Israel Travel

Magic Down Under

The Soreq Cave near Beit Shemesh features some of the richest ancient limestone formations anywhere.

Michele Chabin
Israel Correspondent
09/15/2011
Good to the last drop: Stalactites and stalagmites, formed by acidic rainwater that dissolves limestone, make Soreq Cave

On a warm September day, four elderly Druze women in black dresses and sheer white headscarves sat under a shady canopy and poured a sweet liquid from the tea pots they had brought with them from the Golan Heights to central Israel.

While they had their repast al fresco, the younger women in their group descended the 150 stairs leading to the Soreq Cave (which has another 140 stairs), one of the most remarkable sites in Israel.

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Israel Travel September 2011

Stepping Into The Past (And Present)
The grottoes of Rosh Hanikra, the Soreq Cave ... and
The mirco-breweries of Tel Aviv.

09/15/2011
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Look North

Off the beaten path, Western Galilee’s tourist sites offer a rich experience.

Ruth Eglash
Special To The Jewish Week
09/15/2011
Northern exposure: The Acco waterfront, left, and the ancient Yechi’am Fortress.

While most visitors to Israel opt for the conventional tourist route — spending time in the spiritual and religious Jewish capital Jerusalem or enjoying the upbeat tempo of Tel Aviv and its beach —fewer people chose to make the trip up north in order to explore the delights of the Western Galilee, where the sites are certainly subtler but no less rich.

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Hotels Are All Business These Days

Israeli hoteliers upgrading their services to meet growing business travel demand.

Ken Stephens
Special To The Jewish Week
09/14/2011

Business over family — at least for now. That’s the mantra of Israeli hoteliers these days as they pivot to upgrade their services for business executives who are looking to mix business with pleasure in the Jewish state.

The reasons? Israel’s high-tech sector, which has weathered the global economic downturn better than many countries, and the growing number of international business and Jewish organizational events that are now being held in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

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Magic Down Under

The Soreq Cave near Beit Shemesh features some of the richest ancient limestone formations anywhere.

Michele Chabin
Israel Correspondent
09/13/2011
Good to the last drop: Stalactites and stalagmites, formed by acidic rainwater that dissolves limestone, make Israel’s Soreq Cav

 On a warm September day, four elderly Druze women in black dresses and sheer white headscarves sat under a shady canopy and poured a sweet liquid from the tea pots they had brought with them from the Golan Heights to central Israel.

While they had their repast al fresco, the younger women in their group descended the 150 stairs leading to the Soreq Cave (which has another 140 stairs), one of the most remarkable sites in Israel.

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An Ale Of A Trend

American immigrants fire up Israel’s burgeoning micro-brewery industry.

Ken Stephens
Special to The Jewish Week
09/13/2011
The scene at Jem’s Beer Factory in Petach Tikva.

They gave it all up for a nice, hand-crafted cold one. It would be almost impossible to believe that an inventive Washington, D.C., caterer who created culinary events for both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, an NYU-trained lawyer cum high-tech maven and a successful New Jersey accountant would actually chuck their lucrative careers in order to serve up boutique beers to thirsty Israelis and curious tourists in metro Tel Aviv.

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Cruise Travel To Israel Up

06/10/2011

Cruise travel to Israel is expected to reach an all-time high this month, according to Israel’s Ministry of Tourism. The ministry is expecting 50,000 tourists to arrive in the Israeli port cities of Ashdod and Haifa in June. Cruise travel to Israel jumped 250 percent in 2010, with the arrival of nearly 170,000 cruise visitors. Nearly 70,000 cruise visitors arrived in Israel between January and April of this year, a 37 percent jump over the same period last year.

El Al Summer Family Discounts

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High-End Kosher Taking Hold In Tel Aviv

It’s been a long time coming, but gourmet kosher restaurants are now taking their place in the city’s food scene.

Joshua Mitnick
Israel Correspondent
06/10/2011
Merkado, a Latin American meat restaurant in the Azriella towers. Photos by Joshua Mitnick

Tel Aviv — When Sandra Elias visited
Tel Aviv as a kid back in the 1980s, she remembers going back to the same handful of restaurants every year. It wasn’t because they were anything special. For the kosher observant, they were the only game in town. Only Jerusalem had real options for kosher dining.

“There really was no variety” in Tel Aviv, Elias said.

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Sleepy Beach Towns Waking Up To Tourists

Mikhmoret, Nuweiba and Beit Yanai are close to Tel Aviv — but a world away.

Hilary Larson
Travel Writer
06/10/2011
Horseback riding along the beach at Cactus Ranch. photo courtesy of the resort

The tiny moshav village of
Mikhmoret is just a half-hour from Tel Aviv’s glamorous high rises, busy street scene and thumping discos.

Yet to people like Dana Bendik, who moved to Mikhmoret from the nearby resort city of Netanya eight years ago, Mikhmoret is a world away from the Tel Aviv bustle.

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Tunneling Through Jewish History

Walk along a Second Temple road oward the Holy of Holies.

Michele Chabin
Israel Correspondent
06/10/2011
Ancient halls and cisterns greet visitors deep under the Western Wall.

Jerusalem — Almost  every tourist who comes to Israel pays a visit to the Western Wall, but relatively few take the time to tour the Western Wall Tunnel adjacent to the plaza.

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