Grosfeld Family (through Detroit Federation) – June 2023

Activities:

• VIP Arrival - Arrival at Ben Gurion airport. Your VIP agent will be waiting to greet you at the sleeve of the plane. After assisting with arrival procedures and collecting your baggage, you will be taken to meet your driver.

• Morning talk with Jessica Steinberg - Jessica Steinberg is the culture editor at the Times of Israel, covering Israeli life, culture, food, travel and business.
  Our topic would be the Israeli Narrative through the screen. Addressing the way Israel is portrayed through the popular shows like Fauda, Shtisel and the Queen of Jerusalem.

• Adeena Sussman - Time at Shuk HaCarmel and cooking workshop with Adeena Sussman

• OPTION 1: Tel Aviv E-Bikes Tour - Go on a bicycle exciting tour to explore Tel Aviv, with its beach, boulevards and hidden streets. Get to see Tel Aviv like a local! With our Tel Aviv-Jaffa Bike Tours you get to taste a bit of everything this great city has to offer. Enjoy the great weather, the fantastic beaches and the unique lifestyle of one of the finest seaside cities in the world.

• OPTION 2: Gazoz Workshop - Meet Benny Briga the legendary Gazoz master of the Levinsky Market and author of the Gazoz book with Adeena Sussman. Briga has reimagined the Turkish tradition and given it a creative twist that results in delicious and beautifully bubbly beverage. Join Benny to learn how you can make this yourself.

• Citizen Cafe - Meeting with founder Tamar Pross - Language is much more than a literal translation. Citizen Cafe provides Tel Aviv’s growing community of internationals with an opportunity to become more successful, engaged, and connected to an otherwise unfamiliar culture in and around Tel Aviv.

• Tour through Rothschild Boulevard - Rothschild Boulevard was one of the first streets to be built in the city of Tel Aviv a little over 100 years ago. In the heart of the “White City”, it is lined with Tel Aviv’s iconic architecture, the Bauhaus style, which led to its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many of these buildings have been beautifully restored and now house the offices of financial institutions, creative firms, cafes, and luxury residences.

• David Kempinski, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Peres Center for Peace and Innovation - The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation is a leading non-profit and non-governmental organization focused on developing and implementing unique and cutting-edge programs. The center presents the incredible story of Israel, the "innovation nation", and showcases the diverse fields and people behind Israeli innovation.

• Old Jaffa (including lunch) - Jaffa is one of the most ancient port cities in Israel and the Mediterranean basin. Today Jaffa is a mixed city, where Jews and Arabs live alongside each other. Tel Aviv, Jaffa's younger sister, was established centuries later, in the year 1909, but the two were united into one municipality in 1949, yet each part kept its unique feel and atmosphere. Jaffa has been regenerated in recent years with the old narrow streets and courtyards becoming a highly popular part of Tel Aviv’s urban tapestry.

• Visit Maskit - Conceived in 1954 by Ruth Dayan, Maskit made contemporary luxury clothing utilizing traditional embroidery techniques from Hungarian, Yemenite, Bulgarian, Bedouin, Palestinian, Druze, Lebanese and Jewish artisans. The resulting works of art created more than jobs for immigrants; a brand was born.

• OPTION 1: Shopping through the Flea Market - With Fashionistas and personal fashion buyers

• OPTION 2: Flight Simulator - A unique, fun, and challenging opportunity to enter the world of flight and see Israel through the eyes of a fighter pilot. Receive an up do date analysis of the challenges facing the IAF, hear personal stories from IAF fighter pilots (res.), and experience Israel like never before. You will don a flight suit, preflight your mission, then take off on two thrilling simulator flights. Take in the sites and scenery as you fly over the streets of Tel Aviv and learn about Israel’s strategic challenges on an initial scenic flight. Then takeoff from an air force base and learn about your aircraft’s performance and handling characteristics before your challenging mission over Tel Aviv.

• OPTIONAL: Meeting with Noga Erez over hummus - And meeting the couple at the studio

• David Kempinski, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Meeting with Special in Uniform soldiers and commander - Special in Uniform is an innovative program that integrates youth with disabilities into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and helps prepare them for careers. Visit a Special in Uniform base and meet the young recruits.

• Basketball practice and meeting the coach of the Women National Basketball team

• JDC program - wheelchair basketball team

• Evolution of Street Food - led by Amit Aharonson or Ronit Vered

• David Kempinski, Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out

• Early morning option: Nahalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Market - Visit Nachalat Binyamin, an open-air market in the heart of Tel-Aviv that has become synonymous with quality Israeli crafts and folk art. The market is comprised of over 100 stands representing specialty crafts and folk art in virtually every medium imaginable: wood, stone, sand, glass, ceramics, and various metals with most if not all containing materials or themes found only in Israel.

• OPTIONAL: Overland Israel Adventure through Bourma road - Set out in the Overland, an all-terrain vehicle with huge windows which has been designed using modular construction.

• Yad Vashem - Visit the museum at Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Memorial to the Holocaust. Tour this memorial to the darkest moment in world and Jewish history, its children’s memorial, and exquisite gardens. Yad Vashem is an unforgettable place of tribute and remembrance. You'll be guided by a member of the Yad Vashem staff.

• Davidson Center and afternoon visit to the Western Wall - Walk through the Southern Wall Archaeological Gardens. Get a glimpse of the glory of the Second Temple, the heart of the ancient Jewish kingdom, and the devastation that followed. Visit the Davidson Visitors' Center and enjoy a modern and interactive virtual presentation. The museum presents a taste of the archaeology of Jerusalem from different eras - covering the First Temple, Second Temple, Byzantine, Islamic, and the Crusades periods.

• Prepare for Shabbat at Mea shearim - Visit to challa bakeries in Mea Shearim Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood. Mea She'arim Street is a picture frozen in time, a street from a Jewish shtetl in Poland. On the other hand, on Malkhei Yisrael Street, there are falafel, pizza and juice stands and delicatessens that sell herring and pickled vegetables. A large crowd rushes along, jostling passersby with the many baby carriages. It's worthwhile to wander on both streets, to explore the small alleys and streets of the Geula and Beit Yisrael neighborhoods on foot.

• Free time at Machane Yehuda Market - In the heart of Jerusalem sits this bustling, multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor.

• OPTIONAL: Challah Baking with the Challah Prince

• Friday night dinner at a villa with a chef

• OR - Friday night dinner at Majda restaurant - Majda, a restaurant in the Jerusalem Hills village of Ein Rafa, is famous for its innovative fusion cuisine, beautiful property, views from its rooftop, and for an appearance on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. The menu is full of creative local dishes all prepared by Yakub and Michal, the Arab-Jewish couple who own Majda.

• Mamilla Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Old City, Jerusalem - Tour Jerusalem’s Old City and meet the people and places that make this place so unique. In the Jewish Quarter, uncover the layers of Jewish history from the time of the First Temple until the present day. In the Christian Quarter, visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and, if conditions permit, visit the one of the holiest Muslim sites, the Temple Mount. Throughout the tour explore the complexity of a city that is holy to the three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

• Sataf - Explore the Jerusalem Hills at the beautiful Sataf forest for a hike through the area. The Sataf is on the site of ancient agricultural terraces which date to the time of the ancient Israelites. If it’s warm enough, there’s even an option to take a dip in some of the natural springs. Along the way - forage for edible plants.

• OPTIONAL: Wine Truck overlooking the Jerusalem Hills - Hosted by Nitzan Swersyky from Ahat Winery

• Mamilla Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Visit to JDC

• Check out of the hotel and drive south to the Dead Sea

• Masada National Park - Ascend the mountain from the east to explore Masada, scene of the epic stand by Jewish rebels at the end of the Great Revolt against Rome nearly 2,000 years ago. The new museum at the Visitor Center reveals the secrets of the daily life of the rebels, the story of the excavations, and how the site became one of Israel’s most important symbols.

• Swim & Lunch at at Herods Dead Sea - private mud "party" - Private area at the Herods beach at the Dead Sea with drinks, snacks and all spa facilities

• Cross Israel by helicopters - Take off from the Ein Bokek area and fly over the West Bank to Mizpe HaYamim - over sunset.

• Check in and dinner at the hotel

• Mizpe Hayamim

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Morning talk with Yoseph Haddad - Yoseph Haddad is a defender of Israel – from his time defending Israel as a member of the Israel Defense Forces or more recently as the CEO of Together – Vouch For Each Other, an organization bridging the gap between the Arab sector of Israeli society with Israeli society as a whole

• OPTION 2: Morning Talk with Guy Mallal - Lt. Colonel Guy Malal is a knowledgeable speaker with over two decades of experience as a Commander in the IDF and is fluent in Arabic. Guy Malal conveys an in-depth appreciation of Israel's society, diverse cultures, history and geo-political challenges. In parallel to his civilian occupations, as part of his military (reserve) duty, he serves as commander of a training course in an IDF Intelligence operational unit. Guy is married and is the father of 3 children and lives in the community village of Yuvalim, located in the Central Galilee region.

• Visit and lookout on the Hezbollah tunnels - Drive along the Lebanese border and get an up close and personal look at the opening of the Hezbollah terror tunnel dug into the Israeli side, found in 2018. Meet the person in charge of Metula's security and talk about the threats from the Lebanese side.

• Ascend the Golan Heights

• Jeep tour of the Golan (or offroad RZR) - Take a geo-political tour of the Golan with an expert. While traversing the rich landscape, learn about the history, flora, and fauna of the area. Stop for a lookout over the border with Syria from Mt. Bental to get a better understanding of the geography and strategic role this region has for the State of Israel. Your local guide touches on the nuances of living so close to the Syrian border and what that has meant for Israel as it relates to security and humanitarian issues.

• OPTION 1: Private tasting tour at Chateau Golan - At the Chateau Golan Winery meet winemaker Uri Hetz who will talk about the complexity of growing grapes on Israel’s border with Syria, why he does it, and what he sees for the future. The winery merges contemporary knowledge and technology with traditional European winemaking methods and produces complex and elegant wines.

• OPTION 2: Visit Ilsar - The largest grower of truffle mushrooms in the Middle East and learn about the production of products (aside from eating tasty mushrooms!)

• Evening tour Ein Keshatot (Umm al-Kanatir) - Ein Keshatot is is one of about 30 Jewish villages that existed in the Golan during the Talmudic Period, which was period of great growth in the area. The synagogue building was constructed in the 6th century CE (approximately 500 years after the destruction of the Second Temple), and was the center of local communal life. It served as a place for prayer, reading of the Torah, and various public activities.

• Enjoy dinner cooked live - Right next to the 7th century Synagogue, enjoy dinner cooked live, overlooking the Golan, Sea of Galilee and the Ein Kshatot site. Accompanied by live music.

• Return to the hotel

• Mizpe Hayamim

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Short tour of Safed - Safed, pronounced Tzfat in Hebrew, sits at a higher altitude than any other city in Israel and has been known since the 16th century as a major center of Kabbala, Jewish mysticism. Safed’s mystical aura adds to its special status as one of Israel’s four holy cities, along with Jerusalem, Tiberias and Hebron. The old synagogues, narrow alleyways and artists’ studios add to the hilltop city’s unmistakable charm.

• Avraham Loewenthal - Meet Avraham Lowenthal in his studio. Lowenthal is a Kabbalistic Artist who will share his work and wisdom with you, through which we will learn about some of the symbols and principles of Kabballah.

• Meet a local Druze family - You will participate in a baking workshop where you will bake one of the most popular Middle Eastern desserts - Knafeh! Here you will get to taste some of the best Knafeh in Israel. And then enjoy a home made meal.
  
  OPTIONAL: Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy the feast you create. Learn about Druze culture and history from your hosts and from the food you eat.

• Take the afternoon to enjoy the hotel's spa facilities

• OPTIONAL: Jet Ski on the Sea of Galilee - Take a 2 hour ride by Jet Ski in the Kinneret!

• Mizpe Hayamim

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Check out of the hotel

• Central Galilee Michigan Partnership - JDC site visits on the way south - Program and meals will depend on the location and duration of the site visits, along with time of departure from airport

• Departure flight