Congregation Beth Shalom
Jun 16, 2024 - Jun 24, 2024
Resilience and Solidarity
Led by Rabbi Mark and Linda Zimmerman
Led by Rabbi Mark and Linda Zimmerman
Sunday, June 16, 2024
DEPARTURE
- Depart from the United States.
Overnight: In flight
Day 2
Monday, June 17, 2024
ARRIVAL
- Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance.
- Shehekhiyanu ceremony at Aliyah Bet Memorial at London Square overlooking seashore.
- Check-in to hotel on Tel Aviv’s Mediterranean Coast.
- Welcome dinner with guest speaker: Col (res.) Grisha Yaakobovitch, formerly of the IDF Civil Administration in Gaza on October 7: Israel and the Palestinians at hotel.
- Optional after dinner walk on beach.
Overnight: Tel Aviv, Dan Panorama Hotel
Day 3
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
THE WESTERN NEGEV: BEARING WITNESS
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Travel to the Nova Festival site in the Western Negev.
- Visit Kibbutz Kfar Azza, which was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists on October 7, in conjunction with Kfar Azza Rebuilding Alliance.
- Lunch and volunteering opportunity in the nearby development town of Netivot.
- Drive through Sderot to see the town which has been the target of Hamas rocket attacks for nearly 20 years and see the site of the now demolished Police Station, where a fierce battle with terrorists took place on October 7.
- Meet with Ayelet Shmuel, Director of the Resilience Center in Sderot to hear about training teams to administer psychological first aid in times of strife.
- Visit the Municipal Operations Center in Sderot, where emergency services are coordinated, including on October 7.
- Return to Tel Aviv
- Free evening, dinner on own
Overnight: Tel Aviv, Dan Panorama Hotel
Day 4
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
TEL AVIV: SOLIDARITY AND PEOPLEHOOD
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Drive to Kibbutz Shfayim, north of Tel Aviv.
- Meet with Evacuees from Kibbutz Kfar Azza at Kibbutz Shfayim, where they were evacuated as a result of the October 7 onslaught and which is serving as their temporary home.
- Clal Yisrael: Jewish Unity and Peoplehood, a guided tour and discussion at Anu – The Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of Tel Aviv University.
- Lunch on own
- Graffiti tour focusing on street art dedicated to October 7 events and Gaza War.
- Visit Hostage Square, formerly Tel Aviv Art Museum Plaza, which has been the focal point of families and public campaigns to BRING THEM HOME!
- Free time to swim in the Mediterranean Sea and enjoy beachside promenade.
- Free evening, dinner on own
Overnight: Tel Aviv, Dan Panorama Hotel
Day 5
Thursday, June 20, 2024
TEL AVIV: RESILIENCE
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Visit the Palmach Museum in Ramat Aviv to learn about the elite underground organization which played a critical role in founding the State of Israel.
- Hear about the establishment of Tel Aviv, the first Hebrew city in 2,000 years at the Founders’ Monument on Rothschild Boulevard and see the Bauhaus architecture for which central Tel Aviv was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Tasting tour lunch to discover a synthesis of traditional and Tel Aviv fusion cuisine in the colorful Levinsky Balkan Market.
- Travel to Jerusalem.
- Look out over the Temple Mount and Old City of Jerusalem.
- Check-in to the hotel in Jerusalem.
- Speaker: Where are we now: Israel@June 2024 with Haviv Rettig Gur, Strategic Analyst and Political Correspondent at the Times of Israel.
- Free evening, dinner on own
Overnight: Jerusalem, Dan Panorama Hotel
Day 6
Friday, June 21, 2024
HOLOCAUST, REMEMBRANCE, SOLIDARITY AND CONTINUATION
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Tour of Yad Vashem – Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum, including the Historical Museum and Children’s Memorial.
- Visit graves of soldiers and police officers, who fell in the 2023 Gaza War at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, including the grave of Atlanta native Staff Seargent Rose Lubin.
- Lunch on own and free time to explore the bustling Machane Yehuda Market.
- Free time to relax and get ready for Shabbat.
- Friday night/Kabbalat Shabbat options:
- Light Shabbat candles at hotel.
- Attend the “Israeli Kabbalat Shabbat” service at the First Station Compound.
- OR: Join hundreds of other Jews from around the world to Greet the Sabbath at the Western Wall. Option to pray together as a congregation at the “Masorti Kotel”, where men and women can stand together.
- OR: Attend Friday night services at a local Jerusalem synagogue.
- Festive Shabbat Dinner at hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem, Dan Panorama Hotel
Day 7
Saturday, June 22, 2024
AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY IN JERUSALEM
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Shabbat morning services – TBD with Rabbi Zimmerman.
- Shabbat Lunch at hotel.
- Free time to relax, explore the city on own and enjoy hotel pool.
- Walking tour to the historic Montefiore Windmill to discover the first neighborhood built outside the walls of the Old City. Then continue to nearby Ketef Hinnom, a First Temple period burial site where archaeologists discovered the oldest biblical text ever found.
- Havdallah with Rabbi Zimmerman.
- Free evening
- Dinner on own
- Recommendation for the evening: Check out the First Station Compound – Jerusalem’s old Ottoman Train Station which has been converted into a restaurant- café area. It’s a short walk from your hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem, Dan Panorama Hotel
Day 8
Sunday, June 23, 2024
ANCIENT JERUSALEM
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Possibility of Shacharit Services at Egalitarian section of Kotel.
- Discover the archaeological story of the Western Wall and episodes of Jewish history at Robinson’s Arch and the Southern Wall Excavations.
- Visit the traditional prayer area of the Western Wall.
- Walk through the Western Wall Tunnels to discover underground Jerusalem.
- Lunch on own in the Jewish Quarter
- Tour of Jewish Quarter including the Broad Wall, Rooftops and Cardo.
- Remainder of afternoon free to pack, relax and get in last minute shopping.
- Farewell dinner at a local restaurant.
- Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for U.S. bound flight
Overnight: In Flight
Monday, June 24, 2024
ARRIVAL IN THE U.S.
$3,725*
Price per person, based on double occupancy
$1,225*
Single occupancy supplement
* Based on 20 full-paying participants. Prices do not include flights.
Hotels:
3 nights, Tel Aviv, Dan Panorama Hotel**
3 nights + late check-out on final day, Jerusalem, Dan Panorama Hotel**
Land Price Includes:
- Group assistance upon arrival and departure at Ben Gurion Airport
- One group transfer from and one group transfer to Ben Gurion Airport
- Licensed Israeli Government Tour Educator and trained by Makor
- All group Transportation in Israel on a private luxury bus
- Hotel Accommodations per above, **or similar, pending confirmation
- All Site Admissions and programs as per the itinerary
- Meals
- Breakfast daily
- 3 lunches
- 3 dinners
- Source Materials, Hat, Map
- Water on bus daily
- Porterage at hotels
Not Included:
- Tips for Guide and Driver (Recommended: $8 per day per person for guide, $4 per day per person for driver)
- Meals on own and out of pocket expenses
- Travel and Medical Insurance
- Flights
Payment and Refund Schedule
Payment Schedule
Upon Registration — Deposit of $500 per participant
April 1, 2024 — 50% of Total Payment
May 15, 2024 — Full Payment
Refund Schedule
Cancel before April 1, 2024 — Full Refund
Cancel between April 1, 2024 and May 15, 2024 — 50% Refund
Cancel between May 15 and June 1, 2024 — 25% Refund
Cancel after June 1, 2024 — No Refund
For more information, please contact Rabbi Misha Zinkow, [email protected]
Travel Insurance:
We urge you to purchase cancellation insurance & supplemental medical coverage (which covers pre-existing conditions). This is a smart way to safeguard against life’s surprises.
We have made arrangements with SMS-Travel Insurance Center (Israel) of Omaha, Nebraska. SMS has over 25 years of experience as worldwide insurance brokers and can help you choose the policy that best meets your needs. Yonah Engel is our contact person.
Important information about timing for purchase of travel insurance:
- most insurance policies require purchase within 21 days of your first payment* in order to receive maximum coverage (pre-existing conditions, bankruptcy insurance, etc). (*your $500 deposit)
- even if you do not yet know the final trip cost (e.g. flights), write down the amount you do know – and then at a later date, you can amend the insurance premium.
- trip dates are for the entire period away from home
- trip costs are all pre-paid expenses (e.g. airfare + land costs)
Email: [email protected]
Phone number: 1-402-404-5205
Mention promo code: IGT-MAKOR