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Har Sinai – Oheb Shalom Congregation

Apr 16, 2023 - Apr 27, 2023

Experience Israel at 75
Led by Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi
Registration for this journey is now closed.
Please contact Aviva Janus ([email protected]) if you would like to be placed on the waiting list.
Day 1
Sunday, April 16, 2023
DEPARTURE FROM THE UNITED STATES
Overnight: In flight
Day 2
Monday, April 17, 2023 ~ EREV YOM HASHOAH
B’RUCHIM HA-BA’IM – WELCOME TO ISRAEL!
  • Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance from a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
  • Proceed to Tel Aviv
  • Check-in to the hotel
  • Meet with Dr. Rachel Korazim,  Framing Yom Hashoah: “Akedat Yitzchak” (Sacrifice of Isaac) in Israeli Literature
  • 8:00 pm Beginning of Yom HaShoah commemoration ceremonies
  • Dinner at the hotel
Overnight: Crowne Plaza Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 3
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 ~ YOM HASHOAH
EMBRACING SOVEREIGNTY; THE CHALLENGES OF POWER
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Travel to Ashkelon, The Associated’s (Baltimore Jewish Federation) Partnership sister-city for an encounter with local leaders and Partnership projects.
  • 10:00 AM. Yom HaShoah siren
  • Lunch in Ashkelon with Baltimore-Ashkelon leaders
  • Travel to Kibbutz Yad Mordecai
  • From Destruction to Rebirth:  Kibbutz Yad Mordecai, named after the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Mordechai Anielewicz.   Visit the kibbutz, starting with the large statue of Anielewicz and concluding with a simulation at the site of the 1948 Battle of Yad Mordechai against the Egyptians.
  • 1948: Establishing the State; 2023: Maintaining the State. Overlook from Israel into Gaza, with a discussion of this peripheral region’s current challenges and opportunities.
  • Return to Tel Aviv
  • Celebrating Life:  Dinner and evening on own in Tel Aviv with free time to walk the beach, the Tel Aviv Promenade, and to take in the sights and sounds of one of the liveliest cities in the world.

 

  • Dinner on own

 

Overnight: Crowne Plaza Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 4
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
TEL AVIV VIBES
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • The Visitors Center of Old Jaffa enables the visitor to experience 5,000 years of history in one the most ancient port cities in the world with a virtual performance that brings past heroes to life.
  • Dual Narrative Walking Tour of Jaffa. Join two tour guides, one Jewish and one Arab, with commentary that will provide an experience that deepens understanding of the different stories we tell ourselves and each other and also point in the direction of future reconciliation and hope.
  • Visit Kuchinate, a collective of African asylum-seeking women in vulnerable situations who design and create crocheted products for the home, to partake in a traditional Eritrean/Ethiopian coffee ceremony and light meal.
  • Walk in the Florentin neighborhood, Tel Aviv’s most bohemian and upbeat neighborhood to learn about contemporary Israeli culture through urban art: writing on the wall, graffiti, bumper stickers and painted garbage bins.
  • Festive Dinner at the Hotel with Rabbi Or Zohar and Feliza Bascara-Zohar
Overnight: Crowne Royal Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 5
Thursday, April 20, 2023
JERUSALEM ENCAPSULATED
  • Drive to Beit Daniel in North Tel Aviv.
  • Hachnasat Sefer Torah – Welcoming a New Torah for the Ruach HaGlilit Synagogue, Prayer of Thanksgiving and Celebration with Rabbi Or Zohar, of Ruach HaGlilit in the Galilee.
  • Ascend to Jerusalem via the Jerusalem Hills.
  • Stop at Mount Scopus, overlooking the Old City, for an opportunity to recite the Shehecheyanu blessing, upon arrival in Jerusalem, followed by a short introduction to the city.
  • The Boundaries and Borders, Bridges and Connections of Jerusalem: ride the light rail through the northern Jewish and Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, with their Arab, Haredi, national religious and secular populations, getting off at specific stops to meet individuals who represent the mosaic of Jerusalem.
  • While on the train, stop at the Machane Yehuda open-air market where one can see Jerusalem’s human tapestry as people of all nationalities, religions and ages crowd the market’s streets.

 

  • Lunch on own in the market with “Shuk Bite” meal tickets.
  • Visit the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center:  Guided visit through the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations, the Holocaust History Musuem and the Children’s Memorial.
  • Concluding program in the Valley of the Communities.
  • Check-in hotel
  • Dinner on own
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 6
Friday, April 21, 2023
MASADA and THE DEAD SEA BASIN
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • 6:30 am Optional early morning departure from the hotel to the Kotel for Rosh Hodesh Tfilot with Women of the Wall. (Transportation with taxis)
  • 8:30 am For those not going to Women of the Wall, the bus will depart the hotel at 8:30 am and pick up those who went to services with Women of the Wall.
  • Proceed to the Dead Sea
Option 1:

  • Ascend Masada via cable car for a guided visit through the site and an exploration of the symbolism and questions that arise from the Masada story and their implications for Jewish life today.

o   Ride the cable car down

Option 2:

  • Nature’s Revenge: Meet with a representative of EcoPeace to walk along the shores of the Dead Sea, which recedes about a yard every year, leaving behind a lunar landscape whitened by salt and perforated with gaping holes.
  • All: Continue to Ein Bokek
  • Parshat Tazriya in the Desert: The Dead Sea region is the world’s first health resort. Participate in a “mudslinging” activity while learning about the healing properties and benefits of this unique natural source of health & beauty for skin, body and mind.
  • Float in the Dead Sea and/or swim in the hotel pool, followed by lunch.
  • Return to Jerusalem to prepare for Shabbat
  • Kabbalat Shabbat at Kol Haneshama.
  • Shabbat dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 7
Saturday/Shabbat, April 22, 2023
CITY OF (AT LEAST) THREE FAITHS
  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Optional Shabbat Services, possibilities include:  The Kotel, The Great Synagogue, Kol Haneshama, Shira Hadasha, Shir Hadash.
  • Kiddush at the hotel
  • Shabbat Lunch on own.
  • Three Faiths Tour: Guided tour of the patchwork of religious life in Jerusalem.  Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, overlook the Dome of the Rock with time for meditation/reflection at the Kotel (Western Wall).  Conclude the afternoon on Mt. Zion, significant to all three monotheistic religions.
  • Leisure time for a Shabbat schluf.
  • Meet with former United States Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro.
  • Havdalah
  • Dinner and evening on own

 

Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 8
Sunday, April 23, 2023
CONFLICTING NARRATIVES
  • Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
  •  Is the Israeli -Palestinian Peace Process Over?  With Dr. Tal Becker of the Shalom Hartman Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  • Possible visits to the Hebrew Union College and the Yad LaKashish Sheltered Workshop
  • The West Bank Is Not My Home, meet with a representative of Peace Now, for an understanding of the fervently-held opinion to not settle all parts of the Land of Israel
  • My Home in Palestine: Visit Ramallah, the current capital of the Palestinian Authority, for a glimpse at the Palestinian infrastructure for statehood, including a meeting with a representative of the Palestinian Authority.
  • Lunch at the Asader Lsudata restaurant, in the settlement outpost of Givat Harel.
  • My Home in Judea and Samaria, visit a Jewish settlement (Psagot or Shilo) in Samaria and meet with a local resident for an understanding of the fervently-held opinion to settle all parts of the Land of Israel.
  • Continue north
  • (Time and light permitting) Stop at the Kinneret Cemetery for a glimpse into the world of the early and contemporary Zionist pioneers, using poetry and music at the graves of Rachel, the poet, and Naomi Shemer, the songwriter of Yerushalayim Shel Zahav
  • Check-in to the hotel
  • Dinner at the hotel
Overnight: Ein Gev Holiday Village, Galilee
Day 9
Monday, April 24, 2023 ~ EREV YOM HAZIKARON
NATURAL BEAUTY AND SECURITY IN ISRAEL'S NORTH
  • Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.

 

  • Ascend the Golan Heights by Jeeps for a security tour of Israel’s northern border, with reserve intelligence officer and Golan resident, Ilan Shulman.

 

  • Continue to Mount Bental, for a view into Syria to gain an understanding of the Mideast’s delicate geopolitical situation which can affect and be affected by world events.

 

  • Lunch at Belle Offri, the ecological dairy restaurant, which is built entirely from recycled materials at the – Ein Nashut Winery in Kidmat Zvi.

 

  • Drive to Tel Aviv via the Trans-Israel Highway, along the Seam Zone Barrier, with a geopolitical briefing en route.

 

  • Proceed to the hotel and check-in.

 

  • Early dinner at the hotel.

 

  • 8:00 Siren signaling the beginning of Yom HaZikaron.

 

  • Join ‘Sharim Bakikar’ – memorial singing at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art Plaza.
Overnight: Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv
Day 10
Tuesday, April 25, 2023 ~ YOM HAZIKARON / EREV YOM HA'ATZMA'UT
REMEMBRANCE – MEMORIAL DAY FOR ISRAEL’S FALLEN
  • Breakfast at the hotel.

 

  • Stop at a memorial to commemorate Yom Hazikaron before departing for Haifa.

 

  • Depart for Atlit
  • Visit Atlit, site of the British detention camp for illigal Jewish immigrants between 1945 and 1948, for a guided visit through the reconstructed camp and a glimpse into the challenging years leading up to the establishement of the State of Israel

 

  • Stand with the rest of Israel in solemn memory of those killed in the defense of country, while the 2-minute memorial siren sounds throughout the land.

 

  • Continue to the German Colony at the base of Mount Carmel and the Bahai Gardens, for free time and lunch on your own.

 

  • Depart for return to Tel Aviv.

 

  • Guided visit through Caesarea, with its Roman Theater, Hippodrome and Palace, followed by a walk along the beach to the renovated Crusader city.

 

  • Return to the hotel.

 

  • Evening on own celebrating Yom Ha’atzmut, with dinner on your own.
Overnight: Dan Panorama, Tel Aviv
Day 11
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 ~ YOM HA"ATZMA'UT
75 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
  • Breakfast at the hotel.

 

  • Celebrate Israel’s independence with a walk through the Neve Zedek Neighborhood, one of the first built outside of Jaffa and today a thriving neighborhood of cafes and shops.

 

  • Continue to Rothschild Blvd, where the city of the Tel Aviv began and the site of Israel’s Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Today Rothschild Blvd. is one of Israel’s leading Global Innovation Hubs as well as the heart of the UNESCO Heritage White City, the largest collection of Bauhaus architecture in the world.

 

  • Lunch on your own and a free afternoon to explore Tel Aviv as the city celebrates 75 years of independence.

 

  • Check out from hotel and wrap up conversation.

 

  • Festive Farewell dinner at the Goshen restaurant.
  • Depart for Ben Gurion International Airport for the flight home, with Assistance.
Overnight: In flight
DAY 12
Thursday, April 27, 2023
ARRIVAL TO U.S.

NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!

$5,480
per person, double occupancy
$1,420
supplement for single occupancy

Priority deadline is September 1, 2022 for HSOSC members

*Price is based on a minimum of 30 participants.

Price is Land only – does not include flights.

 

Hotels:

3 nights Crowne Plaza Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv
3 nights Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
1 night Ein Gev Holiday Village, Galilee
2 nights Resort Hadera, Hadera

 

Land Price Includes:

  • Assistance upon arrival and departure at Ben Gurion Airport for one group flight
  • One Transfer from and one transfer to Ben Gurion Airport
  • Licensed Israeli Government Tour Educator and trained by Makor – 10 days
  • All group Transportation in Israel on a private luxury bus – 9 days
  • Hotel Accommodations per above ** or similar, pending confirmation
  • All Site Admissions and programs as per the itinerary
  • Meals
    • Breakfast daily
    • 6 lunches
      • Lunch in Ashkelon
      • Light Lunch at Kuchinate
      • Tastings Lunch at Machane Yehuda Market
      • Lunch and Swim at a Dead Sea hotel
      • Lunch in West Bank
      • Lunch at Belle Ofri
    • 5 dinners
      • Welcome dinner
      • Shabbat Dinner
      • Dinner at north hotel
      • Dinner at Hadera Hotel
      • Yom Ha’atzmaut Dinner TBA
  • Source Materials, Hat, Bag, Map
  • Water on bus daily
  • Porterage at hotels
  • Credit card fees

Not Included

  • Flights
  • Tips for Guide and Driver
    • Recommended: $8 per day per person for the guide and $4 per person per day for the driver
  • Meals on own and out of pocket expenses
  • Travel and Medical Insurance
  • Potential costs stemming from Covid-19-related regulations at the time of travel (ex. PCR or antigen tests).

 

Payment and Refund Schedules

Payment Schedule

Upon Registration — Deposit of $500 per participant

January 2, 2023 — 50% of Total Payment

March 5, 2023 — Full Payment

Refund Schedule

Cancel Before January 2, 2023 — Full Refund

Cancel between January 2 and February 15, 2023 — 50% Refund

Cancel between February 15 and April 1, 2023 — 25% Refund

Cancel after April 1, 2023 — No Refund

Please Note: The refund policy will be adjusted with regards to COVID19 developments, to the benefit of the participants. 

 

For more information, please contact

Robin, [email protected]

Rabbi Misha Zinkow (Makor North American liaison), [email protected]

Aviva Janus, [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.

Please note:

  • most insurance policies require purchase within 21 days of your first payment in order to receive maximum coverage (pre-existing conditions, bankruptcy insurance, etc).
  • 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, we 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)
Phone number: 1-402-404-5205
Mention promo code: IGT-MAKOR

No group flight arrangements are planned for this journey; kindly make your own flight plans. We suggest one of these itineraries that have arrival and departure times close to one another. Makor will meet everyone who arrives on one of these flights at Ben Gurion Airport to begin the journey together. If you choose another departure airport and/or itinerary/carrier that arrives within an hour before or after these flights, Makor will meet you as well. All others will be responsible for your own transportation to meet the group at the beginning of the trip. Makor will bring the entire group to Ben Gurion Airport at the conclusion of the journey.

Dulles (IAD) to Israel (TLV)
Israel (TLV) to Dulles (IAD)

April 16: United Airlines Flight 72 (UA72), departs IAD at 10:45 PM, arrives to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) at 4:40 PM on April 17 (next day)

or

April 16: Delta Airlines Flight 5982 (DL5982), departs IAD at 6:20 PM, arrives to Heathrow Airport (LHR) at 6:45 AM, next day (April 17)

connect to

DL5953, departs LHR at 9:15 AM, arrives to TLV at 4:15 PM

 

 

April 26: United Airlines Flight 91 (UA91), departs TLV at 11:25 PM, arrives to EWR at 4:15 AM next day (April 27)

connect to

UA1228, departs EWR at 6:00 AM, arrives to IAD at 7:19 AM

or

April 26: Delta Flight 235 (DL235), departs TLV at 11:55 PM, arrives to JFK (Kennedy, NY) at 5:15 AM, next day (April 27)

connect to

DL5859, departs JFK at 9:20 AM, arrives to IAD at 10:20 AM

Israel (TLV) to Dulles (IAD)

April 26: United Airlines Flight 91 (UA91), departs TLV at 11:25 PM, arrives to EWR at 4:15 AM next day (April 27)

connect to

UA1228, departs EWR at 6:00 AM, arrives to IAD at 7:19 AM

or

April 26: Delta Flight 235 (DL235), departs TLV at 11:55 PM, arrives to JFK (Kennedy, NY) at 5:15 AM, next day (April 27)

connect to

DL5859, departs JFK at 9:20 AM, arrives to IAD at 10:20 AM

Philadelphia (PHL) to Israel (TLV). YOU WILL FIND THIS ITINERARY ON THE EL AL WEBSITE, elal.com
Israel (TLV) to Philadelphia (PHL): NOTE THIS FLIGHT LEAVES AFTER MIDNIGHT; IT DEPARTS TLV on APRIL 27)

April 16: El Al Israel Airlines Flight 8166 (LY8166) -operated by American Airlines- departs PHL at 7:00 PM, arrives to Amsterdam (AMS) at 8:40 AM (next day) April 17.

connect to

El Al Israel Airlines Flight 338 (LY338), departs AMS at 11:35 AM, arrives to Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) at 4:55 PM

Thursday April 27 (NOTE THIS FLIGHT LEAVES AFTER MIDNIGHT): El Al Flight 15 (LY15), departs TLV at 1:05 AM, arrives to Boston (BOS) at 5:45 AM

connect to:

El Al (LY 8552, operated by JetBlue Flight 1159), departs BOS at 9:00 AM, arrives PHL at 10:32 AM

Israel (TLV) to Philadelphia (PHL): NOTE THIS FLIGHT LEAVES AFTER MIDNIGHT; IT DEPARTS TLV on APRIL 27)

Thursday April 27 (NOTE THIS FLIGHT LEAVES AFTER MIDNIGHT): El Al Flight 15 (LY15), departs TLV at 1:05 AM, arrives to Boston (BOS) at 5:45 AM

connect to:

El Al (LY 8552, operated by JetBlue Flight 1159), departs BOS at 9:00 AM, arrives PHL at 10:32 AM

Newark (EWR) to Israel (TLV)
Israel (TLV) to Newark (EWR)

April 16: United Airlines Flight 90 (UA90), departs EWR at 10:55 PM, arrives to TLV at 4:20 PM next day (April 17)

April 26: United Airlines Flight 91 (UA91), departs TLV at 11:25 PM, arrives to EWR at 4:15 AM next day (April 27)

Israel (TLV) to Newark (EWR)

April 26: United Airlines Flight 91 (UA91), departs TLV at 11:25 PM, arrives to EWR at 4:15 AM next day (April 27)

Baltimore (BWI) to Israel (TLV)
Israel (TLV) to Baltimore (BMI)

April 16: American Airlines Flight 3514 (AA3514), departs BWI at 7:04 PM, arrives to Miami (MIA) at 9:50 PM

connect to

AA52, departs MIA at 11:00 PM, arrives to TLV at 6:00 PM, next day (April 17)

April 26: American Airlines Flight 53 (AA53), departs TLV at 11:00 PM, arrives to MIA at 5:15 AM next day (April 27)

connect to

AA1524, departs MIA at 8:30 AM, arrives to BWI at 11:09 AM

Israel (TLV) to Baltimore (BMI)

April 26: American Airlines Flight 53 (AA53), departs TLV at 11:00 PM, arrives to MIA at 5:15 AM next day (April 27)

connect to

AA1524, departs MIA at 8:30 AM, arrives to BWI at 11:09 AM