Sar-El Tours & Conferences - 'For the Lord your God brings you into a good land.' (Deut 8:7)
February 2012
Sar-El News Flash
                                  

 

 



In This Issue

 
Quick Links

Greetings!

Shalom from the Land of the Bible! 

Please have a look at our most recent News Flash for all the latest in Israel and at Sar-El Tours.  I hope you enjoy it!

If you have any questions or would like more information on anything featured here, please don't hesitate to contact our office.


Kind Regards,
Samuel Smadja
Sar-El Tours & Conferences
+972-2-533-8000

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What's New In Israel
hermon
Mt. Hermon & Sea of Galilee

Winter in Motion: 

The heavens have opened up and we've enjoyed rare and heavy

rains throughout the country since the start of the New Calendar Year! Rivers are flowing and the Banias waterfalls are rushing with the refreshing sound of a strong current. It's a sight to behold as a meter of snow covers Mt. Hermon and the upper region of the Golan Heights. The rain-filled streams and snow-capped Hermon has drawn Israelis to the North to ski down the freshly fallen snow and take in the beauty that the rain has brought. Though we are grateful for every drop and enjoy the change in scenery, these heavy rains are still not enough as water levels at the Sea of Galilee continue to remain low.

  

Ice City similar to what will be built in Jerusalem
Ice City:
If it's hard to believe there's snow in Israel, imagine an ice festival in the heart of Jerusalem! From March 6th through April 30th at the Old Jerusalem Train Compound, the Holy City will host its first International Ice Festival featuring a 1,500 square meter complex (16,150 square feet), along with a bar made of ice, ice sculptures, a concert area and ice-skating rinks. The Ice City will feature ice-carved replicas of famous sites in the city, such as the Tower of David, Jaffa Gate, the Montefiore Flour Mill and the Light Rail. Workers are expected to arrive to Jerusalem this month to start set-up of the attraction. Mayor Nir Barkat is expecting hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists to visit, adding to the attraction of Jerusalem as a modern city as well as an ancient, biblical city. 
Site News & New Sites

Kesem HaGolan (The Golan Magic): 

Kesem HaGolan is the ideal place for a tourt to visit while in the Northern region of Israel. Located in the center of the Golan Heights about 2 kilometers east of Katzrin, it is the perfect spot for beginning your hikes, deepening your knowledge of the Golan and getting the information you need about everything new and exciting in the area. At Kesem HaGolan, you will catch a glimpse into a beautiful world you've never seen before.

kesem golan movie1
Kesem HaGolan Movie 

 

 The vast and modern complex, a pioneer of its kind in Israel, combines new and exciting attractions. Kesem HaGolan Movie is an exceptional movie which depicts the Golan Heights in a spectacular multi-sensory experience, displayed on Israel's only 180 degrees screen. You will listen, watch, get wet, feel the chill, soar into the wide open spaces, and smell the blossoms and the tastes of the Golan. 

 

kesem hagolan model2
Kesem HaGolan Model

          

 

Kesem HaGolan Model is an exact replica of the Golan Heights, the largest in the country, accompanied by an audiovisual show, telling its story. The model uses special lighting effects that run along the steams, canyons and the settlements, complemented by special sound effects: stormy eruptions, the thundering of cannons and the roaring tank engines accompany descriptions of the wars.

 

 

 

Together with these incredible attractions you are welcome to step into Taste of the Galilee and the Golan, the coffee shop which is a combination of a kosher dairy restaurant and a shop selling local produce and cosmetics. There you can benefit from the blend between the fruits of this fertile region and man's creativeness. The restaurant offers freshly baked bread, amazing breakfasts, sandwiches, wholesome quiches, homemade pasta and Italian coffee. At the boutique shop guests can purchase the finest products of the Golan and Galilee, such as dried organic fruits, wines from the best wineries, homemade chocolate, fragrant olive oil, honey, natural cosmetic products, gifts and souvenirs. Also on site is a meat restaurant called  The Brew House, where visitors can enjoy from fine meats, stews and surprising desserts.  If you'd like to include a visit to all the wonderful facilities, please contact your local travel agent.

 

     

 

Free Tours at Hebrew University:

Overlooked many times as just a campus, there are so many amazing sites at the Hebrew University Mt. Scopus campus in Jerusalem. Tours can be custom built for each group, depending on their needs, interests and time restraints.  Visits are suitable for student and regular groups alike.   

For further information, have your local travel agent contact us!

 

Some highlights of a tour include:

-       Botanical Gardens- all of the cultivated and non-cultivated  

mt scopus
Hebrew University Campus in the distance 

plants mentioned in the Old Testament, including the 2,000  

year-old burial cave of Nicanor

-       View of the Mount of Olives and the entire Old City

-       Speilberg Jewish Film Archives

-       On-campus synagogue with Old City view and impressive
        architecture 

-       Pontifical program at the Rothberg International School

-       Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace

-       Site of first lecture given by Albert Einstein (from 1923)

-       Hilltop property of Mt. Scopus, purchased from British Lord  

Gray Hill, an archeologist and religious Christian

-       Department for Comparative Religion

-       Center for the Blind (only suitable for small groups up to 10 passengers)

-       Lecture presentations on a topic of interest

-       And much, much more!

 

Sar-El News
Staff Dinner:
To close out the 2011 calendar year we gathered for an office staff appreciation dinner. The night was spent looking back on the successes of the year and celebrating all the blessings we experienced in 2011, despite recent turmoil in the region. We are grateful to everyone who helped us reach our goals and are eager to see what's in store for us in 2012. The dinner was held at Neot Kedumim in a large banquet hall on the grounds of their biblical landscape reserve. 

 

Sar-El Bus:
To better serve our groups we recently purchased a bus! The new bus comfortably fits groups of up to 40 passengers with luggage. It's fully equipped with free WiFi, air conditioning, television, and other high standard amenities.  

 

 


Headsets for Tourists:
We're eager to share that Sar-El guests now have the option to use headsets while on tour! Some of our largest agents have already used the system for their tours, and many will start using them from now on. The headsets are available per group and can be added to the tour package at an additional  cost per person.
 

New Roles:

As business at Sar-El continues to do well our office personnel adjusts in response. We are happy to announce that Rodney Gillah (formerly Marketing & Development) and Ella Schleifer (formerly Director of Special Tours & Events) have both been appointed to the position of Operations Manager.   

David Katz, formerly Operations Manager, is now the Deputy General Manager. We congratulate all of them and wish them much success in their new positions.

 

Spiritual Insights

"Haste Is of the Devil": The Sin of Anxiety

by David Bivin of Jerusalem Perspective

 

Jesus said to Martha: "You are worried and disturbed about many things; only one thing is important" (Luke 10:41). Jesus also said, "Don't be worried about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matt 6:34). If we learn to relax and let God fight our battles, we will succeed, and God will be pleased with our performance.

 

Someone told me that evangelist Harold Bredesen often remarked that he was "Hard on God, easy on Harold." Bredesen's philosophy reflects a great deal of wisdom -- after all, the battle is the Lord's!

We have a saying in English: "Haste makes waste." The Hebrew language contains a similar saying, "Hahipazon min hasatan" (Haste is of the Devil). Too often our haste results from worry and reflects our lack of confidence in God.

 

A Word from Samuel

Let me take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year! I want to thank all those that took part in supporting us in 2011 and especially those that carried us in prayer; you are a huge part of the Sar-El family.

 

Last Shabbat in synagogues throughout the world, the people of Israel read through Exodus 13. As a Believer in the God of Israel I deem that the promises God had for His people in Genesis he is going to keep for His people today. We see in Exodus 13 when the Israelites were in danger the Angel of the Lord (whom I believe is the Messiah) went to the front of the camp and stood between Israel and her enemy Egypt.  We all know that the media is talking of the Iranian threat; but as a follower of the Word God and His promises, I know that the same angel of the Lord that protected Israel against Egypt then will come and stand between Israel and her enemies today. As Believers we shouldn't panic like the people of Israel panicked in the desert when they left Egypt. We need to walk in truth and trust in the victory that God is going to do.

 

In Exodus 14:13-14 Moses tells the people "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." I really think no matter where we are in the world, we cannot let the media scare us and allow us to conduct our lives through fear. Let us not wait to visit Israel until the situation with Iran is finished, because today it's Iran but tomorrow it will be someone else. The only time there will be perfect peace in Israel is when the Messiah returns; and we pray you won't wait until then to come on a tour because we want to see you with us sooner than later!

 

And on a personal note for you, the reader, the enemy can be any of life's challenges: family troubles, financial stress, etc. I want to encourage you to trust in God and the Angel of the Lord that He will deliver you and fight for you as promised. Many times it is hard to let go, but I prefer to let God.

 

Please remember us in your prayers that Sar-El really will be an instrument by the Almighty to bless and be a guide in the 5th gospel which is the Land of the Bible. I would appreciate to receive any notes, ideas or comments on things you think we could do better and how Sar-El can become a household name. Our goal is to be known to all pastors in the church as the best Israeli land agent.  When they think of Israel they will immediately have their local travel agent contact us for their next tour; because we can't do it without our agents! 


Smadja

Many Blessings,
Samuel Smadja
Sar-El Tours & Conferences


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