Dear Friends,
Many of you have been on AFSI Chizuk missions, and for some of you this will be very new. Find below our tentative itinerary for the trip. It remains a work in progress because of the literally shifting sands in Israel. This summer has been a difficult one for all of us who have been "listening" to the red alerts, either on our cell phones or in our minds and hearts. We are one with our beleaguered brothers and sisters in Israel. We have compiled the itinerary below with the realization that new people and new places will demand our attention and we have to be ready to respond. We know that those of you who decide to travel with us will understand the need to make changes when the need or opportunity arises.
Please know that we have also kept the costs to the absolute minimum so that the cost of the trip will not prevent you from joining us. Please read below – call with your questions – request your reservation form – return it with your non-refundable $1000 reservation by Sept. 19 – make your flight arrangements – and be prepared for what promises to be an extra-ordinary experience in our beloved Israel.
All the best,
Helen Freedman and Judy Freedman Kadish (afsi.judy@rcn.com)
CHIZUK ISRAEL MISSION – OCTOBER 26-NOV. 5, 2014 - ITINERARY
Monday, Oct. 27 - Meet Ami, our good friend and bus driver at 8 AM at Ben Gurion airport. Visit David HaIvri and Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Liaison Council. Visit the Barkan Industrial Park where Arabs work alongside Jews. Lunch stop at Har Bracha, enjoying the amazing Shomron vistas. Stand on Har Greezim for an overlook of Shechem and Kever Yosef. Visit the community of Itamar, home of the murdered Fogel family and meet with Mayor Moshe Goldsmith. Then on to Yitzhar, the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, and our good friends, Ayelet and Akiva HaCohen . Dinner and overnight in Ariel at Ashel HaShomron Hotel.
Tuesday, Oct. 28 –Morning tour with Tuvia of the extraordinary biblical garden outside the hotel. Our first stop will be at Kfar Tapuach for a meeting with Lenny Goldberg, a leader of the community. We'll then go south to Eli, meeting with residents of the community, and then on to Shilo for a special tour with Batya Medad. Returning to Ariel, we'll visit with a group from the former Gush Katif Netzarim community that has made Ariel their permanent new home. Dinner and overnight in Ariel at Ashel HaShomron Hotel. After dinner meeting with Avi Zimmerman, Executive Director of the community, who will introduce us to the new Mayor of Ariel, Eli Shaviro.
Wednesday, Oct. 29 – Drive southwest to Yesodot to meet Dror Vanunu and Anita Tucker at Netzer Hazani. Then on to Ashdod, the port city that has been targeted by Hamas rockets. We proceed south to the caravan community of Nitzan to meet Rachel & Moshe Saperstein, still in their temporary homes 9 1/2 years after the expulsion from Gush Katif. We'll see and enter the sewer pipe bomb shelters available to the community. We'll visit the Gush Katif Museum and take time to discuss the ramifications of the 2005 expulsion from Gush Katif. Dinner will be at a favorite restaurant in Ashkelon, another beleaguered city, and overnight at the Holiday Inn in Ashkelon. After dinner meetings with residents of Ashkelon for an update on life in the city under the barrage of Hamas rockets. We'll visit a typical bomb shelter in which residents have spent countless hours in response to the red alerts announcing the launching of Hamas rockets.
Thursday, Oct. 30 –We drive south to the Kissufim junction which played an important part in the Gush Katif story. We continue south to visit Yevul and other communities along the Egyptian border. We'll be in the Sha'ar HaNegev regional council area and meet with leaders there. Sdot Negev, the home of Daniel Tregerman, 4 yr. old victim of a bombing, will be one of our stops. We'll see the exits of Hamas tunnels, designed to come right into Jewish communities for wholesale slaughter. Driving east, we arrive at the Air Force Museum near Be'er Sheva. If time permits, we will visit the city and speak with the residents about life under the rockets and the red alert. We return to Ashkelon for dinner and overnight at the Holiday Inn. Ari Briggs, head of Regavim, and an expert on Israel's southern region, will be our speaker for the evening.
Friday, Oct. 31 – Ari Briggs has arranged a morning meeting with Rav Shatz, head of security for the Gaza region, to gain a better understanding of conditions during Operation Protective Edge. We'll learn more about the Hamas tunnels and life under threat in the region. We'll drive to Yad Mordechai, which had an interesting history during the 2005 expulsion period, and then to the Erez border crossing into Gaza. We'll have lunch in Sderot and then proceed to the Hesder Yeshiva there. All the rooms there are new, and can serve as shelters. Mayor Alon Davidi will greet us, along with Rabbi David Fendel for Shabbat and overnight at the Sderot Yeshiva.
Saturday, Nov. 1 – Morning Lech Lecha services at the Yeshiva. After Shabbat lunch we will do a walking tour in Sderot, meeting with some of the families who have endured the thousands of Hamas rocket attacks. After Shalosh Seudot and Havdalah, we will visit one of the army bases near the city where we will meet with the soldiers and learn what we can do to help them best once we return to the U.S. Overnight again at the Yeshiva in Sderot.
Sunday, Nov. 2 – We'll drive east to Hebron, visiting with David Wilder, Noam Arnon, and the Hebron community. Driving north through Judea, we'll meet Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover, leaders of Women in Green, at the new community, Oz V'Gaon, created in memory of Gilad, Eyal, and Naftali who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas. After lunch in Efrat, we'll visit Mother Rachel at Kever Rachel in Bethlehem. We continue driving north to Jerusalem for overnight at the King Solomon hotel. After dinner at leisure in Jerusalem, perhaps at restaurants conveniently located near the hotel, we will reconvene at the hotel to meet with Arieh King, Jerusalem Council Member.
Monday, Nov. 3 –Early morning visit to the Temple Mount with Rabbi Chaim Richman, where an ISIS flag was recently pictured flying. Those who don't wish to participate will have a leisurely morning, joining with the group again at the King Solomon at 11 A.M. Chaim Silberstein of One Jerusalem will meet us for a tour of hotly contested east Jerusalem, including the former Atarot airport. Afternoon visits at the Knesset with Members of Knesset to hear about post-war planning. Group dinner at Mamilla and City of David Light Show. Overnight at the King Solomon.
Tuesday, Nov. 4 – Meet with Jeff Daube for an update on the current situation in Jerusalem. Visit the Mount of Olives and stop to visit Beit Orot, seeing the progress they are making with their building project. Dan Luria of Ateret Cohanim will take us on his whirlwind tour of the old city, and outlying areas in Eastern Jerusalem. We will have our gala dinner at a restaurant in Jerusalem and then depart for Ben Gurion airport. Those not flying out that night may return to Jerusalem with Ami, or make their own plans for the rest of their time in Israel.
The cost of the trip, double occupancy, not including airfare, is $2000. Single occupancy cost is $2600. This will cover all your hotels, most meals, private bus and driver, guided tours everywhere, and special events. Participants MUST make their own flight arrangements. It is important to note that THE GROUP WILL MEET AT BEN GURION AIRPORT AT 8 A.M. MONDAY MORNING, OCT. 27. The trip ends the night of Nov. 4 when travelers will be taken back to Ben Gurion by 9 P.M., in time for late night flights. Regardless of whether you arrive in Israel before our trip begins, or plan to stay longer, it is essential that you know the parameters of the mission.
Non-refundable reservations of $1000 must be made by September 19, with full payment by October 15. Payment may be made with checks made out to Americans for a Safe Israel/AFSI, credit cards, or paypal, available on the www.afsi.orgwebsite.
Questions will be readily answered by Judy or Helen at 212-828-2424, or by email: afsi@rcn.com; afsi.judy@rcn.com
