Sunday, 19 December – Depart U.S.A.

Monday, 20 December – Going Up into the Land

• Morning arrival in Israel To be met by your Israel Tour representative (today’s program depends on arrival time).
• Climb down into the amazing underground, pre-State bullet factory built by the Haganah under the noses of the British at the Ayalon Institute.
• Tour Old Jaffa, the ancient port city once known as Zion Gate from which Jonah tried to flee and where Solomon brought the Cedars of Lebanon on the way to Jerusalem. Today paintings and sculptures have been installed in its ancient alleys.
• Shehekhianu-Welcome ceremony on top of ancient Tel Jaffa overlooking modern Tel Aviv.
• Check in to the Dan Panorama Hotel on Tel Aviv’s Mediterranean Coast.
• Welcome dinner at Maganda Restaurant in Tel Aviv’s old Yemenite Quarter.
• Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

Tuesday, 21 December – Tel Aviv:  A New City and a Nation Reborn

• Walking tour of historic “Little Tel Aviv” – Discover the quaint Neve Tzeddek neighborhood that gave birth to the “first Hebrew city in 2,000 years”, once home to Zionist cultural pioneers Eliezer Ben Yehuda, S. Y. Agnon and Nachum Gutman.
• Israel Tour Touch: Discover City of Sand and Sea, a mosaic fountain created by artist and writer Nachum Gutman portraying scenes from the history of Jaffa and Tel Aviv.
• Hear about the establishment of Tel Aviv at the Founders’ Monument then stroll down Rothschild Boulevard to see the Bauhaus architecture for which central Tel Aviv’s “White City” was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Visit the new Israeli Innovation Center located in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to learn how Israel became the Start Up Nation.
• Lunch on your own and free time to explore the Nahalat Binyamin crafts fair. While there checkout the nearby Carmel Market and bohemian Sheinkin Street. All three of these Tel Aviv icons meet at the “Magen David”
• Enjoy an impressive presentation of the amazing achievements of the Palmach at the recently opened multi-media Palmach Museum (age 5 and up only).
• Free evening
• Dinner on own
• Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

Wednesday, 22 December – Digging Up the Past and the Amazing Dead Sea

• Travel to the Judean Lowlands to dig up Israel’s past by participating in a hands on archaeological excavation with Dig for a Day in Beit Guvrin National Park.
• Travel to Dead Sea region.
• Check-in to Hod Hamidbar Hotel at the Dead Sea.
• Swim in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth.  The hotel also has a fresh water pool and spa facilities.  Massage and spa treatments available by prior reservation at own expense.
• Dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Hod Hamidbar Hotel, Dead Sea

Thursday, 23 December – Masada and the Dead Sea: Freedom Fighters or Fanatics?

• Ascend Masada by cable car for a Bar Mitzvah ceremony on top of Masada to connect a Jewish past with a Jewish future.
• Tour the ruins of Herod’s palace and the last outpost of Jewish independence.  Discussion: Which decision did our ancesters make?  Masada or Yavne? What does that mean?
• B’nai Mitzvah ceremony on top of Masada to connect a Jewish past with a Jewish future.
• Lunch on own
• Walk in Ein Gedi Nature Reserve opportunity to bathe in waterfalls and hear how David hid there from King Saul.
• Authentic Bedouin Camel ride at the Almog Junction.
• Check in to the Dan Panorama Hotel in Jerusalem.

• Overnight: Dan Panorama , Jerusalem

Friday, 24 December – The Old City of Jerusalem:  An Ancient Jewish Legacy

• Discover the archaeological story of the Western Wall and episodes from rabbinic texts while standing where Jewish pilgrims walked 2,000 years ago 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 Herodian Mansions, Broad Wall, Rooftops and Cardo followed by free time to shop and explore on own.
• Free time to relax and get ready for Shabbat.

Friday/Shabbat evenings options:

• 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 “Masorati Kotel“, where men and women can stand together.

• OR:  Attend Friday night services at a local Jerusalem synagogue.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at hotel.

• Overnight: Dan Panorama , Jerusalem

Shabbat/Saturday, 25 December – And on the Seventh Day…in Jerusalem

• Shabbat morning services at a local Masorati (Conservative) synagogue or explore a other synagogues on your own.
• Traditional Shabbat Lunch at the Fuchsberg Center for Conservative Judaism.
• Walking tour to the historic Montefiore Windmill to discover the first neighbourhood built outside the walls of the Old City. Then continue to 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: Visit the First Station Compound, Jerusalem’s restored Ottoman railway station turned restaurant – cafe area.

• Overnight: Dan Panorama , Jerusalem

Sunday, 26 December – Holocaust, Remembrance and Continuity

• Tour of Yad Vashem – Israel’s national Holocaust memorial and museum, including the Holocaust History Museum and Children’s Memorial. (Children under age 10 are not permitted in Yad Vashem’s historical museum).
• Alternate program for younger children: Visit Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo, where you’ll see animals which lived in Israel during biblical times. (Children must be accompanied by an adult.  Zoo visit not included in the tour price).
• Multimedia tour of the Herzl Museum to discover the story of Zionism’s founding father, followed by a meaningful visit to Mt. Herzl Cemetery to discover chapters in the history of Israel while visiting the graves of Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir, Theodore Herzl and Hannah Senesch.
• Tasting tour of the bustling Machane Yehuda Market.

• Free evening
• Dinner on own, if still hungry.
• Overnight: Dan Panorama , Jerusalem

Monday, 27  December – Encountering the Graeco-Roman World

• Option: Early Bar Mitzvah ceremony at the egalitarian Masorti Kotel near Robinson’s Arch.
• Depart Jerusalem for northern Israel and travel north through Jordan Valley.
• See the ancient synagogue of Beit Alfa and ponder why its 1,500 year old mosaic floor features a wheel of the Zodiac.
• Lunch on own in modern town of Beit Shean.
• Tour the extensive stunning Roman ruins of Beit Shean, once a splendid city of the Decapolis and formerly an important city in biblical Israel.

• Check–in to the Leonardo Plaza Hotel in

• Dinner on own
• Overnight:  Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Tiberias

Tuesday, 28 December – Ancient and Modern Geopolitics and Israel’s Finest

• Plant a tree in Israel in honor or in memory of a loved one.
• Explore mystical Tzfat, cradle of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in the 16^th Visit its old synagogues and picturesque alleyways.  Then discover the origins of our Friday night service in the city where Lecha Dodi was written.

• Lunch on own.

• Jeep tour in the Golan Heights for a special perspective on Israel’s complex geopolitics as we “look down at Israel” the way the Syrian army once did. Then look out at the border from strategic Bental.

• Chocolate making workshop at the De Karina Chocolate Factory.

• Then taste wines and liqueurs at the adjacent Bahat Winery.
• Dinner with young Israeli soldiers, who are giving some of the best years of their lives to the defense of Israel – Meet the human face of the Israeli army.
• Overnight: Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Tiberias

 

Wednesday, 29 December – Along the Mediterranean Coast

• Travel to Rosh Hanikra in the northwest corner of Israel.

• Descend by cable car to explore the Grottos of Rosh Hanikra – Beautiful sea caves formed by the forces of wind and water.
• Tour of the Old City of Acco:  Visit the Underground Prisoners Museum in Acco Prison, where the British held and even executed Jewish underground fighters.  A daring escape from this prison is featured in the film Exodus.  Then venture beneath the streets of Old Acco to explore the Crusader Knights Halls.
• Lunch on own
• Look out from the top of the Bahai Gardens on Mt. Carmel in Haifa.
• Travel to Tel Aviv

• Check-in to the Dan Panorama Hotel on Tel Aviv’s Mediterranean Coast.
• Free evening
• Dinner on own

• Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

 

Thursday, 30 December – Southern Exposure: Pioneering and Defense in the Western Negev

• Check out of hotel and pack bus.
• Travel to the western Negev.

• Visit Kibbutz Alumim to meet with a local kibbutznik and hear first-hand about living on the Gaza border, pioneering in the Negev and kibbutz as a community.
• Lunch in Kibbutz Alumim’s communal dining room.
• Return to Tel Aviv.
• Afternoon free to explore on own and get in last minute shopping.
• Farewell dinner at Goshen Restaurant.
• Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport – See you again soon!

 

Friday, 31 December – Arrive in U.S.A.

• Begin planning next Israel trip with Rabbi Mark and Linda Zimmerman and Israel Tours!.

Optional Eilat/Petra Extension

31 December – 4, 2021

 

Friday, 31 December – Eilat on the Red Sea

• Morning airport transfer for domestic flight to Eilat.

• Descend into a Red Sea coral reef at Eilat’s Underwater Observatory where you look out the window at the surrounding marine life.  Continue exploring Eilat’s remarkable undersea world at the obesrvatory’s aquarium.
• Lunch on own
• Check-in to Dan Panorama Hotel, Eilat
• Shabbat dinner at hotel
• Overnight:  Dan Panorama Hotel, Eilat

Shabbat/Saturday, 1 January – A Day of Rest

• Day at leisure
• Lunch and dinner on own
• Overnight:  Dan Panorama Hotel, Eilat

Sunday, 2 January – The Wonders of Petra

• Early departure for Petra to explore the amazing red sandstone structures carved by the ancient Nabateans.  Enter Jordan at the Arava Crossing and travel to Petra by bus (approx. 2.5 hours). Tour its Treasury (“Khaznieh”), Roman theatre, impressive caves and rock formations of this Nabatean City. Buffet lunch included.
• Return to Eilat.
• Dinner on own
• Overnight:  Dan Panorama Hotel, Eilat

 

Monday, 3 January – Red Sea Delight

• Red Sea Sail – Board a luxury touring yacht at the Eilat marina for a leisurely cruise and lunch on the Red Sea. Snorkeling equipment is available for a closer look with the most exquisite coral reefs and tropical fish to be found in the world.

• Evening domestic flight to Ben Gurion Airport.

• Check-in for U.S. flight at Ben Gurion Airport Terminal 3.

 

Tuesday, 4 January – Arrive in U.S.A.

• Begin planning next Israel trip with Rabbi Mark and Linda Zimmerman and ITC Tours.

Print Application for Submission

Check your Passport – It must be valid for 6 months beyond your trip return date.

Please make deposit check payable to: Rabbis Discretionary Fund, and return to:

Congregation Beth Shalom 5303 Winters Chapel Rd. Dunwoody Ga. 30360

Discounted price for check payment:  Land Only Package $3,945    

Discounted Air* and Land Package $5445 

Discounted price for check payment for Single Room Supplement: $1450

Full price for credit card payment Land Only Package $4100              

Full price for credit card payment Air* and Land Package $5662

Full price for credit card payment for Single Room Supplement: $1508

Reduction 3rd Adult in a room: -$300

Reduction 3rd Child in a room up to 12 y/o -$400   

Reduction 3rd Bar or Bat Mitzvah child in a room -$600      

Reduction 3rd and 4th child sharing a Quad -$250

Tips will be added and pre collected for Guide, Driver, restaurants and porterage @ $190 per person

Price has been reduced for check payment, for credit card payment 4% is added

*Included in air price – airport tax and fuel surcharge* Fuel and Tax surcharge are subject to change

*Airfare is estimated until purchased

 

Print Application for Submission