The news story that has most recently gotten all of the anti-Israel complainants in an uproar is this one, quoting Israel’s Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov as calling for a boycott on Israeli tourism to Turkey. This came in response to Israeli news reports that said Turkey had classified Israel as a threat to regional Read More
Category: Israeli Tourism
The Tourism Ministry Looks Forward
I have said before that I am fairly pleased with the current direction that the Ministry of Tourism is taking. I can’t say I like every single thing they’ve done, but overall I think they are working very hard at increasing the numbers of tourists visiting here. They have stated their goal is to attract Read More
The Final Itinerary
In my last post of a few weeks ago, I asked for some advice in helping my friend Lara to plan a great itinerary for her first trip to Israel. Many of you here, and on my Facebook, made wonderful suggestions of things to do, places to go, and even food to eat. In total, Read More
What is the Israel Dream Itinerary?
A good old friend of mine is finally making her first trip to Israel next week. She’ll be here for 2-3 weeks, and I am excited to be showing her around a lot, and helping her plan her time here. Someone else (a friend of a friend) contacted me to suggest places for her to Read More
Take Me to a Better Place
Many industrial facilities offer interested fans of their products tours of their production facilities. Probably the most common are wineries and breweries, and we have no shortage of either here in Israel. But many places also have tours of facilities when the product is unique to that area. Whereas there may not be a ton Read More
On Politics, Squid and Israeli Tourism
Many of you may have heard the public flap that occurred when White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel arrived in Israel this week to celebrate the bar mitzvahs of his son and nephew. In case you haven’t, I’ll summarize. While in Eilat, Emanuel and family ate a seafood dinner in a fancy restaurant, then Read More
IMTM Report
Ever been to a trade show of any kind? Auto show, food industry convention, hotel and hospitality conference or energy industry gathering? Well, the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) is a fairly standard example of this type of event. I say this only because I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect before I attended it Read More
More Progress
Finding a bit more time now, so hope to post some tour updates and more news stories soon. But just a quick summary for now. Tours that I’ve taken but not yet written about: Ein Gedi, southern Dead Sea area (Mt. Sodom), Modiin vicinity (Tel Gezer and stuff related to the Maccabees) and Sharon/southern Carmel Read More
When a Handshake Isn’t Just a Handshake
I don’t know about you, but I shake hands with people all the time, and I barely even think about it. Sure, I’ve heard the potential origins of the handshake as a sign of peace, indicating that neither person is holding a weapon. But in our society, shaking hands is as common as, well… a Read More
Hockey Night in… Israel!
I realize there might be a bit of a seeming discrepancy on this blog. It is called Fun Joel’s Israel, and I talk in my bio about the fun side of Israel. And while I think that hasn’t been lacking entirely on the blog, I also don’t think I’ve done my full duty yet in Read More