Shefa- A Unique Canadian Womens’ Journey to Israel- March 2025

Activities:

• 11:00 a.m. Meet in the lobby of the hotel and set out for the opening lunch in Raanana

• Opening lunch at the home of Shawna Goodman

• Welcome and Introductions with Sarah Mali and Shawna Goodman

• Lunch prepared by Chef Shawna!

• Conversation with Michal Cotler-Wunsh - Michal Cotler-Wunsh is an Israeli-Canadian politician, human rights advocate, and former Member of the Knesset for the Blue and White party. She is known for her work on legal reforms, women's rights, and strengthening Israel-Diaspora relations. Cotler-Wunsch is the daughter of Canadian-Israeli human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler and continues his legacy of championing social justice and democracy.

• Return to Tel Aviv

• Meet Rebecca Shafrir, senior staff member of the Hostage and Missing Families Forum and a representative of the hostage families - Formed less than 24 hours after the horrific Hamas attack on Israeli villages and towns on October 7th, 2023, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum is a civil, volunteer-based organization with no political affiliation, focused on bringing our loved ones back home by any means necessary through all available channels. The forum includes thousands of volunteers, from the families themselves to senior figures in the security, judicial, communication, advertising, creative, and diplomatic sectors.

• Visit to The square of the Kidnapped and Missing in front of the Tel Aviv Art Museum - See the powerful art created by various artists, to show support and shine a spotlight on the importance of rescuing the lives of those abducted to Gaza. The Square has become the primary public space where Israelis gather to express solidarity. (Hopefully, by the time of this mission, all of the hostages will have been released and back home with their families, we anticipate that the square will be a memorial.)

• Dinner at Ewa Safi - Ewa Safi features Moroccan Soul Food

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Depart Tel Aviv for the Gaza Envelope Area

• At Kibbutz Alumim, meet Esther Marcus and hear her story - Esther Marcus is a resilience counselor and founder of the resilience center in the Sdot Negev Regional Council. Her story from October 7 is one of harrowing survival and personal loss.

• Workshop at the Sdot Negev Hosen Center - The Sdot Negev Healthy Minds Project is a community-based mental health initiative aimed at supporting the emotional well-being and mental resilience of residents in the Sdot Negev region of Israel. The project addresses the unique challenges faced by the local population, which has been frequently exposed to stress and trauma due to its proximity to conflict zones.

• Lunch- home hospitality

• Meet the Mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidi

• Stop at the Nova Festival memorial site - at Re'im Forest stop and bear witness to the tragedy of the Nova Festival

• Continue to Beer Sheva and meet the Kibbutz Re'im community

• At one of the sport halls built by the Montreal Federstion in Be'er Sheva, play Netball with a local Mamanet team and meet with Ofra Abramovich, found of Mamanet - Ofra Abramovich is the founder of Mamanet, a global sports league specifically designed for mothers. On October 7, 2023, Mamanet’s community was deeply impacted by the Hamas attacks on Israel, with many members in affected regions. Mamanet, which promotes empowerment and community-building through sports, became a vital support network during this challenging time as members rallied to assist their communities​.

• Dinner- TBD or on your own in Tel Aviv

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Briefing on the situation in Israel's North with Michal Reiken or Meytal Novidomsky

• Workshop with resilience experts from the C2C Partnership area and Vancouver

• Druze Cooking Workshop, Lunch, and conversation - Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy a meal of the foods you learned to cook. Get to know your hosts and their culture and history. Hear about the strong bond between the Druze community to the State of Israel and their contribution to the IDF in particular since October 7.

• Members of the Majdal Shams community support by Vancouver will join the lunch

• Israeli Art and the Zionist Narrative with Shirel Horovitz at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art - During this dynamic tour with Shirel Horovitz, understand what makes Israeli art what it is and learn about its relationship with the Zionist narrative as well as the international art world. Tour the extensive Israeli collection at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and visually explore the Israeli narrative from the early 20th century until today. Shirel earned her BFA from Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, and her MA from the interdisciplinary art program in Tel Aviv University. Her works were exhibited in museums and galleries in Israel and the U.S.

• Israeli Fashion Tour with Merav Shami - The resilience of Israeli fashion - a tour through courage and creativity. Journey to the streets of Tel Aviv to experience the resilience of Israeli fashion. Take an exclusive inside look into the heart of an industry that has always stood at the junction of politics, culture, industry, and innovation. Visit with distinguished fashion designers to hear their stories of hope. Tour studios and workshops to discover how the war has fortified a profound spirit of solidarity among designers as they rallied to support evacuated families and soldiers with remarkable creativity and compassion. This fashion tour unveils the power of the human - and Israeli - spirit to create and design beauty even in the toughest circumstances.

• Dinner with Dana Azrieli at Tetto Restaurant in Sarona

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Tal Hotel, Tel Aviv - Check out of the hotel

• Drive to Jerusalem

• The Stories of Women of October 7 at The National Library of Israel - The National Library of Israel has launched a major effort to collect and preserve testimonies and materials related to the tragic events of October 7, 2023. This initiative, known as the "Bearing Witness" project, aims to document all forms of published material related to the Hamas attack that killed over 1,200 people. The project is gathering diverse materials such as prayers, news reports, personal testimonies, and even videos, to create a comprehensive archive for future generations.

• Volunteer, cook, and make lunch at Metzilot Mazon - The Jerusalem Food Rescuers, aims to create a more Just and sustainable urban food system with less waste. Working with the wholesale market, they divert surplus produce that would have otherwise gone to waste and support communities that don’t have equitable access to food, engage in food literacy focused activities such as lectures and workshops with kids and adults, and run a sustainable catering business.

• Finding our Way- Mapping Journeys from October 7 at Beit Avi Chai - Traditionally, when lost, humans have looked to the sky, sea and land to map our journeys, to locate ourselves and to ground us, literally. In this visual arts workshop, we will begin to interpret our journeys from October 7th through the lens of artist’s maps and use the process of mind-mapping to help us find our footing in this unstable new reality. Beit AVI CHAI serves as a center for the creation and expression of Jewish and Israeli culture and education.

• Closing Ceremony with Michal Herzog

• Final dinner at Eser Restaurant - Eser Restaurant is a new restaurant of the 1868 group and is situated in the Anna Ticho House. This dairy restaurant focuses on farm-to-table cuisine.

• Transfer to the airport