All,

                Thank you for your inputs.

Matan/Gal,

                I am sorry, but I think the FOZ tour may be too difficult for us to manage in addition to the other events on 10 March. I hope this does not offend you and your team, but based on inputs received from many different parties, respectfully, we will go to Jerusalem, Israel Museum and Yad Vashem on 10 March per the itinerary below..

                I want to say thank you, again, for your very generous offer and for providing suggestions to us for this trip.

Lt Col Derek Rachel

I agree with Michael

Will

Hi Derek,

To you question ,

Michael,

                Do you think we can see all of these sites, and be able to spend quality time at each one, in 1 day? If not, my recommendation will be to do the Israel Museum, Yad Vashem and the Old City, per our latest itinerary.  

                One additional thought, could we have a group dinner in Mehane Yehuda on the evening of March 10?

Thank you,

Lt Col Derek Rachel

My opinion is to stay with the original itinerary – Old city /Israel Museum /Yad Vashem  , Machne Yeuda dinner will be a problem –by law the driver is not allowed to go over 12 hours. Our time frame 07:00 – 19:00 and we have a lot to cover.

March 10 – Guide and bus

07:00 leave Intercontinental David Tel Aviv

08:00 arrive Jerusalem, begin tour (to include lunch) – Bulgurji Restaurant

14:30 depart Jerusalem

15:00 arrive Israel Museum

16:30 depart Israel Museum

17:00 arrive Yad Vashem

18:30 depart Yad Vashem

19:30 arrive Intercontinental David Tel Aviv

Best Regards,

Michael Fuchs

Head of Land Operations

Ofakim Travel & Tours

Haifa, Israel

michael.ofakim@gmail.com

www.israel-shore-excursions.com

www.twlgo.com

+972 524679566

Derek,

I don’t think the suggestion was to attend all these museums. I think the suggestion was to drop the Israel Museum and put in FOZ.

My take as an American is that the Israel Museum, which I enjoyed very much, is Art/Archeological/Ancient-stuff/Biblical. FOZ offers a more immersive experience and focuses more on Zionism which is a critical aspect that most Americans, IMHO, don’t understand when they hear “Israel.” There’s a reason there is a State of Israel today and FOZ may offer that perspective for you, given that you won’t have much other exposure to that at sites during the rest of the trip.

Visiting the Old City, in-depth, and going to two museums would be a very full day. That’s my opinion…from Tel Aviv.

All the best,

JMD

All,

                After considering the IDF’s very generous offer for a VIP tour through the FOZ museum, our group felt like we were running out of time to see all of the important museums and historic sites in Jerusalem.

                Since we only have 1 day (March 10) to see Jerusalem, I am not sure we will have enough time to see the Old City, Yad Vashem, the Israel Museum, Mehane Yehuda and the FOZ museum. Our priority is to see as much of the Old City as we can. Israel Museum, Yad Vashem, Mehane Yehuda and the FOZ Museum would come secondary to the Old City.

Michael,

                Do you think we can see all of these sites, and be able to spend quality time at each one, in 1 day? If not, my recommendation will be to do the Israel Museum, Yad Vashem and the Old City, per our latest itinerary.  

                One additional thought, could we have a group dinner in Mehane Yehuda on the evening of March 10?

Thank you,

Lt Col Derek Rachel

Hi Derek,

Waiting for you instructions regarding  the Friend of Zion Museum.

To all, have a great weekend.

Best Regards,

Michael Fuchs

Head of Land Operations

Ofakim Travel & Tours

Haifa, Israel

michael.ofakim@gmail.com

www.israel-shore-excursions.com

www.twlgo.com

+972 524679566

Lt Col Or,

                Thank you for your inputs.

                I have talked with our senior leadership regarding your offer for lunch on Sunday, March 8. That sounds very good to us. Thank you for such a generous gesture.

You mentioned the lunch will be on your base. Is that Hatzor, or are you located on another base? I just want to make sure the logistics of moving everyone around will not get too painful or time consuming.

We will consider your recommendation for the Friends of Zion museum. If we go to that museum on March 10, we must reduce our time in Jerusalem, the Israel Museum or Yad Vashem. I know Old Town Jerusalem will be one of the most important areas on our trip, so I am not sure if we can make time to go to the FOZ museum or not. Expect an answer from me in the next few days. Thank you for that generous offer too.

Talk to you soon,

Lt Col Rachel

One more suggestion: On Tuesday March 10^th I recommend visiting the Friends of Zion Museum (FOZ). It's a great Museum, you only need one hour to go through, and it gives you a very good prospective regarding Israel and the Jewish people. We have good connections there and we can arrange a vip tour for free.

Matan

Hi Matan,

Very nice indeed!!!

Hi Derek,

Please advise.

Best Regards,

Michael Fuchs

Head of Land Operations

Ofakim Travel & Tours

Haifa, Israel

michael.ofakim@gmail.com

www.israel-shore-excursions.com

www.twlgo.com

+972 524679566

Good morning,

I would like to suggest inviting you to a Sunday, March 8 lunch. It can be held at our base.

We would love to have you for lunch.

Matan

Hi Derek,

Michael here,

See my answers below

Michael Fuchs.

Barak,

                Nice to meet you. We look forward to seeing Israel with you and learning about your beautiful country. If you have questions before we arrive in Israel on March 7, please let me know. I should be able to give you the answers you need and assist you with any issues you may have.

Michael,

                Thank you for making the changes to make the trip better for us. I have a few questions/comments.

1. Do you have a recommendation for lunch on March 8? We will be travelling from the IDF college in Tel Aviv to Hatzor, near Ashdod. We can either have lunch near the IDF, or we can eat somewhere along the route to Hatzor.

Answer: I will look for a close by place for lunch and advise.

2. I understand the trip to Ein Gedi, Masada and Dead Sea will take longer due to the travel restrictions. Thank you for making the minor changes on this day to make the logistics easier for all.

Answer: makes sense this way.

3. On the last page of the itinerary, you mentioned a change in the price due to not visiting Yad Vashem and Jericho. Per the proposed itinerary, on March 10, from 1700-1830, we had planned to go to Yad Vashem. Is Yad Vashem not allowed for us to visit due to travel restrictions or was this a simple administrative oversight?

Answer: My mistake… overlooked Yad Vashem – the price reduce is due to not visiting Jericho. Entrance to Yad Vashem is free of Charge.

4. Your comment about Jericho was accurate. We are not interested in going to Jericho anymore.

Answer: noted

5. On the last page of the itinerary, under the section labeled “Not included in price”, you mention tips. The tips were listed as $15 per day, per person. That equals $255 per day ($1,020 for 4 days) in tips ($15 per day x 17 people). Is that accurate?

Answer: correct

That is all I have at this time. Thank you again for making the planning easy for us.

My pleasure!

Derek Rachel

Best Regards,

Michael Fuchs

Head of Land Operations

Ofakim Travel & Tours

Haifa, Israel

michael.ofakim@gmail.com

www.israel-shore-excursions.com

www.twlgo.com

+972 524679566

Hi Derek,

I went over the amended itinerary – marked my remarks/changes highlighted green – March 11 I made some changes due to travel restrictions you  have – please confirm ok with you.

Your guide – Barak is copied

Best Regards,

Michael Fuchs

Head of Land Operations

Ofakim Travel & Tours

Haifa, Israel

michael.ofakim@gmail.com

www.israel-shore-excursions.com

www.twlgo.com

+972 524679566

Col DeStazio/Lt Col Unruh/Michael,

                Attached is the latest version of our itinerary, based on EUCOM’s latest travel restrictions. Michael, there were a few small changes made. If you do not like the plan or if it does not make sense, please let me know.

Lt Col Or/Maj Balas/CPL Braverman,

                In addition to our itinerary while in Israel, you requested our flight itinerary in and out of Israel. I pasted that data below. If the picture does not come through correctly, we will be flying into Ben Gurion on Royal Jordanian Flight 340 from Amman. We arrive at 10:45PM on March 7 and depart on March 12 at 07:30 AM via Delta Airlines flight 8532.

                We are staying at the David IC hotel in Tel Aviv.

                On the afternoon of March 8, if the Juniper Cobra and Iron Dome visits do not work out, we will likely go to Caesarea, Mount Tabor or another location.

                If you have suggestions for our trip, please let me know and we will consider it.

Lt Col O’Gwin,

                Lt Col Or, Maj Balas and CPL Braverman need our passport numbers to assist with our travels in Israel. Do you have a document that has name, rank, passport number and gender on it? If so, please reply to all with that data.

Thanks to everyone for the help in planning this trip.

Lt Col Derek Rachel

478-919-1395