Jewish Journeys • Summer 2015 by New Jersey Jewish News

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 2

Experience unforgettable journeys in uncompromising luxury and style. “ When my mother founded the company, her philosophy was to offer the most enriching experience possible. Today, I’m proud to continue this wonderful tradition.” Marilyn Ziemke. President, IAT Heritage Tours

CRUISES - All cruise tours include visits with local Jewish communities PROVENCE AND DANUBE RIVER CRUISE SPAIN CRUISE CLASSIC AND BEAUTIFUL AND RELAXING BREATHTAKING

LAND TOURS

Adult Only & Bar/Bat Mitzvah family group tours SEE THE ISRAEL YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE! BOOK NOW - ADULT AND BAR/BAT MITZVAH FAMILY TOURS FREE LAND TRIP FOR BAR/BAT MITZVAH CHILD SUPER DELUXE CENTRALLY LOCATED HOTELS

WATERWAYS OF THE CZARS RUSSIA RIVER CRUISE

RHINE RIVER CRUISE ROMANCE AND MEDIEVAL LEGENDS PROVENCE, FRANCE

NORTHERN ITALY A CULTURAL FEAST In-depth itinerary with museum-quality guides including interaction with Jewish communities. Rome, Tuscany, Piedmont, Bologna, Orvieto, Florence, Venice, Siena, Pitigliano, Ferraro, Casale Monferrato, Sabionetta.

SOUTHERN ITALY BELLISSIMA! In-depth itinerary with museum-quality guides including interaction with Jewish communities. Amalfi Drive, Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, Trani.

A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE UNEXPECTED JEWISH HERITAGE Exclusive opportunity to be escorted by world famous scholars. Visit Beijing, Harbin, Kaifeng, Xian, Yangtze River cruise, Shanghai. Includes air fare, all meals, deluxe hotels. Unbelievable!

MOROCCO DISCOVER JEWISH HISTORY IN THIS EXOTIC LAND Adult only and Bar/Bat Mitzvah family groups. Meet prominent descendants of ancient Jewish settlers, tour Imperial cities: Rabat, Fez, Marrakesh, Meknes, Bar/Bat Mitzvah at ancient site – Essaouira. Experience sunset in Atlas Mountains; holiday in beautiful Agadir in the Sahara Desert. Exquisite deluxe hotels, fantastic cuisine. Meet the wonderful people of Morocco – an island of sanity and civility in an otherwise turbulent world!

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES IN EUROPE Meet with Jewish communities. See Sagrada Familia Cathedral, world famous Gaudi Museum, Paseo de Gracia, Casa Batilo and Picasso museum, Ibiza – playground of Europe’s jet set.

EASTERN EUROPE EXPERIENCE THE REBUILDING OF EASTERN EUROPEAN JEWISH COMMUNITIES Travel with Holocaust scholars. Visit Berlin, Krakow, Prague and Budapest.

SPAIN EXPLORE THE GOLDEN AGE OF JEWISH HISTORY Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Marbella, Malaga, Costa del Sol.

A CAPTIVATING TOUR THROUGH THIS TRULY HISTORIC AREA In-depth itinerary – rarely visited sites with museumquality guides. Interaction with Jewish communities – Avignon, Marseilles, Cavaillon, Aix en Provence, Les Baux, St.Paul de Vence, Calanque, Luberon, Arles and Cote d’Azur.

GOLEMS, GHETTOS, CASTLES AND CATHEDRALS

BARCELONA FIRST TIMERS AND REVISITED TOUR JEWISH HERITAGE CHINA

MULTICULTURAL INTERFAITH TOURS

IN THE HEART OF EUROPE We invite you to join us on this unique travel experience that combines religions culture, fun, learning and travel. Ask about the special rate for this tour! BLACK SEA CRUISE: 3 nights Vienna and Budapest, 7 day cruise (Austria/Hungary/Croatia/Bulgaria/Romania/Turkey) 3 nights Istanbul

NEW! The world’s great religions and the part they’ve played in shaping our lives Discover the powerful historical and philosophical impact and influence of the great religious movements in various parts of the world. Esteemed history and religious scholars accompany you on exciting, educational and eye-opening tours that highlight the often unexpected common ground these religions share.

Visit www.iatheritagetours.com for 2015-2016 departures and details. TOUR DATES ARE FILLING QUICKLY!! CALL 866-878-1600

We’re here to help you have the time of your life! Marilyn Ziemke • Email: israeladvantage@hotmail.com

Venice, Florence and Rome: An ideal family adventure (an even a kosher carbonara). HILARY DANAILOVA Travel Writer

f kids could invent a perfect vacation spot, chances are it would have pizza at every restaurant, along with ice cream on every corner. There would also be royal palaces, super-cool ruins where the gladiators once caroused, fountains convenient for splashing younger siblings, and canals with singing gondoliers. Wait — that’s not your idea of adult fun? How about glorious Renaissance art, a rich, 2,000-year Jewish history, stylish kosher restaurants … and canals with singing gondoliers? All that and more is on offer in the classic Italian itinerary: Venice, Florence and Rome. From the Eternal City to the Grand Canal, Italy’s blockbuster trifecta is an ideal family adventure: everyone will find lots of things to enjoy in this tasty, richly Jewish corner of the Continent. And with the strongest dollar in over a decade, there’s more pizza for everyone. (There’s even a kosher carbonara — seriously! Read on.) The downside of Italy’s greatest hits: crowds are inevitable, especially during summer, when Italy swelters under a broiling sun and the lines at Florentine museums resemble Disney World. But with some advance planning, you can minimize both wait times and heat. Remembering to ask for rooms with air conditioning is the single smartest thing you can do to circumvent kvetching. The second smartest is to reserve your museum visits online in advance, allowing the family to skip blithely into the galleries and come out in time for lunch. Between the Internet, Chabad and the increase in Jewish tourism, it’s also easier than ever to eat Jewish in Italy. Rome is justly proud of its autochthonous Jewish cuisine — a distinctly Mediterranean, artichokeand-eggplant-rich tradition distilled in its legendary ghetto — and visitors will find a pleasant variety of kosher and traditionalJewish trattorias, both dairy and meat. Kosher dining is also available, if more limited, in Florence and Venice, while vegetarians (and kids) find it easy to thrive on Italy’s spaghetti, pizza and salads. A few tips: If kosher meals are part of your plan, always phone or email in advance for reservations. Italy’s ko-

The Grand Canal in Venice. WI KI M EDIA COM MON S

sher establishments are used to English-speaking guests, and, as a rule, they are friendly and helpful. Be aware that kashrut standards and terminology vary widely abroad, and kosher suppliers are in constant flux.

VENICE

If a city full of canals and palaces won’t charm kids, nothing will. Few attractions anywhere can rival the palazzo-lined Grand Canal and an al fresco pause amid the pigeons and crowds of St. Mark’s Square. Those darkly atmospheric back-alley canals are the coolest side streets your American children have ever seen, while the armor, dungeons and imperial pageantry of the Doge’s Palace make that attraction the closest you will come to a guaranteed hit. With the possible exception of a gondola ride — pricey, to be certain, but just think about the selfies. As in Rome, an historic Jewish ghetto was established in Venice in the 16th century in a neighborhood that today is one of the city’s most charming. The Jewish district of Cannaregio, where five historic synagogues are preserved for viewing by the Hebrew Museum, retains a 17th-century ambience. Any of the guided tours offered through the Hebrew Museum — which typically include the museum and three or four synagogues — are worthwhile for the context they give to both city and ghetto. The splendid Baroque interiors of these Venetian shuls will enchant many kids, and everyone will enjoy learning about a proud community that works so hard

to maintain and share its heritage. Families can stay right in Cannaregio at that rare and cherished overseas luxury: the kosher guesthouse. On a peaceful piazza near the Hebrew Museum, Giardino dei Melograni promises guests a mikveh, Shabbat elevators, a night entrance and kosher dining; you can even reserve a bottle of kosher champagne upon arrival. The new kosher eatery Ghimel Garden serves up vegetarian fare with an ItalianJewish twist, and its airy, sunlit courtyard has made it a popular lunch spot.

FLORENCE

Dreamily romantic in the haze of a Tuscan afternoon, Florence shimmers in Renaissance splendor — but very young museumgoers are much more likely to be charmed by Botticelli’s ladies if they don’t have to stand in line for three hours first. Nowhere else in Europe is it more critical to reserve your museum visits before leaving home. You can go online to buy advance tickets for the Uffizi Gallery, home to the world’s greatest collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, from Caravagio’s “The Sacrifice of Isaac” to Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” The small, intimate scale of the equally popular Accademia — where lines form early for Michelangelo’s “David” — makes it a manageable introduction to Renaissance art for kids. Most tourists then head to the Duomo … but you’ll find fewer crowds and the same Florentine-spumoni color scheme in the city’s continued on following page

3 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

The Italian Trifecta, Through A Jewish Lens

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 4

Italian Trifecta

seum of fashion history, a fun showcase for vintage opera costumes, and a modern art gallery, which is only modern by Florentine standards — it ends around World I. After so much time indoors, everyone enjoys a frolic in the formal Boboli Gardens outside. What about dinner? The city’s favorite kosher eatery is Ruth’s, a pescetarian bistro on Via Farini that is perpetually packed. The stylish, modern-Tuscan dining room features stoneand-wood décor and walls lined with bottles of Sangiovese. Ruth’s menu is a crowd-pleasing mashup of Italian standards — pastas, salads, four-cheese pizza and lots of fish — and Jewish classics like falafel and couscous.

continued from previous page

The Great Synagogue in Florence. WI KI M EDIA COM MON S

Great Synagogue, a reminder of how influential Florence has long been as a nexus of Tuscan Jewry. One of the grandest and most beautiful buildings in northern Italy, this Moorish-style landmark leaves a strong impression. There are scores more sights in Florence, many of them heavy with Catholic iconography and mobbed with tour groups. Escape across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti, a grand, inviting real-life castle in a peaceful garden setting that houses a variety of entertaining collections. These include Italy’s only mu-

ROME

For kids, the key to enjoying Rome is romping among the ruins. Leave most of the indoor art for other cities (or a more mature age) and let the family loose amid the Forum, the Colosseum, the Campo dei Fiori and the atmospheric lanes of Italy’s longest-enduring Jewish ghetto. Then spend your evenings sampling Roman-Jewish cuisine in the antique ghetto, Italy’s top spot for kosher dining. Most of Rome’s iconic sights are within walking distance in the historic center. The

The Via Portico del Ottavia, in the Jewish Ghetto. WI KI M EDIA COM MON S

Forum — the ancient core of modern Rome — was cool even before “Braveheart” and “Gladiator” glamorized the ancient world. Squint your eyes as you wander through the well-preserved arches, and you can imagine the ancient city in the age of the empire. It’s an easy stroll from the Forum to several other sights guaranteed to captivate all ages: the Colosseum, whose crowds only enhance its grandeur; the Pantheon, a cool, soaring marble oasis; and an assortment of alluring fountains and piazzas — the Trevi and Navona, respectively, being the most famous. All these are just a cobblestone’s throw from the Jewish Ghetto. Home to Europe’s

Make the most of your stay in Israel at

RIMONIM HOTELS

Special Deals For the Jewish holidays (Sept. – Oct. 2015)

Rimonim Galei Kinnereth Royal Rimonim Dead Sea

Rimonim Eilat

from $165.00

from $195.00

from $245.00

from $255.00

Reveals the mystic world of Safed, one of Israel's ancient towns and spiritual centers. This unique hotel is a refurbished stone building dating back to the 17th century.

A fresh and contemporary hotel by the beach, Overlooking the slopes of the Edom Mountains, where desert meets sea.

Tiberias' leading boutique hotel Located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee with breathtaking views of the Golan Heights.

A modern designed hotel with spectacular views of the Dead Sea, the Judean Desert and the Moab Mountains.

BRICKMAN

Ruth Rimonim Safed

Rimonim Hotels. The Place to Relax in Israel. www.rimonimhotels.com Rates are in US dollars for Sept.– Oct. 2015 and apply for specific dates only. Rates are for double rooms on a bed and breakfast basis (except for Royal Rimonim Dead Sea where rates are on an half board basis). Supplement for single room occupancy will apply. Minimum stay will apply. Reservations are subject to space availability. The hotels are entitled to change rates without prior notice.

RIMONIM Ho t e l s & R e s o r t s

Sapienza University Campus in northeast Rome. Ba’Ghetto is one of a handful of Roman eateries with a Shabbat lunch menu. Another is Bella Carne, whose focus, as you might expect, is on kosher Italian-style meat dishes — as well as other local specialties, meaty and otherwise; Bella Carne promises that anything is possible, including kosher carbonara. Get your pizza fix at the dairy restaurant Yotvata, named for a kibbutz in the southern Negev. The menu, which features pizzas made with locally produced, artisanal kosher cheeses, includes Roman-Jewish specialties and local classics like spaghetti cacio e pepe. For dessert or just to keep the kids happy in between history lessons, stop for a round of kosher, dairy-free cookies at Il Mondo di Laura, a pink fantasy of a pastry shop owned by a young, local Jewish entrepreneur. ◆

visit israeL with emunah SEE it tHE WAY it DESERVES tO BE SEEN!

caLL us For inFormation: photography For camera buFFs start up nation For the tech savvy great cheFs For Foodies

Exciting

NEW trips

summer FamiLy eXperience august 20-29 JERUSALEM, TEL AVIV AND KIBBUTZ LAVI suKKot in israeL september 27- october 6 thanKsgiving november 22-29 yeshiva breaK 2016 FamiLy vacation with new eXciting sites

with emunah you get the best prices & great service Check with us before you book your air & hotels

Dan Hotels Israel

Where pleasure is a way of life Gorgeous beaches Thrilling destinations Endless sunshine Discover the ongoing pleasures of a Dan Hotel vacation. Whether it’s the legendary King David in Jerusalem or resort hotels on the Mediterranean and Red Sea, every Dan hotel is a landmark destination that reflects the spirit of its surroundings. And thanks to our wide range of locations, the options are endless for enjoying the beauty, history and diversity of Israel

www.danhotels.com

call us for all your travel needs: 212.947.5454

debbie x321 debbie@emunah.org tzvi x320 tzvi@emunah.org

When you travel With eMunah you are alWays helping our children in israel

Experience The Best

Connect with us on Dan Hotels Israel

5 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

oldest Jewish community from the mid-1500s until the 1870s, this district is still the heart of Roman Jewry. Today the ghetto, a picturesque quarter near the River Tiber, is also one of Rome’s hippest neighborhoods, drawing legions of foodies as well as visitors to the glorious alabaster Great Temple (Rome’s central synagogue and community center) and the Jewish Museum. A mouth-watering selection of kosher restaurants, along with non-kosher cafés that cook traditional Roman-Jewish recipes, are found along the Via del Portico d’Ottavia, an elegant main thoroughfare. Notable among these are Ba’Ghetto and the nearby Ba’Ghetto Milky, meat and dairy branches of the same upscale Roman-Jewish restaurant, serving up favorites from carcciofi alla giudia — artichokes Jewishstyle — to parve gelato. There’s another kosher branch near the

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 6

The innovative chocolatier Ika Cohen in her Tel Aviv shop, Ika Chocolate. COU RTESY I K A CHOCOL ATE

Foodie Tourism Just Got Sweeter A gold medal-winning Tel Aviv chocolatier, quality craft beer and gourmet takeout, all in or near Tel Aviv. NATHAN JEFFAY Contributing Editor

t’s easy to walk straight past Ika Chocolate without realizing what you’re missing. After all, it’s a small shop in an unassuming Tel Aviv neighborhood, on a street where the smell of a hummus factory dominates. But this adds to the charm of the place, and the satisfaction of finding a real culinary gem — not a choreographed foodthemed “experience,” but a place where one woman is innovating and inviting people to watch, learn and taste. It is remarkable to think that such a small workshop is creating such an impression in the chocolate industry. In London last December, it won a gold medal in December’s International Chocolate

Awards. Visitors enter to a small shop, and are met by the cold air necessary to keep the chocolate at its best; the smell of hummus is effectively blockaded outside. A large cabinet holds the different filled chocolates, and various other products are on shelves on the walls. The confectioner Ika Cohen, who set up the company three years ago, is happy to chat about chocolate, her production processes, her vision and her achievements. The best part is that the shop gives a full view of the workshop through glass, so you can see the actual process of chocolates being made and packed. With only a couple of people working alongside Cohen most of the time, you can see that this is truly a boutique business. Cohen’s flair is found in her fillings,

not the actual chocolate, which is made by the French company Valrhona. But if filings don’t seem like major players, spend five minutes talking to her and you will end up with a whole new perspective. A marine biologist by training, Cohen studied the art of confectionary in France. She is wide-eyed with excitement about what she is achieving — she proudly reveals a French chocolate guide that lists her shop, and speaks excitedly about the shops abroad that are selling her products. What is getting her noticed in the chocolate industry is the fact that she isn’t just making classic chocolates with a high level of proficiency, but also innovating. And some of her creations are specifically Israeli. For example, it was her experimentation with the herb-mixture za’atar, widely used in savory dishes in Is-

7 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

rael, that won her the gold medal last year. The medal went to her “za’atar ganache,” which plays with the taste buds by presenting a warming savory flavor in a sweet chocolate. Indeed, Ika Chocolate is one of the many treats awaiting foodie travelers in central Israel. Anyone with culinary interests must pay a visit to Tel Aviv’s Carmel Market. Enjoy the kaleidoscope of colors and the glorious wafting of different smells, and observe the the Middle Eastern bustle and the lively rivalry between the different shop owners. Here is the place to buy your edible souvenirs from Israel — Middle Eastern herbs and spices to enjoy long after you return home. The shops turn over large quantities so you know that what you are getting is fresh, and certain spices like turmeric and saffron are of a very good quality. If you have a sweet tooth, pay a visit to one of the stores with sticky Eastern treats piled high. At the market, look out for Joliat and Halavi Pero, an Arab husband-and-wife from Haifa who make their own kind of flat laffa breads to order and top them for you with olive oil, sour cream and/or spices. For many foreign visitors, one of the most surprising stalls at the Carmel Market is Beer Bazaar. Over the last few years Israelis have started to fall in love with quality beer, and there are now boutique breweries dotted around the country. Beer Bazaar is a celebration of this growing sector, serving some 90 Israeli-brewed beers. If the growth of Israeli boutique beer interests you, consider a trip to Jem’s Beer Factory in Petach Tikva, a 30-minute drive from Tel Aviv. You can book a brewery tour, and then sit down to a feast of hearty (kosher) food. There is beef capriccio, homemade beer batter tempura, and a citrus-wood charcoal drill that turns out dishes including a “Meatball Hero” and an entrecôte steak. There are homemade sausages and kebab skewers, and side dishes include bar favorites like potato wedges and onion rings. Jem’s was set up by two American immigrants to Israel — Jeremy Welfeld and Dan Alon — who share a passion for beer. Its Petach Tikva brewery has proven so popular that it has two other branches with more limited menus, in Ranaana and Kfar Saba. Even if you are headed to do some general sightseeing, you can indulge your foodie sensibilities by picking up excellent food to

Cohen’s flair is found in her fillings. COU RTESY I K A CHOCOL ATE

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 8

Food Tours continued from previous page take with you. A new Tel Aviv business just made this easier than ever. Lunchbox sells boxes with freshly cooked meals and snacks that can be slipped into a carrying bag. Unusually for Israel, the boxes are labeled with full nutrition information, and many of the items are all natural and/or vegan. There are also meaty options, such as a box The exterior of Ika Chocolate. with two succulent COU RTESY I K A CHOCOL ATE meat skewers and whole wheat couscous, and another meal with chicken breast. Some are microwavable, and some are designed to be eaten cold. While it wouldn’t stand out in Manhattan, Lunchbox is a godsend for tourists trying to eat well during packed days of sightseeing in Israel. ◆

Wine Tours in Israel with Israel Wine Journeys Discover the Wines, Travel Scenic Wine Routes • Specializing in Boutique Wineries • Personalized & Exclusive Itineraries

www.Israelwinejourneys.net info@winejourneys.net +972 54 313 6908 Enter code IWJ15 for a 10% Discount

JEWISH RETREAT CENTER & FARM!

SHABBOS-FRIENDLY KEY LOCKS • VARIETY OF MEETING SPACES

1/2 HR TO BWI • 160 ACRES • GOURMET KOSHER MEALS

BOOK YOUR RETREAT TODAY!

PEARLSTONECENTER.ORG • 410-500-5417

The Internet has opened up a world of information for a ‘very emotional adventure.’ HILARY DANAILOVA Travel Writer

fter a career traveling widely and often, Marshall Katz retired from the U.S. Air Force and a series of high-level government posts — and embarked on a new odyssey of sorts: researching the lost Jewish heritage of SubCarpathia, his ancestral homeland. Katz now makes regular trips between Pennsylvania, where his father was a kosher butcher near the West Virginia border, and Eastern Europe, where the Katz family’s forbearers had lived in what is today part of Hungary. Undaunted by language barriers and unfazed by “atrocious” roads, Katz has since logged trip reports — along with practical travel advice, cemetery photos and recovered Jewish history — for hundreds of villages throughout Hungary, Western Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He posts them on the website JewishGen.org, an encyclopedic Jewishgenealogy resource with a half-million registered users worldwide. “I’m trying to make a contribution,” Katz said recently by phone from Ukraine. In addition to cataloguing copious amounts of data for the Sub-Carpathian Special Interest Group site, which he founded on JewishGen, Katz communicates personally with many of his fellow heritage seekers — searching out a family’s tombstones or vital records in a particular village he plans to visit, for instance, or advising travelers on everything from hiring a car service to reliable tour guides. A few decades ago, Katz’s travels would have been virtually impossible, or at least extremely difficult. But Jewish travelers today have access to myriad online resources — and a global community of fellow genealogy enthusiasts — that have transformed heritage travel. Whereas a “roots” trip might once have been an informative but generic organized tour of Jewish districts, major cemeteries and Holocaust sites in Poland or the Baltics, today’s travelers are going online to zero in on a great-grandparents’ shtetl, family tombstones and the very streets where the European Jews of yesteryear prayed and shopped.

Clockwise from top left: A JewishGen heritage traveler in Ukraine, and ones in Eastern Europe; a German prayer book rescued from a defunct synagogue; and a Sub-Carpathian record book photographed by Marshall Katz. P HOTOS COU RTESY OF J EWI SHGEN

“People today want to be more specific,” said Avraham Groll, director of business operations for JewishGen. “They want to know where their grandfather was actually from.” Numerous factors have converged to make that possible. “Travel is so easy these days,” noted Ruth Ellen Gruber, the renowned journalist and coordinator of the web portal Jewish Heritage Europe, who also writes the Jewish Heritage Travel blog and has explored Jewish sites across the Continent for decades. “When I started out, nobody knew what was there. Nobody knew where these places are.” Gruber pointed out that most ancestral Jewish homes were located behind the Iron Curtain — so prior to the early 1990s, travel would have been difficult or outright impossible, and archives were sealed under Communist rule. Today Americans not only travel freely within Eastern Europe; they frequently do so without the need for visas or even border checks. Infrastructure is also vastly improved (though Katz has horror stories about Ukrainian roads), with discount airlines making it cheap and convenient to hop between cities. A generation ago,

Americans would have struggled with a near-insurmountable language barrier — but today, many Europeans speak English, so it’s far easier to hire a driver or query locals about Jewish sites. And most obviously, the Internet has opened up a world of information that was previously inaccessible. Everything from vital records and historical data to detailed maps and trip-planning services is literally a click away. JewishGen — which was launched in the 1980s and is now affiliated with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City — remains an invaluable resource for travelers. The website organizes the research of more than 80,000 volunteers worldwide; online archives (some 22 million records and counting) help families find relatives, ancestral hometowns and each other. JewishGen also has a Holocaust database of victims and survivors, including ghetto records and census lists; special area groups, like Katz’s Sub-Carpathian site, with maps, photographs and local travel links; and a portal called KehilaLinks, with a detailed website for each community — kehila in Hebrew — where Jewish continued on following page

9 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

‘Roots’ Journeys Getting Ever-More Specific

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 10

‘Roots’

continued from previous page members’ families once lived. Beyond this, travelers have more sophisticated tools at their disposal than ever before. Unsure of how a family name or town was spelled? Special phonetic-matching technology can match surnames or places by sound. Not even sure of the town’s name? “Let’s say you don’t know exactly where the town was, but it was within a day’s horse ride from a major town,” said Groll. “If you look at the right side of our page for a city, we

list every nearby Jewish community.” Not even sure which part of Europe you come from? Those with questions about their origins may start — or complement their research — with DNA testing services such as 23andMe or Family Tree DNA. For a fee typically in the low three figures, these online companies analyze saliva samples to determine national and ethnic origin. Jewish users can confirm ties to particular countries or Ashkenazic roots, then take advantage of online community resources to connect with others from similar backgrounds. All of which points to new dimen-

Special

Succot Packages

the Ideal Succot in Jerusalem with the most elegant Succah in Israel and a genuine Jerusalem atmosphere, the Inbal offers a memorable 5-star deluxe experience

For Information and Reservations Tel: +972-2-675-6666 | US Toll Free: 1-877-443-7443 reservations@inbalhotel.com | www.Inbalhotel.com

sion in heritage travel: modern sojourners seek to connect not only with their ancestors, but also with each other. On sites like Tracing the Tribe — a popular genealogy blog that recently relocated to Facebook — virtual communities have formed; distant relatives or descendants of neighbors find each other, Europe-bound travelers recommend custom tour guides for far-flung shtetls, and returning heritage pilgrims get help translating tombstones. “People make recommendations and write about their own experiences,” said Gruber, who advises that such networks are the key to lining up reliable services overseas. “There’s a tremendous amount of research, and people who can help you.” A lot of that research has been done by Gruber herself for Jewish Heritage Europe, arguably the most comprehensive web portal for guidance on Jewish destinations, historical sites and cultural events throughout the Continent. The site — a project of the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe — is constantly updated with country-specific information, links and news from Lisbon to Minsk. For the many American Jews with roots in modern-day Poland, there’s also the Virtual Shtetl. The bilingual PolishEnglish website is the online communityand-research extension of the recently opened POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, which has quickly become one of Europe’s scholarly hubs for Jewish heritage. An up-and-coming resource is World Jewish Heritage, an organization launched four years ago that describes itself as “a cross between UNESCO, Wikipedia and Fotopedia” connected by Jewish heritage and culture. WJH is in the process of launching a smartphone travel app that allows users to locate sites of Jewish interest in major cities around the world; a new series of eBooks and online articles highlighting topics such as Israel’s top 10 restaurants or Jewish historical sites throughout Spain. As with other travel portals, WJH hopes to draw on user input as it grows. Online resources are, of course, too numerous to mention here — and as technology expands, so does human connection. That connection, concludes Gruber, is what remains at the heart of Jewish roots travel: “It’s a very emotional adventure.” ◆

11 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

Cadbury World in Birmingham, England, where virtually all of its products are kosher. COU RTESY C ADB U RY WOR LD

Freudian Trips Taking in Jewish London, from the great shrink’s couch to the old Jewish East End (plus, the Cadbury’s kosher chocolate in Birmingham). NATHAN JEFFAY Contributing Editor

f the couch at 20 Maresfield Gardens in London could speak, it would have stories to tell. It was, for years, the consulting couch of Sigmund Freud — and it sits in his immaculately preserved study. Freud was Austrian, but after the Nazi annexation of 1938, he moved to this house in London, where he continued to write, research, and see patients on the couch that he shipped from home. It was in this study that he wrote his book about the biblical character Moses, called “Moses and Monotheism.” The house is now the Freud Museum, and offers visitors much more than a chance to see his study. You can see the largest remaining collection from Freud’s library, and more than 2,000 historical artifacts which he collected from across the world. There are displays about his work and his legacy, and special exhibitions. On June 24, the museum will begin its three-month Festival of the Unconscious

to mark the centenary of his important essay, “The Unconscious.” A special exhibition will “encourage visitors to think and learn about the unconscious mind and how it influences our behavior.” It will focus on Freud’s essay, and also display art that explores the idea of the unconscious. The Freud Museum is also dedicated to his daughter, Anna, who lived there for four decades, and made an important contribution to the field of children’s psychoanalysis. For anyone interested in psychology, in the importance of London in sheltering Jews feeing Nazism, or both, the Freud Museum is well worth a visit. For a completely different foray into London’s Jewish history, sign up to a walking tour of the East End, north of the River Thames. It was there that huge numbers of immigrant Jews settled in the early 20th century, and much of the culture of Jewish London was formed. Though most Jews moved out, the Jewish imprint on the East End is everywhere, from telltale signs of buildings’ pasts as synagogues or cheders to place

names. In one case, even a street name bears testimony to the area’s Jewish past. Chicksand Street is the only British street named after a halachic requirement — the biblical injunction to cover blood after slaughter. On this street, chickens were slaughtered and their blood covered with sand. Some of the best tours of the East End are run by JW3, the new JCC facility that opened in London in 2013. JW3 also runs a wide range of cultural, arts and kid’s activities. Among the Jewish children of Britain, one of the all-time favorite daytrips is Cadbury World in Birmingham, a 90-minute train ride from London. This is because it is a large visitor center dedicated to Britain’s favorite chocolate brand, Cadbury — and because unlike many other popular confections, virtually all Cadbury products are kosher, meaning there’s little self-restraint required when it comes to tastings … at least from a kashrut point of view. Staff thrust chocolate bars into your hands as you enter, so you’re tasting from the first continued on following page

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 12

Freudian Trips

continued from previous page moment, and the exhibition holds the attention of the whole family. It starts with the beginnings of chocolate, and then takes you through to the start of Cadbury, which was established by idealistic Quakers. You are constantly moving, and being stimulated by chic displays, actors playing historical characters, and glimpses of production equipment. The presentations are designed to delight children — for example, in one movie, seats shake to make you feel like you are one of the cocoa beans being shaken on the screen. Last year Cadbury World opened a new $3 million section called 4D Chocolate Adventure — a 4D movie that gives you a whole set of chocolate-related sensations as you watch, including the sense of diving in to a big pot of chocolate. It also opened another section last year, its Chocolate Making Zone, where visitors can enjoy traditional chocolate making demonstrations, and choose from a range of sweet treats to add to a pot of warm liquid Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate.

3-5wonders-NJ JN-5.25x8.indd 1

The Freud Museum in London and Freud’s famous couch. WI KI M EDIA COM MON S

Cadbury World is a cultural as well as a chocolate experience, with vintage ads and other displays delving in to Brits’ love for their own particular strain of milk chocolate. Cadbury is such an important cultural institution in Britain that even the royals

go crazy for it — the company produces special batches, using a secret recipe, for the Queen. And the newest exhibit at Cadbury World is a baby carriage made from chocolate, crafted to celebrate the birth of the new royal baby, Princess Charlotte. ◆

26/05/15 12:42

13 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

The lobby and exterior of the Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel in Zichron Ya’akov. COU RTESY OF ELMA HOTEL

Small Hotels, Big Returns Niche or ‘concept tourism’ on the rise in Israel. MICHELE CHABIN Israel Correspondent

srael, like other countries, has an abundance of hotels, and that can make it difficult for tourists to choose the property best suited to their needs. Hoping to distinguish themselves from the pack, many Israeli hoteliers have tried in recent years to carve out a niche in their crowded industry. Oren Drori, head of the marketing division of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, said the ministry has been developing niche tourism — what he calls “concept tourism” — for a decade. “Travelers today are more sophisticated and they are pursing an experience. It can be culinary or related to eco-tourism, cycling, bird watching, going to a spa. Travelers want

to get out and experience their surroundings. Their accommodations can be part of that experience.” Drori said that “there are still plenty of consumers who want traditional hotels and there is room in the market for everyone. Our goal has been to diversity our product and market.” One of Israel’s most popular niche hotels, the Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel, situated atop the hills of Zichron Ya’akov, offers upscale accommodations in an artistic setting (elma-hotel.com). The Elma provides all the amenities expected of a good hotel: an outdoor swimming pool and indoor lap pool, a fitness center, treatment rooms, Hamam Turkish bath, and gorgeous views of the Mediterranean. Some of the best beaches in Israel are just a few miles away.

In the main building, guest rooms of various sizes all offer sea views. Separate from the main building are freestanding cottages, each of which can serve as either a two-floor unit with two bedrooms or as two independent units for different guests. What distinguishes the Elma is its commitment to the arts. It boasts two professional concert halls (one with 450 seats) designed by the New York design firm Arup/ Artec that offer an average of four concerts per week. There are two large art galleries with more than 500 pieces of art, both paintings and sculptures, created by Israeli and international artists. Throughout the year, and especially during festivals, dancers, musicians, actors and authors hold interactive master classes, some of them at one of the resort’s four outdoor continued on following page

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 14

Niche Hotels

continued from previous page amphitheaters. Unlike most other Israeli hotels, the Elma does not offer a meal plan. Rather, guests dine à la carte at the resort’s restaurants. “Our hotel is a bit of everything,” says Bruno de Schuyter, the Elma’s general manager. “A lot of people come because the hotel is self-sufficient. It is an attraction in and of itself. It’s impossible to be bored here.” The concerts, Schuyter says, range from classical “to rock-y to bluesy to jazzy.” Bayit Bagalil Spa Hotel (orchidhotels.co.il) is for luxury travelers who want to get away from it all. Located in the verdant upper Galilee in northern Israel and part of the Orchid Hotel chain, it offers big-hotel amenities (outdoor pool, spa, tennis courts, private jacuzzis and high-quality cuisine) but, with only 34 rooms, also a feeling of intimacy and privacy. The hotel “is in the heart of a forest, and the atmosphere is infused with nature,” said Sharon Gideoni, the hotel’s sales and marketing manager. Thanks to Bayit Bagalil’s imposing stone buildings, she said, “guests feel like they’re in a castle.” The rooms are

The Market House, a boutique hotel in Jaffa, was built atop the ruins of an eighth-century church that are visible beneath the glass floor in the lobby. M ICH ELE CHAB I N/JW

elegant and unusually large, with adjoining sitting rooms. The resort’s town of Hazor Haglilit is a short

30 Years of providing the best way at the best price to experience Israel. If you want to have a fabulous journey and support Israel at the same time….. If you want to know more about Israel, its people and history while having an experience of a lifetime

Come With Us To Israel Great 2-week tours throughout Israel all year long. Excellent For Families, Seniors, Yeshiva Break and Summers.

CELEBRATE ISRAEL 2015 DEPARTURE DATES

KESHER KOSHER TOURS 2015

33 years of experience and success in traveling the world the Jewish way! THE JEWISH TREASURES OF TRANSYLVANIA & HUNGARY JUNE 21 - JULY 1, 2015

AUGUST 2, AUGUST 16, 2015

Join us for Succot and Passover

HIGHLIGHTS OF NORTHERN ITALY & SWITZERLAND

TRIPS INCLUDE: Daily tours throughout the country 2 Kosher meals a day Touring by air-conditioned bus with licensed English speaking guides Per Person/Double Occupancy

421 7th Ave., Suite 1210, New York, NY 10001

(212) 684-7370 www.israelmovement.com eretzisrael1@gmail.com

IBERIAN FIESTA

12 DAYS AUGUST 2, OCTOBER 11, 2015

ENCHANTING ITALY

JUNE 28 • AUGUST 2 • AUGUST 16 OCTOBER 18 • NOVEMBER 1 NOVEMBER 22 • JANUARY 17

ERETZ YISRAEL MOVEMENT

Call for Brochures and Prices

drive from Rosh Pina, a small town filled with good restaurants and boutique shops. It takes 20 minutes to drive to Safed, the home of Jew-

BERLIN, PRAGUE & BUDAPEST A JOURNEY THROUGH JEWISH HISTORY 12 DAYS AUGUST 9, 2015

AUGUST 2 - 13, 2015

CANADA AND ALASKA TOUR AUGUST 2 - 19, 2015

THE CARPATHIAN MOUNTAINS WITH RAV BENNY LAU AUGUST 18 - 27, 2015

(212) 481-3721 • 800-847-0700 347 5th Ave. Suite 706 New York, NY 10016

keshertours@verizon.net www.keshertours.com Please visit our website for new and exciting destinations!

The writer was a guest of the Market House Hotel.

A 01 TE 5 S D

Stand Together With Israel and Join Us In 2015 Family Owned and Operated Since 1980

2015 ADULTS ONLY TOURS March 17 - April 1 16 days including 2 nights in Eilat April 21 - May 6 Independence Day May 5-20 GUARANTEED TO BE THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME! October 6-21 October 20-Nov. 4 November 3-18 ALL 16 DAYS INCLUDE: • 5 star deluxe hotels • All breakfasts and dinners (except one night in Jerusalem) • Comprehensive sightseeing • Wonderful evening entertainment • Cocktail parties - live music and more • Wine Tasting • Always surprise extras!

BAR & BAT MITZVAH FAMILY TOURS THE ULTIMATE FAMILY EXPERIENCE! 13 days: June 9 - 21 16 days: June 9 - 24 13 days: June 30 - July 12 16 days: June 30 - July 15 13 days: July 28 - Aug. 9 16 days: July 28 - Aug. 12 13 days: August 18 - 30 16 days: August 18 - Sept 2 12 days: Dec. 19 - 30, 2015

CELEBRANT GOES TOTALLY FREE FREE TOUR INCLUDES: • • • • •

Ceremony on Masada & Rabbi’s services Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebration Party Archeological hands-on dig • Kayaking Camel rides • Snorkeling • Hiking • Gifts And more! RE-VISITOR’S TOUR May 5-17 or October 20-November 1 ALL NEW Sites – Experiences – Memories EASTERN EUROPE WITH JEWISH HIGHLIGHTS August 3-15 - Led by an Israeli born Scholar.

Browse Photos, Order Brochures, Register Now! Call 800.327.3191 \ 954.458.2021 or Email: info@margaretmorsetours.com www.margaretmorsetours.com

15 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

ish mysticism. That white-stone city is filled with picturesque winding alleyways where renowned Judaic artists live and work. The hotel accepts children 15 and under only during summer vacation and certain holidays. The Market House Hotel (atlas.co.il/ market-house-hotel-tel-aviv-israel) in Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv, is a hot destination for locals and tourists; it offers small-hotel comfort in a picturesque urban setting. One of the Atlas hotels — the leading boutique hotel chain in Israel www.atlas. co.il — it draws on Jaffa’s dual Arab/Jewish identities and on its importance as an ancient port city. It was through Jaffa that King David and King Solomon, his son, brought the cedars used in the construction of the First Temple. The port was subsequently a strategic stronghold for the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Phoenicians, among others. The Market House Hotel was built (in an archaeologically respectful way) atop the remains of an excavated eighth-century Byzantine church, which are visible through the hotel’s clear-glass floor in the lobby. The hotel’s décor manages to be both modern but evocative of the past. “It was designed by clever people who studied in the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design,” said Uri Kronkop, the Atlas chain’s marketing and sales director. “The many colors evoke the market, which is right outside, but there is also a lot of cream coloring, a lot of wood, and the ceiling is open.” Kronkop said the Market House was built “to give guests the soul of Jaffa.” The complementary breakfast, he said, “is full of the tastes you would find in Jaffa’s streets and restaurants.” The breakfast includes the hotel chef’s own green shakshouka (a delicious tomato, vegetable and egg dish), a specially blended humous, locally inspired desserts and a wide variety of fish. The fish is a tribute to the fishermen who can be seen fishing every day in small boats docked in Jaffa port. Venturing out of the hotel, guests can use the beach-front promenade to walk or cycle up to Tel Aviv: better still, explore Jaffa’s many restaurants, clothing boutiques and art and jewelry galleries. Jaffa is part Arab, part Jewish, part working class and part gentrified. In short, a worthwhile place to explore. ◆

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 16

The Bauhaus Museum in Tel Aviv, one of the stops on the Insider Experience tour, features furnishings designed in the Bauhaus style. M ICH ELE CHAB I N/JW

Taking In Tel Aviv, As An ‘Insider’ A new level of luxe and ‘immersion,’ courtesy of the InterContinental chain. MICHELE CHABIN Israel Correspondent

el Aviv — If anyone needed proof that Tel Aviv is emerging as a world-class luxury destination, the InterContinental chain of hotels has provided it. The chain recently designated the David InterContinental Tel Aviv as one of just three Intercontinental properties worldwide to begin offering a service called the Insider Experience: tailor-made tours and encounters that allow a small number of guests to explore the local dining scene, nightlife, culture, design, architecture or fashion industry with the go-to people in each field. The Tel Aviv service, called Senses of Tel Aviv Insider Experience, is part of a new corporate marketing campaign launched by the InterContinental chain in February. Two of the chain’s most wellknown properties — the London Park Lane and Paris Le Grand — were also chosen for the promotion.

Only guests who stay in the Tel Aviv Suite — Madonna and Richard Branson have both slept there — can avail themselves of the Insider Experience. The suite, which is more than 1,000 square feet and includes a private sauna, panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea and 24-hour butler service, costs an eye-popping $3,500 per night. The Insider Experience, which enables guests to see a side of Tel Aviv usually reserved for locals, costs an additional fee. The David is located in the vibrant Neve Tzedek neighborhood of southwest Tel Aviv. The first neighborhood built outside the ancient port city of Jaffa, its charming alleyways boast gracious gentrified homes, clothing boutiques, restaurants, bars, art galleries, the Suzanne Dellal Arts Center and a museum devoted to the paintings of the renowned Israeli artist Nachum Guttman. Jaffa itself, a mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood on the sea with an ancient Old City, galleries, great eateries and boutiques, is a 20-minute seaside walk from Tel Aviv along

the promenade. The Insider Experience the hotel arranged for a handful of journalists included a tasting tour of the nearby Carmel Market, a private tour of the Bauhaus Museum by curator Estee Cohen followed by a seminar in the striking rooftop home of architect Hanan Pomagrin, who described how Israel is encouraging builders to protect buildings against earthquakes. Later we were treated to a night of restaurant hopping through the neighborhood and beyond. At the start of the market tour, local guides handed out shopping carts and glasses of wine and shepherded us through the colorful, noisy shuk where South Tel Avivians shop every day. One shop offered 15 flavors of halva, another 20 kinds of spiced olives. We sampled falafel and a wide variety of rare spices. In the one-room Bauhaus Museum, housed in an original Bauhaus building, we learned that Bauhaus was a German school

counter with architect Hanan Pomagrin gave us valuable insight into how the city was built, from the green spaces between residential buildings to where windows were placed.

LATVIA & LITHUANIA

ROMANIA POLAND

CHINA

POLAND GERMANY

FRANCE

CENTRAL EUROPE

ISRAEL

ITALY

INDIA

of design, not a style of architecture. (Tel Aviv has the largest number of Bauhaus buildings in the world.) We were surprised to learn that the modern-looking furniture and housewares on display were actually designed in the first part of the 20th century. The rest of the evening was spent first at Jajo Bar, then at Hatraklin and Social Club, both trendy South Tel Aviv restaurants. The restaurants weren’t kosher so the hotel provided a full dinner-on-the-go from the InterContinental’s Aubergine Restaurant for those who requested it. Kosher guests must request meals at kosher eateries ahead of time. Sample tours for actual guests include a tour to a wide range of specialty food markets as well as the Farmer’s Market at the trendy Tel Aviv Port; a fashion tour in Neve Tzedek; and wine tastings paired with dinner (by a personal chef) at an historic home in Old Jaffa or on the rooftop of the gorgeous Ilan Goor home-museum. Other options are a Segway or walking architecture tour of Tel Aviv’s White City lead by an architect; a tailor-made tour of design studios; or a private party with one of Israel’s leading modern-dance troupes; bar-hopping and clubbing with a “nightlife expert,” including VIP access to some of the city’s hottest night spots — and in Tel Aviv there are many. Even those of us who have lived in Israel for years found the Insider Experience an eye-opener. Living in Jerusalem, I had no idea just how vibrant and frenetic Tel Aviv is in the wee hours, and the one-on-one en-

ROMANIA

CZECH REPUBLIC

SPAIN

A cornucopia of sophisticated Jewish Heritage Tours and other Jewish Travel choices. All have the qualities Jewish Tours should have – style, comfort & insight into Jewish heritage, past, present, and future.

305-466-0652

travel@momentumtours.com www.momentumtours.com

17 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

The Insider Tel Aviv Experience offered by the InterContinental Tel Aviv provides clients with customized tours related to the city’s nightlife, cuisine and design. M ICH ELE CHAB I N/JW

Over breakfast David E. Cohen, the InterContinental Tel Aviv’s general manager, said his marketing team convinced the chain’s decision makers to include its hotel in the Insider Experience by highlighting Tel Aviv’s unique vibe and character. “We were debating among ourselves what is it in Tel Aviv that blows people away? We realized it appeals to the senses.” Cohen said he asks hotel guests to describe the city in a tagline or one-liners and collects the responses in a book. One called it the “Capital of Cool,” another “The Little Big Apple.” Another “The Smallest Mega-City,” while someone else called it the “Best Kept Secret in the World.” Cohen’s favorite: “Tel Aviv is the Love Child Between New York and Miami.” Cohen, who has lived in several countries over the years, is excited about the new promotion because he loves Tel Aviv. “Our goal is to introduce you to the people and places that make Tel Aviv so special. We feel true luxury lies in immersion, not in escape. Israel should be the No. 1 touring country in the world,” he said. “You can’t replace Jerusalem or the Dead Sea. Or Tel Aviv.” ◆

JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015 18

ISRAEL HOTEL ROUNDUP

The Ruth Rimonim in Safed has been turned into a “story hotel,” focusing on the city’s unique history.

Optimistic For Summer Hoteliers sprucing up and expanding ahead of new season. STEVE K. WALZ Special To The Jewish Week

ith last summer’s Gaza war in the rear-view mirror, Israeli hoteliers are looking ahead, with two words in mind: renovation and expansion. And with them has come a guarded sense of optimism about this summer’s travel season. The Inbal Jerusalem and the Ramada Jerusalem have upgraded their facilities, as has the Dan Hotel chain, one of Israel’s biggest chains. Taking advantage of the mood of optimism, the country’s other major chain, Fattal Hotels, is set to open four new hotels by the end of the year, according to published reports. “We have used this time [between last summer and now] to improve our product; this is an industry-wide trend at other major Israeli hotels,” said Alex Herman, vice president of sales and marketing at the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel (inbalhotel.com). “With

new online and mobile technologies available to customers, reservations, which used to be made months in advance by couples and families etc., rarely exists anymore except for the major holidays such as Pesach and Sukkot. The trend is more towards lastminute reservations. … There is renewed interest among American travelers to come to Israel. Business will pick up again, as long as things stay quiet.” As a stand-alone property competing against local and international chain brands in Jerusalem, the hotel, whose owners reside in the New York area, has undergone a top-to-bottom transformation, “while preserving its Jerusalem character,” emphasized Herman. By mid-July, all of the hotel’s rooms, Herman said, will have been completely renovated, including new bathrooms, LED televisions with streaming capability from handheld devices and free high-speed Internet. The culinary offerings have also been

upgraded; the hotel’s Italian-themed Sofia restaurant features a new menu prepared by Chef Nir Elkayam, while the Inbal Grill in the hotel’s courtyard offers a Brazilian Steakhouse experience with a selection of Israeli prime cuts of steak, chicken and kebabs. Across town, the Ramada Jerusalem Hotel (ramadajer.com/en) just completed a $2 million renovation project, which included the entire ground floor and all of the guest floor hallways. The noted interior designer, Galit Avinoam, created a new modern look in the lobby, which now appears larger, brighter and more inviting. Over at the Dan chain (danhotels.com), Rafi Baeri, its vice president of marketing and sales, said the chain is spending “$20 million to $30 million a year in renovating and updating properties.” Hotels that are in the midst of upgrading, he said, include the Dan Eilat and Dan Caesarea, which is located next to Israel’s only 18-hole golf course; the upgrades will take about a

year to complete, he said. The swimming pool area at the Dan Caesarea has already been renovated and features three different pools, including one for kids and a half-Olympic-size one. In the last year, many of the chain’s other hotels, which attract significant numbers of American tourists, have been spruced up, Baeri added. At the King David in Jerusalem, the fifth and sixth floors have been renovated, “resulting in even more luxury accommodation,” he said. The Dan Panorama Jerusalem has introduced a new category of “Deluxe Rooms.” And the Dan Accadia in Herzliya Pituach has recently opened a new restaurant, The Accad, which offers a seasonal menu with ingredients sourced from selected growing regions. Fattal Hotels, Israel’s largest home-grown chain (34 and counting), is in the midst of rapid growth; by the end of the year, the chain is looking to

open at least four new facilities, under its various brand names (fattal-hotels.com). The Israeli business daily Globes reported that the cost of the openings will be at least $125 million. The chain, according to Moshe Elazar, its director of sales for North America, has opened a new property, the 250-room Herod’s Herzliya, in Herzliya Pituach, which is located on a peninsula adjacent to the marina and surrounded by water. A little further north, the chain has recently opened the Leonardo Plaza Hotel along the beachfront promenade in Netanya. In Tel Aviv, Fattal is poised to open two upscale facilities, Leonardo Midtown and Rothschild 22. The Midtown, Elazar said, “will be aimed at business people as it is located in the heart of the city’s commercial district and high-tech hubs.” “Rothschild 22,” he continued, located on Rothschild Bou-

Glatt Kosher B&B

levard, “will be a high-end hotel aimed at what one would call a ‘yuppie’ crowd. Rothschild Boulevard is attracting tremendous interest in the hotel industry because it’s booming with posh restaurants and pubs.” The Rimonim hotel chain has recognized the growing potential among American tourists who wish to explore mystical Safed and the nearby lush Derech Hayayin (wine route)

The Danube

September 1 - 8, 2015

The Rhone & Provence

October 16 - 23, 2015

EXPLORING JEWISH HISTORY & HERITAGE TRAVELING EUROPE’S GREAT WATERWAYS

DELUXE, ALL INCLUSIVE RIVERBOAT CRUISE & TOUR VACATIONS

DELICIOUS GLATT KOSHER CUISINE ENTIRE SHIP KOSHER!

at Hunter Mountain

CALL USA: 800-923-2645 or 310-237-0122 EMAIL: info@kosherrivercruise.com

Harris’s Happy Hunter Hideaway serves three meals a day under Orthodox Rabbinic supervision. Check our web site at www.harrishunter.com or call us at 518-263-3984 for more information

www.kosherrivercruise.com

19 JEWISH JOURNEYS ■ www.thejewishweek.com ■ June 19, 2015

A newly renovated family suite at the Inbal Jerusalem Hotel.

Galilee and Golan Heights regions. During the past few months, it has transformed its Ruth Rimonim facility into a “story hotel” (English.rimonim. com/ruth-rimonim-safed). “This is the first ‘story hotel’ in Israel, where we are retelling the story of Safed within the context of the hotel’s own history,” said Keren Amir, Rimonim’s sales director. There are six historical corners in the hotel, tracing the city’s history back to the 17th century. When guests check-in, they get a map of the hotel with stories about each corner. The hotel also offers free tours of the historical city, which are led by an Englishspeaking professional guide. The hotel is ideally located near the town’s renowned art galleries and ancient synagogues and highlights include its own wine cellar, stocked with local wines. ◆

Inspiring Jewish Journeys

in partnership with Tlalim Tourism Group

WARSAW THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME

KRAKOW

ARE YOU READY FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE 3 DAY EXPERIENCE? We are offering ladies and girls, mothers and daughters, sem girls and ex-sem girls a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel back in time to Lithuania and Belarus and follow in the steps of the giants of our not so distant past. Join Rebbetzin Rochel Stefansky on an adventure in Eastern Europe in a comfortable and relaxed yet spiritually charged atmosphere. Walk through the Jewish Old Town of Vilna, past the homes of the Vilna Gaon and Harav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski and experience the amazing opportunity to Daven by their Kevarim. Return to the calm shtetl life of Radin and the Yeshiva and Kever of the Chofetz Chaim. Continue on to Volozhin, home to the original Volozhin Yeshiva and the Kever of Reb Chaim of Volozhin. Relive the energy of the original Mir Yeshiva not far from the Kever of Reb Yeruchem Levovitz. Learn about the Slabodka district and Yeshiva in Kovno alongside the Kever of Harav Yitzchak Elchanan Spector, the Dvar Avraham and the final resting place of Reb Elchonon Wasserman and many, many other Yidden who were Moser Nefesh al Kiddush Hashem.*

7th - 9th JULY 2013 Price: £350**plus Flights

For more information or to book your place on this historic journey, contact Eli: 020 8457 2121 or email: eli@jroots.org.uk JRoots has had many years of success in taking groups on compelling Jewish heritage journeys and guarantees the best in logistics, comfort and guiding so that participants can focus exclusively on absorbing the once-in-a-lifetime JRoots experience.

POLAND For more information on JRoots trips, email: info@jroots.org.uk www.jroots.org.uk *Itinerary subject to change ***Terms and conditions apply

ROME

GIBRALTAR

AUSCHWITZ

BELARUS

ISRAEL

VENICE

JRoots together with BES present

A Weekend in Lithuania

Join an unforgettable JRoots journey to Lithuania Follow Rabbi Boruch Boudilovsky to experience a glimpse of the Jewish World that was Lithuania. The journey follows the glorious heights when Lithuanian communities were throbbing centres of Jewish life as well as the harrowing depths of destruction when the Jews met their untimely end at the hands of the Nazis.

JRoots and HGSS present

This powerful experience includes:

A JOURNEY NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN

Vilna - the magnificent choral synagogue, the Jewish cemetery including the Vilna Gaon’s grave, Ponary execution site, an audience with a local Holocaust survivor, visit the Jewish Orphanage, and a walking tour of Jewish Vilna including the Vilna Gaon, the ghettos, and the Judenrat. Kovno - the 9th Fort execution site, Sugihara House Museum and the choral synagogue. The former partisan base in Rudnicki Forest.

MOSCOW Friday 19th - Sunday 21st April 2013* Price: £299** plus flights Book early & save

For more information or to book your place on this historic journey, email: david.harrisberg@dsl.pipex.com or rabbiboruch@borehamwoodshul.org For more information on JRoots trips, email: info@jroots.org.uk www.jroots.org.uk *Date & itinerary subject to change **Terms and conditions apply

Join a 3-day trip to Poland that’s not to be missed.

The passage taken by millions of Jews during the Holocaust will forever reverberate through Jewish life. This Journey will be an informed, stirring and inspiring experience that you will remember forever. This powerful experience includes: Walking tour of Warsaw - the Rappaport memorial, Mila 18, the Umschlagplatz, the Okopowa cemetery and the ghetto wall. Treblinka, Lublin - Majdanek concentration camp. Tarnow, Krakow - a tour of the Jewish quarter, the Rema Shul, the Krakow ghetto and Schindler’s factory. Auschwitz-Birkenau - the Yude ramps followed by a powerful memorial ceremony.*

AMSTERDAM 5th - 7th July 2015 Price: £400 + flights

For more information about this historic journey, contact Gayle on 020 8455 8126 (ext 211) or gayle@hgss.org.uk, or to book your place contact Michelle on 020 8457 2121 or email michelle@jroots.org

In partnership with the Tlalim Group

*Itinerary subject to change

LIZHENSK

UKRAINE

PARIS

LONDON

J R o ointconjunction s p r e s with e n Project t s a Inspire n JRoots are proud to invite you to an

UNFORGETTABLE UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEYTO TOPOLAND JOURNEY POLAND ‫ לא תשכח‬... ‫זכור‬

DEL UXE

‫בס״ד‬

PRO

GRA

Deepen your understanding of the ‫ בין המצרים‬by bearing witness to the ‫ חורבן‬that took place just seventy years ago. Experience the destruction first hand and Join us together withforRabbi Billet, Rabbi of the Young Israel of appreciate its implications Klal Yisroel today.

Woodmere, for an uplifting and inspiring journey through hundreds Yonasan ‫שליט’’א‬ We are fortunate to be joined by Dayan of years of Jewish history and heritage. We willAbraham be visiting the major, London Beis Din. The Dayan is a renowned ‫ תלמיד חכם‬and a highly inspirational cities of Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and Lublin as well as the Chassidic speaker. His presence on this journey will bring the Shuls, Yeshivos and Gedolei centres oftoGur Lezajsk. We willusalso tell the story of the Shoah Yisroel back life and and will help connect to the legacy of the Kedoshim of the visiting Auschwitz, Treblinka Ghettos and Concentration Camps.and Majdanek.* This powerful and inspiring experience includes: • Warsaw Ghetto • Majdanek concentration camp • A chance to learn in

Yeshivas Lublin 2015 • Tefillos in Lizhensk & other Chasidic Chatzeros 12th - Chachmei 19th July • Tarnow • Shabbos in Krakow • Remoh’s Shul • Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau

accompanied by a Survivor. Price: $ 2995 excluding flights Single supplement: $500

16th - 20th July 2014 / 19th - 23rd Tammuz Price: £549 For more information or to book your place on this historic journey, call Michelle on 646 448 0348 or email michelle@jroots.org www.jroots.org

For more information or to book your place on this historic journey, call XXXXXXX on XXXXXXXXX or email XXXXX@jroots.org Registration deadline: Thursday 12thwww.jroots.org March Program subject to minimum number of participants *Itinerary subject to change *Itinerary subject to change In partnership with the Tlalim Group

Skiing in Switzerland Weds 30th January - Sun 3rd February 2007 From £299 all inclusive • Ages: 18 - 22 An inspiring Jewish break, combining Alpine Exhilaration with chilled aprés-ski talks For more details contact Simon on: snissim@aish.org.uk or Tracey on: (020) 8457 4436 or email: tgolstein@aish.org.uk www.aish.org.uk/skiing

PRAGUE

JRoots presents Presents JRoots

A Journey

*Dates subject to change

Never to be Forgotten

A unique opportunity to spend time with a survivor Join an unforgettable JRoots journey through Poland The passage taken by millions of Jews during the Holocaust will forever reverberate through Jewish life. The journeys JRoots organise provide an informed and inspiring experience that you will remember forever. This unique trip will help you to absorb a real sense of the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people and of its remarkable story. This trip will be led by one of our renowned guides. Spend a weekend with one of the most inspirational people alive, Mrs. Eva Neumann, from Manchester, who spent nine months in the Auschwitz-Birkenau. Hear her story and experience an incredibly unique weekend that will never be forgotten. The trip will include tours of Krakow & Auschwitz-Birkenau.

ST PETERSBURG

An opportunity to extend the journey through Lublin & Warsaw is available on Monday & Tuesday.***

Weekend of 22nd June 2012*

SPAIN

MAJDANEK

Price: £499** includes flights, accommodation, food and tours. For more information or to book your place call on this historic journey, contact Aaron Kampf: 07791 188 006 or email: akampf@aish.org.uk *date & itinerary subject to change **terms and conditions apply ***subject to demand and additional costs

For more information on JRoots trips, email: info@jroots.org.uk www.jroots.org.uk

ND FLIG ON HT & S FR MA OM NC HE ST

JRoots Presents

An Uplifting Shabbos in Krakow

Leading up to the Yahrzeit of ‫רבי אלימלך מליזשענסק‬

Under the guidance of a JRoots guide and Rabbi Dr. Chanan Tomlin MBE. Experience an unforgettable, atmospheric Shabbos in a luxury hotel in the old Jewish district of Krakow including Soulful Tefillos in the Shuls of our ancestors and delicious meals accompanied by some interesting guests. Experience the opportunity to visit the towns of Chassidic giants and to be mispallel by their Kevarim. ‫ מקומות הקדושים‬include: The shul of the Rema and the Kevarim of the ‫רמ”א‬, ‫ ב”ח‬and the ‫תוספות יום טוב‬. The original ‫ בית יעקב‬building and Kever of Sarah Schenirer. The Shul of the Bobover Rebbes and the Kever of ‫רבי שלמה מבובוב‬. The Kever of the ‫ דברי חיים‬in Sanz and ‫ רבי מנחם מנדל‬in Rimanov.

E OM LC WE N UR ME + L TO ITZ NA HW TIO AUSC

Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd March 2013 - Only £299 Plus flights

BELZEC

Book early and save

For more information, call Eli Schryer: 020 8457 2121 or email: eli@jroots.org.uk

In partnership with the Tlalim Group

A Journey To Remember

A Journey Never To Be Forgotten

THE 2ND ANNUAL

RARITAN VALLEY COMMUNITY

POLAND PILGRIMAGE

for the 80th

of the

28th - 30th August 2013 Price: £220 + flights & visa For more information, call Eli on +44 (0)20 8457 2121 or email: eli@jroots.org For Men and Women (Separate Seating Available) Glatt Kosher Menu / Superior standard Hotel and Transport

dplie

xin

After last year’s success, JRoots are offering you the opportunity of a lifetime to travel back in time to Radin on the Yahrzeit of the Chofetz Chaim. Experience the inspiration of walking in the steps of the spiritual giants of previous generations & the chance to daven by their kevarim in an uplifting and comfortable atmosphere.

July 12th - July 20th 2015

oi'felee

Featuring Rabbi Shraga Kallus & Rabbi Yoel Gold

Join us together with Rabbi Shraga Gross for an inspiring and unforgettable journey through hundreds of years of Jewish history and heritage. We will visit the cities of Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz and Lublin and the Chassidic centers of Gur and Lezajsk. We will also tell the story of the Shoah in Auschwitz, Majdanek, Belzec, and other significant sites.*

oic`x dwcealq

A Journey through the world of Lithuanian Yeshivas

Deposit: $500 pp** Price: $2100 (Not including Flights. Group Flights Available.) For more information contact: Nitza Adler at (732) 670 4649 or email morahnitza28@gmail.com To register visit www.jroots.org or call Michelle on (646) 448 0348 *Itinerary is flexible and subject to change **Group size limited

FLORENCE

Inspiring Jewish Journeys

in partnership with Tlalim Tourism Group

MOROCCO Morocco 2015 Sunday 31st May Wednesday 3rd June 2015 JRoots in conjunction with Ohr Yisrael invite you on another Jewish Journey to Morocco led by renowned JRoots Director Tzvi Sperber and Rabbi Raphy Garson.

LITHUANIA VIENNA

Retrace the roots of the Marrakesh, Casablanca, Sephardic world; visiting Rabat, Meknes, and the Atlas Fes, Ourika Mountains. Experience Morocco richness, culture and history. Visit the gravesites of the great righteous martyr Rabbis and the Sulika and many Jewish interest other areas of including: the Shuls, the Jewish Quarters, the Rambam’s house and an opportunity to meet with dignitaries and leaders of the Community. Jewish Experience the magic of of Fez, the richness the Medina of the Souks, the breath-taking Mausoleum of Mohammed the fifth and so much more..

Staying in luxury

5* & 4* accommodation.

Price - £643

excluding

flights and deposit to be paid. If we have more 30 participants than the price will come down substantially).

(Initial flights

Price includes food, hotels, security, access to sites and museums, transport and guide. Based on double room occupancy. Single room supplement: £120 To book, please

Michelle Shalom

call:

- 020

michelle@jroots8457 2121 .org

For more information,

Rabbi Garson Itinerary may

be subject to

JERUSALEM

NEW YORK JRoots presents

A Journey to Poland

Feb

Half

Term

Wee s-

ed Place - Limit

Join an unforgettable JRoots journey to Poland

The Journey taken by millions of Jews during the Holocaust will forever reverberate through Jewish life. The trips organised by JRoots provide an informed, stirring and inspiring experience that you will remember forever. Accompanied by a remarkable Auschwitz survivor*, this unique trip will help you to absorb a real sense of the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people and of its remarkable story. This trip will be led by one of JRoots’ renowned guides. This powerful experience includes: Walking tour of Warsaw - the Rappaport memorial, Mila 18, the Umschlagplatz, the Okopowa cemetery and the ghetto wall. Lublin - Majdanek concentration camp. Krakow - a tour of the Jewish quarter, the Rema Shul, the Krakow ghetto and Schindler’s factory. Auschwitz-Birkenau - the Yude ramps followed by a powerful memorial ceremony.*

Thursday 19th- Sunday 22nd February 2015** For sixth-form students (Years 12-13)

Price: £249*** includes flights, accommodation, food and tours.

LUBLIN

For more information or to book your place call on this historic journey, contact Dani: 07967 822 284 or email: dani@jlink.org.uk www.jroots.org.uk *To Be Confirmed **Date & itinerary subject to change ***Limited to first 25 places, after which price goes up to £499. Terms and conditions apply

please call

- 07966 105

609

change. Terms and conditions

apply..

www.jroots.org

BUDAPEST

BERLIN

ROMANIA JRoots is a non-profit educational organisation, whose expertise and purpose is to facilitate inspiring and informative Jewish journeys for Jews of all ages and affiliations to international destinations of Jewish interest. JRoots specialises in crafting bespoke trip itineraries to create memorable lifetime experiences for family, school, university and community groups.

jroots.org/journeys info@jroots.org UK

+44 (0) 20 8457 2121

USA

+1 646 448 0348

Israel

+972 (0) 7321 97851

UK Charity Number: 1136532 ● UK Company Number: 07114903 ● US EIN Number: 46-4571313 (501c3)