I was more than a little conflicted when Israel\’s Ministry of Tourism invited me to visit the Holy Land for one week in December to judge for myself whether the country was safe enough for tourists. I\’d never traveled to Israel before, and while I knew that life was going on as usual for most Israelis, CNN\’s daily images of conflict and the U.S. State Department\’s warning fed my apprehension.
Tour operator Tova Gilead returned from a 10-day trip to Israel in early January and brought back wonderful stories of people experiencing the beauty and history of the Holy Land, many for the first time.
Those who see little distinction between religion and golf might be tempted to daven with their heads pointed northwest, toward Pebble Beach.
More than 300,000 visitors have thronged the Jewish Museum in Berlin since it opened to the public in February 1999, and more are coming at a clip of 20,000 each month.
Ernie Weir is owner and winemaker of Hagafen Cellars, one of California\’s three kosher wineries that exist in an industry dominated by hundreds of non-kosher wineries.
On Yom Kippur, my wife Sally and I went to shul just around the corner from the Vatican. It was a visit we will not soon forget. The imposing Comunita Ebraica di Roma Synagogue (the Great Synagogue of Rome) sits just off the Piazza del Firori close to the Tiber River and spitting distance from Vatican City across the river in one direction, and Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum in the other.
Ehud Barak has the hardest job in Israel these days, but Itai Eiges\’ is no walk in the park, either. As director general of the ministry of tourism, Eiges is in charge of promoting an industry that has been crippled by the recent conflict. Tour operators are reporting a 50 percent cancellation rate, the U.S. State Department has instituted a travel warning on the Middle East, and Britain has levied one against Jerusalem. It is the worst drop-off in travel in decades.
Vienna\’s Holocaust Memorial in the inner city\’s Judenplatz was unveiled in a simple but moving ceremony last Wednesday.
Though Christopher Columbus stumbled onto the shores of the Dominican Republic more than 500 years ago, the city of Sosua, only a few miles from where he landed, is about to celebrate its 60th anniversary. When a group of 40 Jews climbed ashore, bereft of their possessions and loved ones and surrounded by jungle, they couldn\’t help but wonder what was in store.
What and where is Uzbekistan? Following the breakup of the USSR, Uzbekistan is an independent country of 23 million people, located in central Asia, west of China.
