Miscellaneous

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This is Not a Political Post

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Mughrabi Bridge, Jerusalem, Old City. Israel tour guide. Fun Joel Haber.

The Temporary Mughrabi Bridge in the Plaza of the Western Wall (photo courtesy of Flickr user Ariela R.)

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I hate politics.

But living in Israel and working in the field of tourism, it is fairly difficult to completely avoid dealing with political issues. Nearly every visitor has heard things about the political situation and/or sees things that relate to the issue. So they will inevitably ask some questions.

And it would not be right for me to ignore these questions. So the way I handle them is to respond in as objective a manner as possible, all the while recognizing and admitting that it is actually impossible for anyone to be truly objective. I try to relate the facts as I see them, and try to keep my opinions out of things. When Israel does or has done something wrong, I admit them. But when I see lies or misrepresentations that damage Israel’s image, I will speak out against them as well.

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Fun Joel on the Radio

Thursday, April 21st, 2011
RadioKolAmerica.com

Radio Kol America is an Internet radio station aimed mainly at Israeli expats, and those interested in Israel.

Internet radio, that is!

A very brief post to let you know that my old friend from Los Angeles, Liami Lawrence, hosts a popular internet radio show on Radio Kol America (kol is Hebrew for “voice”). In a few hours, he will be interviewing me on his show, discussing my aliya process, and my new life here as a budding tourguide to be. If you’d like to hear the interview, and/or want to call in to talk to me live, tune in at the link above.

The show runs from 9-11 PM Los Angeles time, on Wednesday April 20th. That translates to 7-9 AM Israel time on Thursday the 21st. My segment will probably begin around 10 PM / 8 AM.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts, and to hopefully chatting with some of you on the air!

UPDATE: Here is a link to the interview. I come on at about 1:09:45

Jerusalem’s Archaeological Surprises

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
archaeology, Malha, Malcha, Jerusalem, Israel, Middle Bronze, village, foundations

Malha Mall archaeological site -- a village from about 1800 BCE

Construction in Israel is always a difficult endeavor. In a country with as long a history as ours is, every time a spade or backhoe touches earth, there is the chance (or even the likelihood) that you will come across finds of archaeological significance. And when you do, construction grinds to a halt until the archaeologists can come in and examine the finds, determining whether they are significant, and whether construction can even continue there at all.

In recent years, building expansions have uncovered an ancient church at the site of a modern prison and an ancient cemetery near a hospital. In both cases, the building plans were halted until solutions could be found. Sometimes the archaeological site will be preserved at the location so people can see the finds in situ — where they were found, and construction will be abandoned. Other times, they will be covered and preserved underground, with the construction proceeding above the site. And sometimes the material will simply be removed and catalogued for later research.

I’ve recently visited a few of these types of sites, all within the boundaries of modern Jerusalem. It is yet another reason why I love living here. I am constantly surprised by the history and archaeology that you practically trip over every time you walk around this magnificent city.

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Stas v. Turkey: Why All the Uproar?

Monday, November 1st, 2010

Israel Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov (Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons, courtesy of Michael Feigin)

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 security (though apparently various reports used different terminology for the same apparent move by Turkey). The web has plenty of blog posts and I’ve seen tons of tweets in my Twitter feed that have made this seem like a horrible thing for Misezhnikov to have said.

My question: why all the uproar?

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More Progress

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

A tour group at the theater in Caesarea, Mediterranean in the background.

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 region (Apollonia, Dor and Atlit).

And some of the class subjects I may want to discuss here: Geography and Geology of Israel (and how they relate to each other) and fauna. But first…

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Just a Brief Check-In

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Jerusalem rainbow, as seen from my apartment this past week.

This will just be a very brief post to check in on a few things. I owe you a few posts right now: two tiyul (trip) reports to write up (Ein Gedi and Modiin vicinity), and a few class updates as well. I also have a bit of catch-up to do on the tourism business in general, and a post or two about things I’ve seen/done in Jerusalem lately. I’ve just been very busy, trying to get everything done and also stay up to date with my reports for each tiyul.

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