The Temple Solidarity Mission: Sharing our Lives with Israel…Learning, Caring, Giving
Jun 8, 2025 - Jun 16, 2025
Join Rabbi Peter Berg and fellow Temple congregants on a brief journey to Israel to explore and absorb the aftermath of October 7, volunteer our time, share our love for Israel with each other and those we meet, and engage deeply with the Land, People and State of Israel.
This "Sharing our Lives" Journey is for Temple members only
1
Sunday, June 8, 2025
DEPARTURE
- Departure from the US
Overnight: EN-ROUTE
2
Monday, June 9, 2025
ARRIVAL
- Various Arrivals to Ben Gurion Airport over the weekend and today.
- 12:15 PM: Meet in lobby for trip to Kfar Silver
- Visit the ORT School in Kfar Silver and meet with Director and CEO of Kfar Silver Youth Village, Amos Gofer.
- Return to Tel Aviv
- Free time for rest and relaxation.
- Welcome Dinner at Goshen, followed by talk with journalist Haviv Rettig-Gur of the Times of Israel: “The State of the State: Israel After October 7th.”
Overnight: TEL AVIV, DAN HOTEL
3
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
WESTERN NEGEV: THE OCTOBER 7 TRAGEDY
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Depart for the town of Ofakim in the Western Negev.
- Visit the home of Osnat Lankri, beginning with an introduction to the Moroccan kitchen with Osnat, followed by lunch with Ravit Iluz, widow of police officer Yigal Iluz, who was killed on October 7 .
- Drive to the site of the Nova Festival, located next to Kibbutz Reim, where 364 people were killed and 40 were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.
- Continue to the bomb shelter from which Hirsch Goldberg Polin was taken and where Aner Shapiro deflected numerous Hamas hand grenades, before being killed himself on Oct. 7th.
- Visit a Moshav Netiv Ha’Asara in the Western Negev (Gaza Envelope), on the frontline facing the Gaza Strip and hear testimony from a moshav member about their experiences on October 7, 2023.
- Return to Tel Aviv; time to freshen up.
- Dinner at a Lehem Basar restaurant with the Tshuvah Family from Kibbutz Zikim.
Overnight: TEL AVIV, DAN HOTEL
4
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
OFFERING COMFORT, LENDING A HAND
- Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
- Begin the day at the Tel Aviv Museum Plaza, now renamed as Hostage Square, which is the focal point of the families’ efforts to BRING THEM HOME, possibly including a conversation with a hostage family*. (*such a visit depends on the real-time situation)
- Sort and pack rescued fruit and vegetables at Leket’s Logistics Center in Gan Haim (Central Israel) for distribution to Leket’s non-profit partners.
- Box Lunch en route.
- Travel to Haifa.
- Stop at the Louis Promenade overlooking the Haifa Bay and Bahai Gardens.
- Check-in to the hotel.
- Dinner at the hotel with Rabbi Michal Ken Tor, Rabbi of the Megiddo Regional Council and the founder of Megido HaRuach.
Overnight: HAIFA, DAN CARMEL
5
Thursday, June 12, 2025
THE WAR’S IMPACT ON ISRAEL’S NORTH
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Jeep ride along the Ramim Ridge overlooking Kiryat Shmona to the Lebanese border. Drive through Metula, concluding in Kiryat Shmona.
- Farm to table home hospitality lunch on Gadi’s ranch.
- Volunteer in Kiryat Shmona area.
- Dinner at IDF base.
- Return to Haifa.
Overnight: HAIFA, DAN CARMEL
6
Friday, June 13, 2025
JERUSALEM PREPARES FOR REST
- Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
- Depart for Jerusalem via Ramla.
- Visit the Bernie Marcus Underground Blood Bank at Magen David Adom headquarters in Ramla.
- Continue to Jerusalem and go to the Machane Yehuda Open Air Market and mingle with Jerusalemites as they prepare for Shabbat, with free time for lunch on own and shopping.
- Proceed to the hotel and check-in to the hotel.
- Shabbat preparation at the hotel.
- Pre-Shabbat visit to the Kotel (Western Wall) and continue to Kol Haneshama for Shabbat services.
- Kabbalat Shabbat at Kol Haneshama.
- Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: JERUSALEM, INBAL HOTEL
7
Saturday, June 14, 2025
AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY…A JERUSALEM SHABBAT
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Shabbat morning Text Study and Tefilla with Rabbi Berg.
- Optional afternoon excursions:
- Jerusalem of Many Traditions: A Guided Walk through Mt. Zion, the Old City and Jewish Quarter
- The Israel Museum (on own).
- Havdallah
- Free evening and dinner on own.
Overnight: JERUSALEM, INBAL HOTEL
8
Sunday, June 15, 2025
A PEOPLE BOUND TO ONE ANOTHER
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- The Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC): Standing on Hope’s Side, with Executive Director, Orly Erez Lichovsky, at the Supreme Court Building.
- Visit to the new National Library of Israel to experience some of its rare and unique collections and to gain an understanding of the library’s role in contemporary Israel. The library “is an inclusive, apolitical, and irreligious source of knowledge and learning (nliusa.org)”
- Continue to Mount Herzl National Cemetery and the new memorial to Israel’s fallen soldiers and pay respects to those who have been killed in the war with Hamas since October 7.
- Lunch on own.
- Free time for last-minute shopping and relaxation.
- Return to the hotel.
- Israel @ 2025: Where are we Going? with David Horowitz from Times of Israel.
- Check out of the hotel.
- Wrap-up conversation and closing dinner at a Jerusalem restaurant.
- Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for U.S. bound flight(s)
Overnight: EN-ROUTE
9
Monday, June 16, 2025
ARRIVAL
- Arrive in USA.
All program elements are subject to change, pending confirmations.
4,890
per person, in double-occupancy rooms
1,360
single-occupancy supplement
ACCOMMODATIONS:
2 Nights, Tel Av, Dan Hotel
2 Nights, Haifa, Dan Carmel Hotel
2 Nights, Jerusalem, Inbal Hotel + Late Check-out
LAND PRICE INCLUDES:
- One Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for one group flight
- Licensed Israeli Government Tour Educator trained by Makor – 7 days
- All group Transportation in Israel on a private luxury bus – 7 days
- Hotel Accommodations as above
- Source Materials, Hat, Bag, Map
- Water on bus daily
- Porterage at hotels
- All Programming and Site Admissions per the itinerary
- Meals:
- Daily Breakfast
- 3 Lunches
- 6 Dinners
NOT INCLUDED IN PACKAGE:
- Flights
- Tips for Guide and Driver
- Meals on own and out of pocket expenses
- Travel and Medical Insurance
PAYMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
Upon Registration. $500 Deposit per participant
April 1, 2025 50 % of Total Payment Due, upon receipt of invoice
May 15, 2025 Full Payment Due, upon receipt of invoice
Cancel By:
March 15, 2025 Full Refund, less transaction fee
April 15, 2025 50% refund of Total Paid, less transaction fee
May 15, 2025 25% refund of Total Paid, less transaction fee
Cancel After May 15, 2025 – No Refund
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Rabbi Steven Rau, srau@the-temple.org
Rabbi Misha Zinkow, Makor Educational Journeys liaison, misha@makorjourneys.com, 614-560-9594 (Columbus, Ohio — Eastern Time Zone)
TRAVEL INSURANCE INFORMATION:
We urge you to check with your provider about your medical coverage while traveling oversees, and to purchase medical insurance & supplemental medical coverage if necessary (which covers pre-existing conditions).
We also urge you to purchase trip cancellation insurance. This is a smart way to safeguard against life’s uncertainties.
We have made arrangements with SMS-Travel Insurance Center (Israel) of Omaha, Nebraska (contact information is below). 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, the insurance premium can be amended.
- trip dates are for the entire period away from home
- trip costs are all pre-paid expenses (e.g. airfare + land costs)
Email: travelinsurance36@gmail.com
Phone number: 1-402-404-5205
Mention promo code: Makor-IGT
There is no "group flight" for this journey. Once the trip registration approaches 20 participants, we will recommend an itinerary from Atlanta to Tel Aviv. You are invited to purchase tickets through a travel agent or on the Internet. (Makor works with World Express Travel in Los Angeles if you prefer to book through an agent. Contact michal@worldexpresstravel.com). The group will board our bus together after bags are claimed. If you arrive more than 2 hours after the last arrival of the recommended flight, you will be responsible for your own transportation to meet the group in Tel Aviv. The group will be taken by Makor Educational Journeys to Ben Gurion Airport together at the conclusion of the trip.