Tour Guide Confidential podcast

1:19:46

Send us a text 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 mlevitz@gmail.com and her website is Michelle Levitz Tours .…

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Adam Waddel - Educational Tourism in Factious Times 1:25:26

hace 1 year1:25:26

1:25:26

Send us a text 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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Haike Winter - Guides Volunteering in War Time 46:48

hace 1 year46:48

46:48

Send us a text 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 - Virtual Tourism in the 21st Century 1:30:06

hace 2 years1:30:06

1:30:06

Send us a text 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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Aliza Bellehsen Avshalom – Guiding Paths and People in Israel 1:27:25

hace 2 years1:27:25

1:27:25

Send us a text 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: aliza.avshalom@gmail.com 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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Yoni Shapira - Tourism: Turning Experiences into Memories 1:42:35

hace 3 years1:42:35

1:42:35

Send us a text 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: Lhs.yoni@gmail.com…

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Tamar Linchevsky - Guiding the Hero's Journey 1:48:13

hace 3 years1:48:13

1:48:13

Send us a text 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 tamlintours@gmail.com or through her webpage at https://www.tamlin.co.il/en/.…

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Dr Eyal Dujovny - The Guide as Cultural Broker 1:40:07

hace 3 years1:40:07

1:40:07

Send us a text 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 tourguideconfidential@gmail.com or by Facebook at “Israel with Eyal”.…

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Elinoar Nitzani - Agricultural Tourism 1:42:14

hace 4 years1:42:14

1:42:14

Send us a text 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 elinoar.nitzani@gmail.com .…

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Ori Unterman - Guiding Jerusalem From Local to Virtual 1:39:09

hace 4 years1:39:09

1:39:09

Send us a text 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 oriunterman@gmail.com .…

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Rinat Blum - Think Global, Guide Local 1:20:29

hace 4 years1:20:29

1:20:29

Send us a text 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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Daniel Rubenstein - Guiding the Arab-Israeli Conflict 1:48:42

hace 4 years1:48:42

1:48:42

Send us a text 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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Ihab Zeidan - Guiding from a Druze Perspective 1:30:03

hace 4 years1:30:03

1:30:03

Send us a text 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: ihab.zeidan1@gmail.com…

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Kamal Mukarker - A Palestinian Perspective on Guiding in the Holy Land 1:53:14

hace 4 years1:53:14

1:53:14

Send us a text 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 Kamal_mukarker@hotmail.com or by WhatsApp: 00972597806477 or give him a call at 00972 546336477.…

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Dr. Yaron Ovadia - Guiding, Islam and Fieldwork among the Bedouin 1:41:59

hace 4 years1:41:59