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Our guest, Michelle Levitz, is a tour guide based in Zichron Yaakov, Israel. Michelle shares her fascinating background, growing up in a multicultural home in New Jersey with a Yemeni-Israeli father and a mother from the United States. Her upbringing in an open and welcoming Orthodox Jewish community contributed to her passion for guiding and sharing different cultural perspectives with others.
We discuss the challenges of leading multi-generational family groups and the importance of catering to the interests and needs of all participants - from grandparents to children. Michelle discusses her approach of blending educational content with hands-on, experiential activities has proven to be a successful formula for creating memorable experiences.
Lastly, Michelle also discusses the value of tour guides in Israel, highlighting how they provide important context, narrative, and flexibility that allows travelers to connect with the spiritual and cultural significance of the country's rich history and diverse communities. Michelle can be reached at [email protected] and her website is Michelle Levitz Tours.
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I had an interesting conversation with my friend and fellow tour guide Adam Wadell that touched on issues surrounding educational tourism as well as interfaith relations and guiding in the post October 7th world. In addition to our shared American upbringing, Adam and I have many things in common including an interest in environmental policy and a focus on educational tourism. We talked about our experience of working on programs that bring people to Israel to better understand the political reality here, the importance of education, and our hopes for the future.
In the intro to this episode, I mention a recent lecture that I gave about the genesis of liberal anti-Zionism that can bee seen HERE. -
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In this episode, tour guide Haike Winter, returns to Tour Guide Confidential to share her experience of volunteering in a dairy farm during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Like all tour guides in Israel, Haike was left unemployed by the war that began with the massacre of October 7, 2023. A "milker" since the 1980s, Haike has volunteered twice for the cowshed of Nir Oz, a small kibbutz in the Gaza envelope that was devastated by the pogrom. This is the kibbutz from which the Bibas family (the red-headed children) were taken hostage to Gaza. Haike describes her volunteer experience, the state of the kibbutz and cowshed in the aftermath of the attack, and how this has strengthened her connection to Israel.
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Anita Andziak is a Swiss-based tour guide and tour leader, PhD candidate and Virtual Tourism expert. Her passion is the combination of artificial intelligence and tourism. We sat down in January of 2022 to talk about the promises and pitfalls of Virtual Reality both during the pandemic and as we stride into the metaverse of the 21st century. Based on her research and professional experience, Anita discusses the ways in which customer behavior, cultural changes and the geopolitical situation are pointing to new directions and tourism trends. I invite you to listen to this episode about VR tourism, where I push back a bit at the techno optimism surrounding this cutting edge technology while also learning about many of the benefits that this growing sector in global tourism offers. To contact Anita and to explore Dokodemodoors where she is employed click on the respective hyperlinks.
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In this episode, I sat down with Aliza Bellehsen Avshalom in her beautiful home in the Galilee for a wide ranging discussion based on her decades of experience as a tour guide in Israel. Among other topics, we talked about Aliza's fascinating familial connection to Israel, growing up in New Jersey and what led her to train as a tour guide. We discussed her background of working with youth tours and educational tourism; environmental tourism and her love of hiking and the Land of Israel; cultural and ethnographic tourism and her desire to connect with her neighbors in a very multicultural and religiously diverse Galilee; the role of religion in tour guiding and her experiences as a religious Jew guiding devout Christians; multigenerational family tours; and the role that gender may play in tour guiding. In addition, we discussed guiding styles, changes in tour guide training, studying the Talmud and what makes Israel special. Aliza can be reached directly either by email at: [email protected] or through her excellent "Israel Paths and People" website where you can see the gamut of the fantastically interesting tours that she offers.
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In this episode, Yoni Shapira shares his rich, decades long involvement in tourism. He recalls how, as an oceanography student, he entered into this field as well as his long model making career or “life in miniature” at Mini Israel and elsewhere. Most importantly, we talked about the split between Guides focused on Incoming Tourism and those who work with the Domestic Tourism market and how this led to the creation of the organization Moreshet Derech or the Israeli Incoming Tour Guide Association that Yoni currently heads. We spoke about the difficulties of this position in unprecedented times and the organization’s attempts to lobby for compensation for tour guides. As part of this we also had an in-depth discussion on the difference between incoming and domestic tourism and whether domestic tourism should rightly even be considered tourism. We discussed how guiding Israelis requires a completely different skill set from guiding foreigners and why it can often be so challenging in practice. Lastly, among his many talents Yoni is an excellent researcher and scholar and he recounted how he discovered the hotel where Mark Twain was based in Jerusalem in 1867 and how this was the impetus for his book “Tourists, Travelers, and Hotels in 19th-Century Jerusalem.” You can reach him through LinkedIn or by email at: [email protected]
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In this episode I met with Tamar Linchevsky, a consummate storyteller who has been guiding for some thirty years. Unique in her approach to guiding, she takes her guests on inner and outer journeys of discovery based on the ideas of Joseph Campbell's archetypal "Hero's Journey". In our conversation, we discuss the current challenges and Tamar shares some of her own inspirational journey as well as the role that archetypal stories play in our lives. In addition, I provide the latest update on the tourism sector in the episode's introduction. Specifically, I discuss the government mismanagement of the sector and the current challenges surrounding the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Tamar can be reached at [email protected] or through her webpage at https://www.tamlin.co.il/en/.
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In this episode, Tour Guide Confidential Host Dr. Eyal Dujovny has a conversation with Amir Katz and talks about his background and upbringing, how he got into guiding and what kind of a guide he is. Dr. Dujovny explains the impetus for this podcast, the way in which it was a Corona-times project and the importance of building a digital library that is an oral history of these trying times and episodes that serve as a calling card for guides. Moreover, he talks about his favorite places to guide, favorite groups to lead and recalls some of his more interesting guests. He discusses his decision to live in Israel and what is unique about guiding there – whether it is the wide variety of people, cultures and religions or the fact that it is such a misunderstood place. Lastly, he discusses his academic background and how he sees his role as a tour guide less as someone who can share facts and more as a cultural broker that brings people together. You can contact Dr. Dujovny through the Tour Guide Confidential website, by mail at [email protected] or by Facebook at “Israel with Eyal”.
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I sat down with Elinoar Nitzani to discuss the fascinating trajectory that eventually led her to a career as a tour guide. A polyglot who guides in four languages, Elinoar shares her interesting perspective as someone who has, from an early age, lived in various places around the world. Passionate about the natural world, Elinoar relates how she pursued a degree in agriculture and how this eventually led her to the budding new field of agricultural tourism. As a leader in agricultural technologies, Israel has become a Mecca for those interested in the latest innovations in food production. Elinoar, with her deep knowledge of this subject, is uniquely placed and at the forefront of this new niche in tourism. Lastly, we spoke about the role of guides as ambassadors for their countries, the challenges and advantages of guiding as a woman, and the ongoing corona crisis. Elinoar is available at [email protected].
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In this episode, I sat down with Ori Unterman, to discuss her rootedness as a 7th generation Jerusalemite and her passion for guiding in this truly unique, complex, and holy city. Few guides know the city as well as she does, and we discussed what is special about guiding in Jerusalem as well as how the city – which is usually heavily touristed – has weathered the ongoing corona crisis. In addition, we raised the issue of gender and how it can affect the choices that guides make when it comes to the types of tours that they guide. Lastly, we discussed Ori’s recent exciting project of live tours in the Mahane Yehuda Market as well as had an in-depth talk about the advantages and limitations of Virtual Tourism. You can contact Ori by [email protected].
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My friend and colleague Rinat Bloom sat down with me for a wide-ranging talk in which we discussed her eclectic background, various experiences as a tour guide, her insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge, as well as our unbridled love for our adopted hometown of Haifa. In the episode, Rinat shares how she found her true passion as a tour guide after surviving breast cancer and how the current coronavirus crisis has upended the tourism sector. We talk about her experience of guiding at the Atlit detention camp and the importance of branching out from the typical packaged tours to visit lesser-known tourist attractions. We discuss shifts in tourism in our lives and agree that our guests are less interested in ticking off a checklist of “must-see” attractions in favor of opportunities to meet and form real connections with local people. She shares with us the challenges of guiding youth in the Israeli school system and her attempts to impart a deeper connection to the Land of Israel. She highlights her focus on Haifa and the surrounding areas and her hopes that tourists will return after the current crisis to discover all that this hidden gem of a city has to offer. Lastly, Rinat reflects on the challenges of the past year and relates the struggles of balancing a work-life balance in an industry that can often take us away from our families for weeks at a time. To contact Rinat, please check out her Facebook and Instagram pages under Rinat Blum or on Facebook at Israeli Moments.
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I sat down with Daniel Rubenstein to discuss the interesting path that led him from the United States to Israel and from a career in Israel advocacy to his current role as a licensed Israeli tour guide. Daniel holds a degree in Middle Eastern studies, worked for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington, and immigrated to Israel in 2011. Daniel served in the Spokesperson's Unit of the Israel Defense Forces, where he pioneered the unit's use of social media during the 2012 and 2014 military campaigns against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His contribution was showcased in the book War in 140 Characters. Eschewing a reactive policy that attempts to respond to every accusation directed at Israel, Daniel discussed his "bottom up" and "show, don't tell" guiding philosophy. His approach is based on the seemingly simple principle that guides should focus less on the things that they know and more on what their guests don't know. Lastly, we discussed the many contributions of the Birthright program and the reasons why he, like previous guests, have opted to take a step back from guiding Birthright groups. Daniel can be reached via his website dprpr.com, on Twitter at paulrubens, and on Instagram at rubyguidesisrael.
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I sat down with Ihab Zeidan and we explored the question of where culture, religion, ethnicity, and language intersect and what role this plays in Ihab’s guiding as a member of the Druze community. Ihab lives in the town of Usfiya located on Mount Carmel on the outskirts of Haifa and it is one of 17 or so Druze-majority villages in Israel. For those who are not familiar with the Druze religion or its beliefs, Ihab is a fantastic guide with a deep knowledge of his culture and traditions, as I am sure will be obvious to anyone who listens to this episode. The Druze self-identify as Arabs, and in addition to Israel, large Druze communities exist in Lebanon, Syria and less so in Jordan. Druze have long suffered discrimination and persecution but they pride themselves on being loyal and patriotic citizens of the countries in which they reside. Together we explore these cross currents in an episode that provides another important perspective to understanding this region and the challenges that guides face when guiding the Arab Israeli conflict. You can contact him at: [email protected]
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I sat down with Kamal Mukarker, a Palestinian tour guide and educator who is preparing a new generation of Palestinian tour guides. We had an in-depth and far-ranging discussion about his family’s background, the upheavals that they have suffered due to the last 100 years of conflict, his mother’s upbringing in Germany, the state of the Christian community in the Holy Land and broader Middle East, tour guide training in the Palestinian Authority, normalization, the difficulties surrounding the “occupation”, the recent Abraham Accords, and the struggles that tour guides currently face due to the continued coronavirus crisis.
Kamal is a leading tour guide for English and German tourists, as well as a fixer for anything one might need in the West Bank. Part of what he does is inviting tourist groups to his home in Bethlehem for a traditional meal, where he gives talks during mealtime on life in Bethlehem in general and the Christian culture of it in specific, thus giving tourists an insider’s perspective on the lives of Palestinian Christian. He opened a floor in his home building for smaller families to stay and enjoy the evening dinner and breakfast with or without his family. A great opportunity for families that want to explore the West Bank in 2 or 3 days. He also loves to take Jewish families around and link the historical Judea and the Torah stories with the current land today. Feel free to write him an e mail at [email protected] or by WhatsApp: 00972597806477 or give him a call at 00972 546336477.
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In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Yaron Ovadia to discuss his experience as a tour guide specializing in Islam and Middle East Studies as well as his his fieldwork among the Bedouins of the Judean Desert. Dr. Ovadia recalled his experience as a nature guide, his academic interests and decision to pursue a PhD and his thoughts on the pros and cons of the tour guide training course. In addition, we spoke in depth about the anthropological nature of his fieldwork among the Bedouin. Lastly, we spoke about the possible pitfalls of bringing tourists to visit these communities, the recent Abraham Accords with Bahrain and the UAE, and his thoughts about how we will exit from the coronavirus crisis. Dr. Ovadia may be reached by Facebook https://www.facebook.com/yaron.ovadia.391 and will be releasing a book based on his research in the near future.
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Naomi Ehrlich Kuperman, my guest for this weeks episode, has been guiding for over 40 years and kindly reached out to me to share her passion for guiding. Naomi and I had a far-ranging conversation that touched on the tour guide training course and how it has not kept up with the times, relations between guides and drivers, her experience of guiding Germans and how this has changed over time, and how she survived and overcame previous crises such as the first and second Intifadas and the First Gulf War. In addition to guiding, Naomi is a Board member of Moreshet Derekh, the incoming tour guide association and shared some of the recent political successes surrounding unemployment benefits and retraining for guides. Last, but not least, she shares some sage advice to young tour guides that they would be wise to heed.
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I drove down to Mosh Pedaya, which is about 30 minutes outside of Tel Aviv to have tea with my friend and colleague Rotem Shahar and to discuss her fascinating journey from the soil science lab to being a licensed tour guide in Israel. In this episode, we discussed a broad range of subjects including the role of gender in guiding and career in general, her favorite types of tourism, why she has decided to take a step back from Birthright, and how she has carved out a niche as a virtual tour guide during the pandemic. You can find her at rotemguide.com and contact her there about presenting virtual tours or trips to Israel.
NOTE: The interview with Rotem begins about 10 minutes into this episode. -
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I sat down with Daniel Sigalov and we discussed his family's struggle to emigrate from the Soviet Union to Israel and how this has impacted his life and his firm belief in the promise of free markets as the most effective way to ensure prosperity and the common good. We debate the role of government interventions in the tourism industry, such as the requirement for tour guide licensing and the certification of tourist vehicles. Daniel shares some of his entrepreneurial initiatives such as the Haifa Free Tour that he founded, his You Tube channel, his plans for regular tours from Haifa, and Israel With Fun website (Israelwithfun.com). Last, but not least, we discuss his extensive hat collection and how he sees his role as a tour guide and storyteller.
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In this interview with Amir Katz, we cover a broad range of topics starting from his upbringing in the States, his Israeli roots and how he found his way to Israel, the importance of building relationships with guests as well as the challenge of being emotionally present while on tour. In addition, we talked about guiding the Arab-Israeli conflict, educational tourism, and Christian pilgrimage tourism. Amir shared with us his latest tourist initiatives - from a wine tour app in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, to group wine tasting tours and a wellness tourism project with his wife and yoga instructor Devra Katz. To learn more about Amir and these projects, please check out his website My Israel Wine Tours (https://myisraelwinetours.com/)
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For this episode, I drove down to Jerusalem to interview licensed tour Guide Peter Gokhvat, who has been camped out and on hunger strike across from the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the Finance Ministry for over 40 days. Soft-spoken and humble, Peter discussed his upbringing, immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union and laid out the demands that tour guides have regarding the current coronavirus crisis and the need for a clear, government-backed, exit strategy. He also brought us up to date on his recent meeting with the Minister of Tourism and other Members of Parliament (42 in all) who have visited the protest encampment and the steps that the government is taking to address the crisis.
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