hands-on art workshop with Rabbi Matt Berkowitz of Kol HaOt.
• We return to our hotel to freshen up.
• Tonight, we join together for Shabbat services at Shir Hadash, a warm and welcoming Modern Orthodox community catering to the English-speaking population of Jerusalem. We'll hear the story of Rabbi Ian Pear, who grew up secular and ended up making aliyah from North America.
• Following services, we enjoy Shabbat dinner hosted by members of this inviting congregation.
Overnight in Jerusalem
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Day 10: Saturday, February 23, 2019: A JERUSALEM SHABBAT

• Breakfast at our hotel.
• This morning, we attend Shabbat services at Hebrew Union College, the epicenter of Progressive Judaism in Jerusalem.
• This afternoon, we return to the Old City for a walking tour and political discussion with Professor Paul Liptz of HUC entitled: "The Interaction of War and Politics: 1948 to the Present," beginning at Beit Shmuel.
• We will stop along the way for lunch at Bulghourji.
• Free time to enjoy the hotel, spa, and finish packing before we check out of our hotel.
• We join together for Havdalah and 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 flight back to the United States.
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Day 11: Sunday, February 24, 2019: WELCOME HOME!

• We arrive back in New York this morning. L'hitraot!

The Memories Last Forever!!!
*Itinerary subject to change