Hello Friends! As promised, here's to begin the planning process for a mid-year Israel trip. At this time, there's no commitment – just expressions of potential interest.
Please feel free to send this message / survey to others you might want to travel with. We need at least 20 to make a trip work.
Safety is paramount. While I'm a rabbi and perhaps you expect me to lean toward Israel travel, for numerous reasons I will not risk myself – or any of you. Nor would my Israel tour guide: she's a mom. She also has deep experience in Israel's security and intelligence sector.
Conditions favor a trip, with a few adjustments. Our best info as of now is that Israel is safe for a congregational trip. U.S. synagogue and other nonprofit trips are safely happening again throughout Israel. That said, there are a few places we might not visit (e.g. Golan Heights, Syrian border), and we'd make day-by-day / hour-by-hour adjustments if circumstances require them. (For instance, Temple Mount visits in Jerusalem always are "game time" decisions.) My tour guide is plugged into a security monitoring network, and her first focus is to keep us 100% safe, comfortable and secure. None of us are in the risk business.
The Current Plan. Shir Ami has reserved a 12-day window (fly out June 3, return June 15-ish), with an optional 2-3 day extension for folks wishing to visit Eilat and Petra (Jordan) – both of which are amazing. We don't have an exact itinerary yet, but trust me: it'll be an amazing trip geared to our community. Deposits would be in late winter-ish, refundable until a go / no-go decision. Trips absolutely could be insured. Any trip requires at least 20 participants.
An Alternative Plan. We could delay to late July / early August (dates TBD), which would give more time to watch Israel conditions. However, this option would raise prices 30-40% for peak tourist season.
Or, We Skip 2025. I don't see a need for this option at this time, but in theory we could wait until 2026 (or another year). Then again, prices only go up, we'd all be a year older, and who knows what a future year would bring.
A few notes. We can make adjustments for different physicial situations, but the trip does require extensive walking with sturdy shoes for some ancient sites. We need 20 participants to make it work (I'll keep saying it), so our collective choices will affect whether Shir Ami can field a trip. If a smaller group wants to go, I can try to arrange it: no promises on price, though.
Prices. Prices are evolving due to currency conversion rates and, thankfully, an increasing number of airlines restoring Israel service. Typical 12-day trips are on the order of $4K-ish all-in (flights, tour guide and driver, luxury air conditioned bus, solidly good hotels, nearly all meals, site access, Jewish mother taking care of us, etc.). The optional Eilat/Petra extension is additional, and late-summer travel would raise prices 30-40%.
Flights. There are three options: El Al nonstop (Israel-style security, exorbitant prices), Delta nonstop (extra security, slightly less exorbitant prices), or a foreign carrier changing planes in Europe (cheaper, longer travel, less security). It is possible for folks to make their own flight arrangements (and thus buy a land-only package in Israel), so long as everyone meets up at a designated time and place.
Closing words. In my experience, there's nothing like a congregational Israel trip. The impacts on participants and the community are tremendous and wonderful, and for some it's a "bucket list" experience. It also can be intense: being there, the flood of experiences, everything we associate with Israel. My role is to be fully with you, working closely with our team behind the scenes so the trip can be all it can be for everyone, while always keeping safety and inclusion first.
Please help me by answering a few questions below. With blessings – Rabbi D.