{"id":5115,"date":"2024-04-04T11:09:46","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T15:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/?page_id=5115"},"modified":"2026-01-12T20:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T01:07:24","slug":"israel-solidarity-missions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/?page_id=5115","title":{"rendered":"Solidarity Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Richard Page of EHT visiting wounded soldiers at Sheba Hospital Tel Aviv<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pastors praying with the principal of Christian Friends of Israel School<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With our history in Israel since 1962 and due to the tremendous needs in Israel, Ed Hill Tours ownership and staff felt we must do something tangible to show our love for Israel and support it’s people who were so severely impacted by the horrific events of October 7, 2023.<\/p>\n

This special Solidarity Mission was designed for individuals who typically had been to Israel, were not fearful of going, and wanted to be part of doing something to help. The itinerary included visits to hospitals, Christian schools, and hands-on volunteer work wherever we were needed along with some scheduled touring each day. We spent 1 night in Tel Aviv where we visited Hostages Square and Sheba Hospital where most wounded IDF soldiers are being treated. Then we went to Jerusalem and immediately went to the Christian Friends of Israel School (CFI) where our team did clean-up work, washed windows, and distributed clothing for pick-up by the needy. Note: In\u00a0 many locations there was no one left to perform these tasks because many workers had left following October 7.<\/p>\n

Highlights of our time in and out of Jerusalem: Taking monetary donations to Friends of Zion Museum along with clothing to support the work they are doing for displaced Israelis from the north of Israel and from the affected kibutzim near Gaza. We also visited with a large group of Holocaust survivors supported by Friends of Zion. We distributed clothing, shoes, blankets, and toys everywhere we went including King of Kings Congregation, First Baptist Church in Bethlehem, and City of Life Ministries in Sderot near the Gaza border. Our team went to a large grove to pick oranges for several hours because workers had left and there was no one to pick the ripe fruit. The saddest time of our entire trip was visiting the site of the Nova Music Festival where 364 young people were murdered and more taken hostage.<\/p>\n

We also visited several “must” sites for Christians: The Garden Tomb, the Garden of Gethsemane, and two sites that many in our group had not previously visited: Solomon’s Quarries (Zedekiah’s Cave) under Jerusalem’s Old City, and the Herodium, a man-made mountain palace\/fortress near Bethlehem built by Herod the Great and where he was buried.<\/p>\n

We stayed in Dan Panorama Hotels in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, enjoyed excellent full breakfasts & dinners daily, farewell dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Piccolino, private deluxe coach, and we were led for the entire trip by Shlomo Eyal, an incredible guide and longtime friend.<\/p>\n

This Solidarity Mission was open to everyone and included both pastors and non-pastors. It was a truly unique, amazing, and rewarding experience for everyone who went.<\/p>\n

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Ed Hill’s great-grandson Aiden meets Holocaust survivor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Meredith Hill Page with IDF Captain Adi Eyal at Netiv Ha-Asara a kibbutz near Gaza border<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Music festival site where 364 young Israelis were murdered<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With our history in Israel since 1962 and due to the tremendous needs in Israel, Ed Hill Tours ownership and staff felt we must do something tangible to show our love for Israel and support it’s people who were so severely impacted by the horrific events of October 7, 2023. This special Solidarity Mission was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5115","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5115"}],"version-history":[{"count":101,"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5421,"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5115\/revisions\/5421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edhilltours.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}