8 MAGICAL NIGHTS OF CHANUKAH
IN ISRAEL
December 4-12, 2026
only $5,000
Highlights
Light all eight nights Chanukah candles across Israel, from Old Jaffa to the Western Wall and the Golan Heights
Visit Tel Aviv Museum of Art, ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, National Library of Israel, Yad Vashem, and Mount Herzl
Witness the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum
Taste your way through Carmel Market and Machane Yehuda
Wander Tel Aviv’s first neighborhoods
Participate in a culinary demo with Adeena Sussman
Enjoy a live cultural performance in Tel Aviv
Tour the Baháʼi Gardens and celebrate Haifa’s “Festival of Festivals”
Explore ancient Akko
Press olives in the Galilee
Discover mystical Safed
Marvel at the Festival of Lights at Jerusalem’s Botanical Gardens
Dates and Pricing
December 4-12, 2026
Cost:
- $5,000 per person (double occupancy)
- $1,500 Single occupancy supplement
Cancellation Policy: A non-refundable deposit of $1,000 per person is due upon registration with the balance due by July 2, 2026. No refunds after July 2, 2026.
Notes:
- Some activities rely on local hosts, suppliers or sites and are subject to change.
- Minimum age for participation is 21.
- This is not a kosher trip and there will be travel on Shabbat.
Includes:
- 8 night accommodations (+ late check out on last day)
- Private, licensed tour guide
- All transportation, activities, sights, admission fees and programs as per itinerary
- All meals, with exception of 2 dinners and 1 lunch per itinerary
- All tips
- An exclusive Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center trip photo book
Not included:
- Airfare to/from Israel
- Transportation to/from airports in Israel
- Travel insurance (highly recommended)
Accommodations
Itinerary
Day 1 • Friday, December 4 • Jaffa •
First Chanukah candle lighting,
with a view of old Jaffa
- Begin with a welcome drink at 1:00 PM in hotel lobby
- Paint your own Chanukiah
- Tour Old Jaffa and port, where the ancient meets the hip
- Sufganiyot tasting
- Chanukah cooking demo with cookbook author Adeena Sussman at her home
- Welcome Shabbat with live music
- Shabbat Dinner in the Shuk at Poppina
- After dinner drinks
★ Overnight: Ink Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 2 • Saturday, December 5 • Tel Aviv •
Second Chanukah candle lighting in the Sarona Tunnels
- (Optional) Early morning yoga on the beach
- Breakfast at hotel
- Guided walking tour of Rothschild Blvd, Neve Tzedek and Lev H’a’ir (the Heart of the City), where the roots of Tel Aviv were first planted in 1909
- Exploration of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art’s groundbreaking exhibits and modern masterpieces, led by artist Shirel Horovitz
- Fast-food Nation lunch
- Chanukah Festival at Kikar Habima
- Experience the Sarona Compound, a renovated German Templar colony from 1871 with old winery tunnels later used by the Haganah
- Dinner on own at Sarona Market
- Late night Ice cream at Anita
★ Overnight: Ink Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 3 • Sunday, December 6 • Tel Aviv •
Third Chanukah candle lighting with the family of a fallen soldier
- Breakfast at hotel
- Dreidel Scavenger Hunt and Tour of ANU, the Museum of the Jewish People
- Speaker (TBD)
- Local flavors and hidden gems during tasting tour lunch at Carmel Market
- Free Time
- Dinner at Ha’achim restaurant
- Cultural show/concert (TBD)
★ Overnight: Ink Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 4 • Monday, December 7 • Haifa + Akko •
Fourth Chanukah candle
lighting on the shore of the
Mediterranean Sea
- Breakfast at hotel
- Journey north
- Experience Haifa’s “Holiday of Holidays Festival”
- Private tour of the Baháʼi Gardens
- Drive to Akko
- Explore the ancient city of Akko and tasting lunch in the market
- Check in to hotel and free time
- Group dinner
★ Overnight: Merom Golan Resort
Day 5 • Tuesday, December 9 • North (Golan Heights) •
Fifth Chanukah candle lighting overseeing the Golan Heights
- Breakfast at hotel
- Discover the ancient and modern process of olive oil production at Avtalion, with hands-on olive picking and olive oil tasting
- A tour of the Talmudic village, featuring biblical artisans and hands-on experiences with lunch
- Eli Cohen Trail: a short walk and a stop at his memorial
- Jeeps rides through the Golan Heights
- Group dinner
★ Overnight: Merom Golan Resort
Day 6 • Wednesday, December 9 • Jerusalem •
Sixth Chanukah candle lighting at the Western Wall
- Breakfast at hotel
- Text study in an ancient synagogue with scholars from BINA, an organization that promotes a Jewish identity based on tradition, values and democracy
- Explore the mystical Kabbalah center that is the city of Safed (Tzfat) with a local Hasidic family
- Lunch in Safed
- Short guided tour of two Monasteries in the Judean Desert with Shai Bitner
- Drive to Jerusalem
- Shehecheyanu blessing at the Kotel (Western Wall)
- Check into hotel
- Dinner on own
★ Overnight: Theatron Hotel
Day 7 • Thursday, December 10 • Jerusalem •
Seventh Chanukah candle lighting at Jerusalem’s Botanical Gardens
- Breakfast at hotel
- Guided tour of Machane Yehuda Market
- Visit Thinkers Distillery to discover their cutting-edge techniques and sample their award-winning spirits
- Lunch at Azura, a beloved family-run institution in the Iraqi section of the market
- Choose between:
- Tour of The Israel Museum, the country’s largest cultural institute, to explore both modern art and ancient artifacts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls Or
- Tour of the newly renovated National Library of Israel, the collective memory of Israelis of all backgrounds and the Jewish people worldwide
- Free time
- Festival of Lights and dinner at the Botanical Gardens
★ Overnight: Theatron Hotel
Day 8 • Friday, December 11 • Jerusalem •
Eighth Chanukah candle lighting with a local family in the Old City
- Breakfast at hotel
- Choose between:
- Guided tour Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Memorial to the Holocaust
Or
- Visit to Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery, honoring leaders and fallen soldiers
- Wander Jerusalem’s Old City, from the Temple Mount and the Jewish Quarter to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Christian Quarter
- Lunch on own
- Free time
- Chanukah at Sunset: Experience the unique Chanukiot Tour to see the beautiful menorahs lighting the Old City alleys
- Festive Shabbat Dinner
★ Overnight: Theatron Hotel
Day 9 • Saturday, December 12 • Jerusalem •
- Breakfast at hotel
- Explore the picturesque historic neighborhood of Ein Kerem
- A traditional Israeli Shabbat brunch
- Closing program
- Free time
- Festive farewell dinner
- Havdallah with a view at the hilltop neighborhood of Mishkenot Shaananim
- 7:00 PM Group departure to the airport