Gil Travel Group

Last month Gil Travel hosted a program called "Kosherati – A Kosher Spin on Gulf Food" with Dr. Elli Kriel, who started the first kosher kitchen in the UAE and the Gulf region. Before she ‘got down and dirty’ on teaching the virtual group on how to make her unique challah based on an emirate bread recipe including saffron, cardamom and, of course, dates, Elli talked about her experience of being a Jewish woman, and a Jewish mother, in Dubai. Her business venture, Elli’s Kosher Kitchen, was a result of her own kosher lifestyle that she and her family maintain, even in Dubai. Elli described Dubai as an International community – even the Jewish community is made up of ex-patriates from all over the world. There isn’t an indigenous Emirate Jewish community. Up until the Abraham Accords, with the normalization of relations with Israel, the members of the Jewish community were not necessarily comfortable about displaying their Jewish identity –   they weren’t always sure how open they could be with their peers or colleagues or what response they would receive from their emirate acquaintances once their identity was made public. What I learned from Elli – is that today post Abraham Accords – in addition to 28 direct flights to Israel weekly, visa entry to Israeli’s and Americans upon entry into the UAE, to Kosher kitchens being created in many of the luxury hotels, to integrative business prospects, potential collaborative ventures in medicine, agronomy, water and perhaps even defense - being Jewish in the UAE 2020 is an altogether different experience. One of openness, opportunity and freedom in one’s Jewish Identity; allowing the Jewish community to ‘come out’ and begin to assess its needs, develop goals and create strategy and planning to develop a strong future in this part of the world.

JDC On Wheels to Hungary and Romania, June 2019

In the last month, travel insurance companies are inundated with claims having to do with ramifications of Covid-19 – whether it be a cancelled flight, closed borders, fear of endangering health and fear of the unknown. Since this is an unprecedented situation, the rules and regulations of the insurance companies have become fluid and are adjusting in their favor given the circumstances.

Delight your members with a Women’s mission to Amsterdam

Budapest. The city of many wonders. One of the things it’s been known for is the delicious and hearty traditional cuisine.  In recent years it has also become more popular for its fine dining. There are many particularly interesting fusion, local-meet-international, experimental, themed, Michelin-starred, and numerous other types of restaurants, with talented chefs creating wonderful dishes for the locals and visitors alike. These meals are not only pretty to look at, but are absolutely delicious. Let’s check out some of the places that serve these mouthwatering foods.

The Czech Republic is a country famous for a great number of arts and artists, writers, architectures, but also – and maybe most of all – for its brilliant musicians. This country and its capital are one of the most significant contributors to the world's library of the most renowned music.

Spring is finally here. And with Spring, comes Easter - a time to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, as well as play traditional games and have a lot of fun painting eggs. However, celebrating Easter is not the same all across the globe. As you know, there are two Easters in the world, observed at different times: the Eastern Church Easter and the Western Church Easter. Countries are like families, and each brings something of their own to the feast.

Israel is certainly the best country in the Middle East for LGBTQ individuals to live, be it alone or with their families. People in this country are largely accepting and welcoming, while the government has been actively promoting social equality for LGBTQ people for more than a decade. What’s more, Tel Aviv has become one of the gay capitals of the world. Therefore, there are many types of tours available specifically for non-heterosexual individuals.

There are many countries in Eastern Europe and each boasts their own Jewish history and amazing architectural wonders that are their synagogues. So it’s overwhelmingly difficult to choose just one synagogue in each country as the most important one for the visitors to see. But we looked at five super-popular countries of Eastern Europe, and we wondered which ones we’d choose if it only had to be one in each capital. It’s impossible to define any of them as the most important one or the best one, but here are some of the many historically central synagogues in Eastern Europe.

Dubrovnik is an old city by the Adriatic Sea that has seen many cultures live in it, make trade deals in it, develop it, and create in it some of the world’s most amazing pieces of art and architecture. These have with time become the city’s most popular, but also most beloved monuments. Let’s check out just some of the many famous sites to see on a tour of this Croatian city.