Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City Solidarity Mission- September 2024

Activities:

• Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport - A group arrival can be arranged or individuals can book their individual arrivals with Via Sabra.

• Transfer to the hotel and check in

• Gather with your guide on the beach to meet and say Shehechiyanu to bless the beginning of your journey together in Israel at this time

• Israel Update with Journalist Haviv Rettig Gur - Haviv Rettig Gur is a veteran Israeli-American journalist and analyst and serves as The Times of Israel’s senior analyst. He has reported from over 20 countries and lectures on Israeli politics, the US-Israel relationship, the peace process, modern Jewish history and identity, and Israel-diaspora relations. Gur is one of the most thought-provoking and detailed analysts of our time.

• Dinner at Pankina - Pankina is an excellent dairy Kosher Italian restaurant that took part in cooking nourishing food for soldiers, hospitalized patients and evacuees from south during the first months of the war.

• Crowne Plaza Beach Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Depart Tel Aviv and travel south

• Geo-political tour of Otef Aza - Stop at key lookout points for an in-depth discussion of the complexity of the Gaza Border situation.

• Lunch with Osi Lankri at her home in Ofakim - Recognized as one of Ofakim's "Culinary Queens," Osi invites you to savor a home-cooked meal in her beautiful home. While enjoying the culinary experience, listen to her personal stories about life in the Envelope, her birthplace and hometown. Gain insights into how the October 7th attack affected her home, family, and neighborhood.

• Bear Witness to the events of October 7 - Visits to the kibbutzim and yeshuvim of the Gaza Envelope will be made pending availability and will only be determined close to the date of the visit. As time goes on, residents are returning to their homes and requesting their privacy.

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

• Meet staff and visit soldiers at Barzilai Medical Center - Circumstances permitting

• Return to Tel Aviv

• Dinner at Guetta Restaurant - On Jaffa's Jerusalem Boulevard, across from the Gesher Theater, Gueta restaurant keeps to its traditional Tripoli style of cooking, using old recipes that have been passed through generations.

• Crowne Plaza Beach Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Meet with Nova Festival survivors and the professional staff of SafeHeart - SafeHeart offers professional support for the survivors of the October 7 music festival in southern Israel. SafeHeart is an emergency mental health project that is operated by a network of psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, psychotherapists and licensed clinical supervisors , who all have experience working with severe trauma and the field of psychedelic harm reduction.

• Northern Border Update with Sarit Zahavi of the Alma Research and Education Center - Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi is CEO and founder of Alma, a non-profit independent research and education center specializing in Israel’s security challenges on its northern border.

• Lunch in a private Druze Home and meeting with Druze soliders - 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.

• Return to Tel Aviv

• Time at the Square of the Kidnapped and Missing - 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, including the Shabbat Table set for 200 missing Israelis, to show support and shine a spotlight on the importance of rescuing the lives of those abducted to Gaza. (Hopefully, by the time of this mission, all of the hostages will have been released and back home with their families.)

• Free evening

• Crowne Plaza Beach Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Day in Ramle with Partnership - To be arranged by Hannah Soltz

• Crowne Plaza Beach Tel Aviv

• Dinner at Tetto Restaurant in Sarona

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Meet the leaders of and volunteer with Eran's Angels

• Encounter with the Urban Kibbutz of Kibbutz Reim - After October 7, Kibbutz Reim was evacuated to a hotel in Eilat. With the assistant of IsraAID, the kibbutz has created a temporary urban kibbutz in South Tel Aviv. IsrAID is an Israel-based non-governmental organization that responds to emergencies all over the world with targeted humanitarian help. This includes disaster relief, from search and rescue to rebuilding communities and schools, to providing aid packages, medical assistance, and post-psychotrauma care.

• Tasting tour lunch in Levinsky Market - The Levinsky Market specializes in spices and Mediterranean delicacies. It is, in many ways, the best market in Tel Aviv, known for its variety, freshness, and special atmosphere. Whether you are looking for a rare Indian spice or some good quality saffron - this is the place. Shops offer a cornucopia of excellent cheeses, smoked fish, wines, and other delicacies. Tour the market and have "tastings" throughout.

• Graffiti Tour in the wake of October 7 - What stories do these images and words tell about the what has happened in Israel since October 7? What social issues are reflected in the art on the walls? What is unique about graffiti in Israel and Tel Aviv specifically? In this dynamic tour through Florentin, Tel Aviv's best-known neighborhood for graffiti, you will answer these questions, share your interpretations, and gain an appreciation for this expressive form of art.

• Behind the Scenes with Rays of Light - Meet Dana Dvorin who, with two others, founded a podcast initiative, Rays of Light, that is aiming to commemorating the heroic stories of women that survived the October 7th massacre. Ms. Dvorin is also the founder of an NGO that helps women who were abused through drama. Discuss the inspiration behind the podcast, and her work in general.

• Dinner on your own

• Crowne Plaza Beach Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Day with Partnership in Gezer - To be arranged by Hannah Soltz

• Shabbat Dinner at the hotel

• Crowne Plaza Beach Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Optional Shabbat Tefilot

• View the October Seventh Exhibit at ANU Museum of the Jewish People - Immediately following the war, ANU began conceptualizing an exhibit to respond to the war. The new exhibition wishes to frame a current situation and to record the unique creative burst that is well felt among Israelis since the war began. The exhibition curates works by 25 artists whose creative activity reflects the atrocious times Israeli society is facing since October 7th. Some of them are living artists, some deceased – either murdered on October 7th or died during the ongoing war, while others are residents (or former residents) of the southern areas, who suffered the loss of their loved ones, their homes, or whose families were affected by the horrors of the massacre.

• Shabbat lunch at the hotel

• Free time

• Closing Session

• Havdalah - Shabbat ends at 7:15 p.m.

• Group Transfer to the Airport

• Nhvv