As Israelis remain in crisis and grief, we are traveling to provide support and to hear their stories. Rabbi Breit spent years guiding tours in Israel and is honored to lead with local guide and her old friend, Asaf Rockman. Our trip aims to maximize quality volunteer time on the ground and real personal connection with Israel and Israelis. We also know some of what we see will be hard to take. It is for this reason that we travel together with a rabbi and congregational support system.
We are trying to keep trip costs low by offering a base trip running Sunday, March 31 - Thursday, April 4th. Add the Shabbat Extension through Saturday, April 6th to spend more time in Israel.
Please click here to fill out our interest form if you are not yet ready to commit.
To REGISTER click here; this will take you to our tour operator's official form.
Itinerary:
Each day will involve meaningful volunteer work and spending time with Israelis who have been impacted by the war. Our tradition teaches us that some of the greatest acts of service are our mitzvot of visiting the sick and consoling the bereaved. We know the true compassion of listening to people's stories, giving them our attention to remind them that they are not alone. In this spirit, some of our volunteer work will involve hands on projects like helping to keep Israeli farms operational and to provide supplies for the tens of thousands of displaced families who have fled the borders in the south and the north, and some of our work will be visiting with and listening to Israelis.
This trip is designed for adults of all ages. It is not appropriate for young children because of the difficult content.
One blessing of traveling as a congregational community is that this our solidarity and connection will not end or scatter when you return home. We will return to Atlanta together to support the Jewish people and Israel.
Our local guide, Asaf, is one of Rabbi Breit's close friends from her time leading cycling trips in Israel. He was born and raised in Jerusalem, New Zealand, and the Negev, where he studied in the High School for Environmental Studies in Sde Boker. After completing my military service in the infantry, he moved to Portland, Oregon and worked as in outdoor education for troubled youth. He is a third generation tour guide (his grandfather was one of the first Israeli tour guides) and lives in the small desert town of Mitzpe Ramon, whose population recently doubled with displaced families fleeing the border with Gaza, with his spouse Enav, two dogs, and cat. Please note that even the final itinerary is subject to change so that our service projects remain relevant and helpful.
Click here for our current itinerary and bios of some of the folks we will meet.
Accommodations:
Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
*If you would like to arrive early or extend your stay at the hotel, please email our tour operators daphne@igt.co.il and cc ezra@igt.co.il
Pricing Information:
Base Trip
$2,335 per person in double occupancy
$355 single occupancy supplement
Price includes: airport assistance and transfer, licensed tour guide, security guard, breakfast and dinner daily
Shabbat Extension
+$775 per person in double occupancy
+$355 single occupancy supplement
+$355 single occupancy supplement
*Prices do not include:
Flights, travel insurance, additional tips for guide or driver, any meals on own
Flight Recommendation:
Any flight that arrives Monday, April 1st in TLV is suitable.
Rabbi Breit will be flying Delta/El Al LY0016 and landing 1:50pm in TLV on 4/1.
For departure flight, choose a flight that leaves midnight or later on Thursday or Saturday night.
We strongly recommend booking directly via El Al for lowest cost. El Al now codeshares with Delta.
Itinerary and Bios
|
DEPARTURE
Overnight: Flight
Day 2: Monday, April 1, 2024
ARRIVAL IN ISRAEL
· Free day with optional volunteering activities, depending on time of arrival.
· Check in to the hotel, for rest and relaxation.
· Dinner at the hotel, followed by talk with journalist Haviv Rettig-Gur of the Times of Israel “The Lay of the Land in Israel After October 7th”
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 3: Tuesday, April 2, 2024
GAZA ENVELOPE POST OCTOBER 7: SERVICE
· Breakfast at the hotel.
· Depart hotel for the South.
· Agricultural Volunteering at Kibbutz Be’eri.
· Drive to the site of the Nova Rave Party, located next to Kibbutz Reim, and hear a first-hand testimony from one of the survivors, who was at the party on October 7.
· Visit Kfar Azza which was attacked in the Hamas onslaught, in conjunction with the Kfar Azza Rebuilding Alliance.
· Drive to Sderot.
· Lunch on own at local restaurant in Sderot.
· Drive through the town of Sderot, a symbol of Israel’ s longstanding conflict with Hamas, stopping at the once-famous now demolished police station, and conclude at the local command and control center, including a visit to the local Chabad rabbi and personal testimony from October 7th by Rabbi Asher Pizem.
· Continue to an active IDF base for a special BBQ with Grilling For IDF.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 4: Wednesday, April 3, 2024
JERUSALEM: SOLIDARITY
· Breakfast at the hotel.
· Visit the Hamal Hayerushalmi, the Jerusalem Civil Coordination Center, for a talk with Adir Schwartz, a Jerusalem community leader and one of the founders of the center, followed by a guided visit through the center.
· Visit the new Memorial to Israel’s Fallen and some of the new graves at the Mount Herzl National Cemetery, including the grave of Rose Lubin, the Atlanta native who was killed in Jerusalem a month into the current war as well as the grave of Dekel Suissa, a former ShinShin in Atlanta.
· Have lunch with Dr. Yizhar Hess, Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization at the headquarters of Israel’s National Institutions, the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
· Visit the Yad b'Yad bilingual Hebrew-Arabic school in Jerusalem, for a conversation with Leah about the challenges of building a shared society post October 7.
· Dinner and A Spiritual Break – Sharing, Music, Torah and Togetherness, with local Jerusalemite with Nissimi Naim Naor at his house.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 5: Thursday, April 4, 2024
TEL AVIV: SERVICE AND SOLIDARITY
· Breakfast at the hotel.
· Drive to Tel Aviv.
· October 7th and the Quest for Peace, conversation with Maoz Inon, founder of the Abraham Hostel and peace activist whose parents were killed in the October 7th attack, at the Abraham Hostel.
· Visit the headquarters of the Ahim Laneshek (Brothers and Sisters) Community Coordination Center, that has become one of the central civil society relief and social welfare organizations, both for civilians and soldiers.
· Lunch on own.
· Visit Anu, the new museum of the Jewish People, for a guided visit with a special focus on Jewish Responsibility.
· Visit the Tel Aviv Museum Plaza, now renamed as Hostage Square, which is the focal point of the family’s efforts to BRING THEM HOME including a conversation with a Hostage Family.
· Farewell dinner at a restaurant in Tel Aviv.
· Drive to Jerusalem; stop at Ben Gurion for those returning to the United States.
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Shabbat Extension
Day 6: Friday, April 5, 2024
MEMORIES AND MOVING FORWARD
· Breakfast at the hotel.
· Take part in a Family Volunteer project in Jerusalem.
· Continue to the Machane Yehuda and fill Shabbat Gift Baskets for bereaved families.
· Lunch on own in the market.
· Free time for personal exploration and shopping.
· Late afternoon visit to the Kotel, followed by candle lighting.
· Kabbalat Shabbat
· Shabbat Dinner at the hotel
Overnight: Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 7: Shabbat, April 6, 2024
SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM
· Breakfast at the hotel.
· Services with Rabbi Breit at a local synagogue or sleep in morning.
· Shabbat Lunch together at the hotel in the main dining room.
o Possible touring options in Old City: The Poet and the Windmill - Guided walk through the Yemin Moshe neighborhood with the poetry of Yehudah Amichai.
o A Historic Weave of Jerusalem – Walk through the Valley of Hinnom, using the Bible as guide to the top of Mount Zion and continuing to the Jewish Quarter.
o The new Israel Museum on own
o Jerusalem: A City of Many Traditions – Visit the Old City, beginning with a guided walk, through Mount Zion and continue along the Ramparts, followed by free time in the Old City Markets – The Shuk.
o Christian Jerusalem - Guided visit to the Christian Quarter, including part of the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
· Torah Study with Rabbi Breit
· Wrap up conversation and check-out of hotel.
· Havdallah followed by dinner on own.
· Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport.
Overnight: In Flight
|
HAVIV RETIG GUR
A veteran Israeli-American journalist and analyst, Haviv has lectured on Israeli politics, Jewish history and identity, and Israel-Diaspora relations for almost a decade. He has been a speaker and panelist at the largest conferences on the Jewish calendar, including the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, Limmud in England and the CAJE Jewish education conference. He served as director of communications for the Jewish Agency for Israel and has visited over 20 countries to write about their Jewish communities and relations with Israel. For four years he taught a course in Jewish identity and Diaspora at Tel Aviv’s elite Benny Zion Pre-Military Academy, and lectures regularly about Jewish world issues before IDF officers, Israeli business and nonprofit leaders, Members of Knesset, American Jewish missions to Israel, diplomats and others. Currently he is a senior analyst for the Times of Israel
CHABAD RABBI ASHER PIZEM
Rabbi Asher Pizem, the shliach to Sderot, a respected figure within the Chabad community, hails from how own town of Sderot, a city located within walking distance of the Gaza border. He possesses firsthand experience in navigating the perilous terrain amidst rocket attacks and has a deep understanding of the individuals in need within his community. His Chabad House serves a dual purpose, acting as both a substantial bomb shelter and a central hub for numerous soldiers stationed in Sderot.
ADIR SCHWARTZ
Adir Schwarz is the head of Hitorerut In Jerusalem and Leader of the Opposition on the Jerusalem City Council. He has been a social and political activist in Jerusalem since he was sixteen. In the Army he served as a paratrooper in Operation "Protective Edge". He graduated from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem with a BA in Political Science and Business Management and an MA in Public Policy. He is married to Shira and loves football almost as much as her.
NISSIMMI NAIM NAOR
Nissimmi Naim Naor is an Israeli Chef, social activist, and a Rabbinical student at the Hartman institute . He generally explores the Mediterranean, Israeli and Jewish cuisine; Tradition; and carbs. Nissimmi used to help his grandmother prepare Couscous as a child and started his professional cooking career as a cook in Eyal Shani's restaurant over 20 years ago, becoming his chief focaccias baker. Since then, he has never stopped baking and cooking ever since. Nissimmi is passionate about the historical and cultural roots of food, believing a good meal could alter a person’s life, in ways no other things could.
In addition, he established and leads an orthodox community in Jerusalem, including over 150 families. The community combines the Sepharadic and Ashkenzi traditions, allowing all kinds of Jews to pray together. He was also the chairperson of “Hashgacha Pratit”, opening the Israeli Kashrut market to competition, a policy planner in the Prime Minister Office and consultant to Jerusalem’s Mayor. Nissimmi Holds degrees in Philosophy, Economics, Political Science and Law, raising his three Jerusalemite daughters with his wife beloved wife Shlomit.
His favorite carb is focaccia.
Maoz Inon is an award-winning Israeli social entrepreneur and peace activist who has founded several tourism initiatives within Israel and the Middle East, including the Jesus Trail, Fauzi Azar Inn and and Abraham Hostel and Tour brands. Since the murder of his parents in the Hamas attack on Israel on the 7th October 2023, Maoz Inon has become a leading voice for peace between Israelis and Palestinians within international media.
LEAH BEINHAKER at YAD BE YAD
Hand in Hand is transforming Arab-Jewish relations in Israel through the power of shared living. When people live and learn together every day, they cannot be enemies. Hand in Hand’s six schools and communities have formed a resilient shared society of Jews and Arabs across Israel. We see the impact of our work in our students, alumni, families, communities, government officials, and in the media. While each individual impact makes a difference on its own, the cumulative effect is far-reaching. We are showing what is possible in Israel: a shared and equal society between Jews and Arabs.
Leah joined Hand in Hand in May 2020 to head its resource development department. She brings to this role nearly two decades of professional experience, having headed the resource development efforts of three other leading Israeli nonprofits.
A Canadian Israeli, Leah began her professional career in law. She worked as a foreign clerk at Israel’s Supreme Court and briefly practiced law with one of Israel’s leading firms before pivoting to the nonprofit sector.
|
Thu, May 16 2024 8 Iyyar 5784