Has anyone recently visited Israel for touring?

There are numerous local tour companies that offer one or two day tours to the areas you mention. I can't recommend any personally but if you contact the Israel Tourist Agency they can help. They have offices in NY, LA, Atlanta and Chicago.

I"m planning a return visit sometime next year and friends have said it feels as safe as it always has.

I think under the current circumstances I would feel better with a local guide/transfer service vs renting a car. The locals are more on top of changes in conditions and situations. I was there a few years back and my biggest regret was not staying longer.

A start, unless you already know Hebrew: תודה רבה (toda raba), which means "thank you very much". As we say in Texas l'chaim ya'all.

Wow- apologies for those non- helpful responses. Ironically, RS, "our overlord" :) believes that travel IS a "political act", meant in the best possible way. Travel exposes us to new cultures and the potential (IF you travel this way) to find connections between people that you carry back to wherever your home is, along with increased empathy and maybe even action for peace, etc. ( I hope the negative responders are donating to World Kitchen...)
Solo travel to Israel (about 10 years ago) gave me so much insight by seeing and experiencing some of the country first-hand rather than filtered through the media. There are certainly many Biblical tour options. I stayed within the walled city in Jerusalem and used a private guide there for a day, and a day tour for Masada. The Dead Sea day tour did include the Jordan River.
I also arrived just as the teen Israeli boys had been kidnapped and experienced a road block on leaving the airport. The taxi was searched. (I don't know if I would drive a rental car, especially solo.) I saw Hezbollah vehicles far below when touring the Golan Heights- you really can't visualize how small the country is until seeing it.
As far as safety, I find it ironic Royal Caribbean still calls at Haiti (albeit to their private day beach) which is a Level 4, to say nothing of conditions for Haitians trying to survive while tourists swim with drinks! And if you wait to travel until atrocities aren't happening globally, sadly you may never be able to travel. Including within the US!
It may be tricky even with travel insurance, as far as cancelling if logistics become an obstacle, early in 2026. But that could be the case anywhere.
Safe travels to all!

Bon Voyage!, you did touch on a point. Anyone traveling to a Level 3 or 4 country might want to check their medical and life and travel insurance and confirm they will have coverage. Pretty much count on act of war being a disqualifier.

Also be aware that Israel is a Level 3, but with Level 4 zones. Another reason to stay with someone who knows the circumstances. Not saying not to go just relating a few things I discovered when I was planning my trip to Level 4 Ukraine (with some Level 3 zones).

Someone mentioned visiting Jordan. I think it would make a great pairing with Israel and I dont think you woud have any legal problems traveling in either direction as the two countries do pretty well together.

I was supposed to go to Israel with OAT in October/November 2023. Then the Hamas attack happened and my tour was canceled.

Looking at OAT's tour offerings, I no longer see Israel among their available tours. I assume they have determined that it is not a viable choice for tourism at present or in the foreseeable future. Perhaps that's a safety issue, or perhaps it's because Israel is not a popular tourist destination right now.

Either way, you might want to pause and reconsider whether it's a good idea right now. The country is at war, and maybe the situation there is just not conducive for tourism.

And by the way, I have reported all the political responses to the webmaster. They are a clear violation of the forum guidelines.

Trying very hard to keep out of the politics of this (which is incredibly hard) if you want to go to the Middle East, have you considered the biblical sites of the Kingdom of Jordan?
I assume you are aware of such sites.
Their tourism has totally flatlined since recent events. Yet the country is safe, bar shot down military drones landing (not shot down by Jordan).
Yes as a precaution there have been occasional air space closures, as a sensible precaution.
Not only are a lot of people in Jordan out of work, but much of the population has relations in Gaza. A very, very difficult time for them.
Only today the Royal Jordanian Air Force has conducted another three food drops in Gaza (well over 100 to date) so your tourism dollars will directly assist in official relief efforts.
The country has also sent in 181 land convoys to date (7932 trucks) in co-operation with World Central Kitchen and other partners. It is also treating hundreds of evacuated children in hospital.

I'm going to agree with Mr. E and suggest you look into going to Galilee with a tour or a guide. Crossing into and out of the West Bank can be difficult especially not knowing the procedure and not speaking the language. You also have to see if the rental car company will allow you to drive into the West Bank.

Putting aside the (huge) political and humanitarian issues for the moment, I still would not visit Israel right now. The State Department lists it as "Reconsider Travel," which means that it's pretty iffy whether your insurance would cover you if anything happened. Ben Gurion airport has had to close several times since the Gaza War started, and you have a higher than average chance of getting stranded in Israel. Not to mention bombs, missiles, and other mayhem. Personally, it's beyond my risk tolerance for the foreseeable future. However, your risk tolerance may well be higher than mine.

Fortunately, I visited Israel in spring of 2023. We arranged a private tour of Jordan and Israel through Egypt and Beyond -- https://www.egyptandbeyondtravel.com/. They arranged a custom itinerary for us. It wasn't cheap, but I was very pleased with the experience. I don't know whether they are currently arranging tours in Israel.

And, as several others have mentioned, I would definitely go with a guide or tour these days.

You said religious sites. A suggestion for Jordan as a pairing for Israel was made if you were traveling for biblical sites. But you mentioned Masada which is a wholly Jewish cultural site. If you are traveling in part for Jewish culture then, a good pairing would be Budapest. The Jewish influence history here is impactful but more important is that the Jewish life and presence in the city is alive and visible and free from harassment. A recent survey found that Italy and Hungary were the most ideal places in Europe for Jewish life. If you come, happy to direct you to a very good synagogue with amazing congregation and history for the sabbath.

The ties between Israel and Budapest are strong, strong enough to support 4 non-stop flights a day Sunday thru Thursday and 2 a day on Friday and Saturday (El Al, Wizz, Bluebird and Israir). Takes 3:20 and prices start below $150.

A tad off topic, but sometimes I try and think outside of the box and maybe hit upon an idea someone might be interested in. Safe travels.

Thank you, thank you Mr E for giving us a positive alternative on a post which has gone far off the rails.
I hope the OP is still reading, and has not given up on us.

It’s the sort of topic the RS forum should be good at.

We've got a good spread of opinion on the matter for the OP to ponder over so I'd call that a win.

OP, I was just having a conversation that made me think of another focus for a tour in Israel. "Arab Israel." 20% of the population is Arab, they serve in the national assembly and their supreme court, so I would expect there to be some sort of local cultural identity that would be facinsting to learn more about. Again, this would be a back door education or at least exposure to cultural reality. I hope to be back there in the not too distant future and I think this is something I would pursue.