Itinerary – Embark 2024

Day 1—Monday, May 27 2024: Arrival to Casablanca

Arrival in Casablanca at approximately 9:00 am – 11:00 am
VIP at airport and meet with your Moroccan tour guide
Welcome Lunch at SOC Jewish club with local guests
See the Beth El Synagogue with local resident and JDC representative, Dorith Benhoma
Visit the Neve Shalom school
Visit the Hassan II Mosque, an architectural wonder situated along the sea.
Drive to Marrakech
Dinner at local kosher restaurant
Check into hotel

Begin your day with a carriage ride to the Jewish cemetery where Rabbin Haco-Hen is buried
Visit the mellah with its synagogues including the beautiful Slat al_Azama synagogue. Built in 1492, it originally served to accommodate the Jewish community. Nowadays, the synagogue has a lovely central courtyard and is a great place to visit while exploring the streets of Marrakech.
We’ll tour the Medina (Walled City) of Marrakech, also known as the Red City for the red walls that surround it.
Kosher lunch
Explore Marrakech’s enormous marketplace. Walk through the colorful souks with enticing array of spices, carpets and women making carpets.
Time at leisure to discover Djemaa El Fna Square and enjoy the marketplace’s snake-charmers, street vendors, musicians, storytellers, and acrobats.
In the late afternoon we will drive to the Agafey desert for an adventurous evening of camel rides and a kosher barbecue dinner
Return to the hotel

Breakfast at hotel
Meet with academics and scientists from Mohammed VI Polytechnic University for a program focused on the Energy cooperation initiative established with Bar-Ilan University
In the afternoon, drive up into the Atlas Mountains to the scenic and “authentic” Ourika Valley where people still go to market by donkey. Light a candle at the tomb of Tzaddik Rabbi Shlomo bel Hans in the High Atlas. Pilgrimages to the tombs of Tzaddikim are unique to Judaism in Morocco, and this is one of the most important. Once a year in the spring Jews of Moroccan descent and Muslims are as well converge on such sites for a weekend of festivities.
Vegetarian lunch en route
Enjoy tea in a local Berber house.
Return to Marrakech
Home hospitality dinner with local guests from the Mimouna Association

Arrival in Israel from Morocco at 5:20 am
VIP greeting from the plane and meet with your Israel tour educator.
Transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv
Check into hotel
Free time to rest and have breakfast
Meet in the lobby and depart hotel to Peres Center for Science and Innovation
10:20 am – Guided tour of Peres Center
Visit Jaffa with your guide
Lunch in Tel-Aviv
Walking tour in Nachalat Binyamin
Return to hotel and prepare for Shabbat
Optional Shabbat services at the hotel and various synagogues
Shabbat Dinner with Bar-Ilan faculty

Breakfast at hotel
Drive to Safed and visit the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University
Lunch at Mizpe Hayamim hotel n Rosh Pina
Walking tour of Safed
Visit Zichron Yaacov
Drive to Kitron Estate where we will have a tour of the winery and wine tasting followed by a festive dinner

Breakfast at hotel
Spend the day at Bar-Ilan University – Ramat Gan Campus
Lunch on campus with students
Return to the hotel to rest and prepare for evening activities
Join Bar-Ilan University for a cocktail reception followed by the Honorary Doctorate Ceremony

Breakfast and check out
Depart hotel to Jerusalem
Welcome to the Old City with drums and musicians
Visit the Old City of Jerusalem including the City of David and the Western Wall
Guided tour of the National Library of Jerusalem followed bylunch
Day use rooms at Orient Jerusalem
Free time to relax and freshen up
Farewell dinner at the rooftop of the Orient hotel
Drive to Ben Gurion Airport for your departure flight
VIP airport assistance