holidays

Today in Israeli History: Yom Kippur War

September 13, 2013 by Fun Joel Leave a Comment

Syrian tanks on their sides in a defensive tank ditch.

Disabled Syrian tanks following the battle of the Valley of Tears

Okay, actually I should have written “Tomorrow in Israeli History,” but since I will be observing Yom Kippur, I am posting this today. As many of you know, this Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) marks the 40th anniversary of one of Israel’s more difficult wars — the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

You will most likely see many articles and posts about the war, and so I will not summarize the entire thing. But I would like to make a few points that may be less known or about which people may have some misconceptions.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Egypt, Golan Heights, history, holidays, politics, Syria, wars, Yom Kippur War

Why You Should Hire a Tour Guide in Israel – Part 1

October 16, 2012 by Fun Joel 7 Comments

Greek Orthodox Viri Galilaei Church, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel

Inside the Viri Galileai Greek Orthodox church on the Mount of Olives.

A lot of people travel all over the world and explore new places on their own, planning their trips with the help of guide books, websites and friends’ advice. So why should you hire a professional licensed tour guide for your trip to Israel? Certainly a tour guide is an expense that could bump your trip into a different budget range, so what is the added value that you will get for your dollar (or Euro, Pound, Shekel, etc.)?

As a licensed guide here in Israel, I believe that the service I provide (and the service provided by my many excellent and talented colleagues) gives my clients an unparalleled experience in Israel, whether they are first-time visitors to Israel, or seasoned tourists here. This post will highlight two of the my top five reasons why you should hire a tour guide for your trip to Israel, and I’ll give you the other three in Part 2 of this post.

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Filed Under: Israeli Tourism Tagged With: Christianity, festivals, guide, holidays, tourism

Israel Tourism News Roundup

November 11, 2010 by Fun Joel 1 Comment

Logo of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism

I’m going to try to start doing regular posts where I summarize recent news stories with relevance to the tourism industry in Israel. These might have to do with plans the Tourism Ministry is making, events or news about hotels or airlines, or anything that might affect the tour guiding business directly. If any of you come across relevant news stories that you think I might not have seen, please feel free to forward my way! Thanks! And as always, I’d love to hear any responses or opinions in the comments section.

Want to Come to Israel? Win a Trip!

December 9, 2009 by Fun Joel 2 Comments

The promotional mini-site

Here’s a new promo from the Israel Ministry of Tourism tied to Chanukkah and offering a chance to win an El Al flight to Israel!

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Filed Under: Israeli Tourism Tagged With: Chanukkah, El Al, holidays, Ministry