Leafing through travel books on Turkey at Tel Aviv\’s L\’Metayel (For the Traveler), veteran sojourner Ronen Lazar suggests how to curb the phenomenon of the "ugly Israeli" — the obnoxious Israeli tourist.
Last year\’s Israeli merchant fair in Irvine — the first stop in a three-month caravan — spoiled vendors with large crowds open pocketbooks and home-cooked meals.
"Free soup\’s on us!" That was the invitation David Suissa\’s Los Angeles-based charity Meals 4 Israel extended to all 5,000 participants of the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Charlotte, N.C. last month — and it was pastors and ministers who made their way to the booth to sample some soup and learn more about the charity.
For the past decade, members of Shaare Shalom, a Persian synagogue in Great Neck, N.Y., have traveled en masse to Miami each Passover.
While strolling old Jaffa\’s gallery district in May, Zehava Bitton saw empty storefronts. "It was heartbreaking," said Bitton, who was on a mission with American Red Magen David for Israel (ARMDI), Israel\’s equivalent of the Red Cross.
It\’s known as the holiday of freedom, but Passover this year in Israel will likely be remembered for its sense of restriction.
Whenever there\’s a wave of terror in Israel, the nation\’s hotels come up against a wave of cancellations, and the country\’s entire tourist industry — from five-star hotels to souvenir hawkers — goes into a slump. But in a few months the terror and fear subside, and the tourists come back.
The U.S. State Department travel advisory against Israel cannot be good for that country\’s image, much less for its beleaguered tourism industry.
Media be warned — skewed reportage of Middle East stability is being actively countered by Jews and Arabs alike.
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