These trips are custom-built around what you want to explore. Some clients want to look closely at the regional file (Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian question); others want to engage with Israel’s internal complexity (the ultra-orthodox, the Arab citizens of Israel, the Ethiopian community); others want a bit of both.
Some come wanting a single point of view; others want every angle held up to the light. I’m not here to judge what you want from the trip; I’m here to help you have the best experience you can.
One guide, multiple narratives
Every issue we touch has multiple arguments and opinions inside it. My job is to represent them as fairly as I can, while acknowledging openly that no guide is completely impartial; what I commit to is the effort. On many trips I arrange meetings with speakers who can go further into a specific point of view than I can.
Visitors I’ve guided in this space
Lord Austin of Dudley who explicitly asked for different narratives on complex and controversial topics. Amol Rajan, BBC presenter and broadcaster. Keith Sonderling, former US EEOC Acting Chair and now Deputy Secretary of Labor. Delegations from the Embassy of Switzerland in Israel, Labour Friends of Israel and AIPAC. Several other journalists and politicians that I haven’t named because their visits here were discreet.
How a day takes shape
The work is to see the issues in the field rather than in a classroom: a visit to a border area, a meeting with someone living the question first-hand. My job is to frame the day, connect what you’re seeing across the trip and answer any questions to the best of my ability.
What I’m not
I love my home and am very passionate about its history, culture and people. But I don’t see it as my job to do PR for Israel, or ‘hasbara’. I’m licensed by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, but no one in government tells me how to guide. I try to show things as honestly as I can and encourage you to make up your own mind.
Tour examples
A week-long parliamentary delegation across the political map
A week-long delegation of parliamentarians wanting to cover all the main political questions. We went to every border (the Lebanon line, the Syrian frontier in the Golan, the Gaza envelope, the Jordan Valley), met top politicians and local activists across the spectrum and still found room for some of the traditional tourism sites along the way.
A single day on Arab society in the Galilee
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with a single day to understand Arab society in Israel. We spent it in the Galilee, meeting officials and leaders from the Muslim, Christian, Druze and Bedouin communities: not just politicians, but entrepreneurs, social activists and religious leaders.
What guests say
-
“Balanced and honest; he won’t indoctrinate you.”
Samuel is super knowledgeable about Israel and knows how to explain complex issues and concepts in a clear manner. Straightforward, balanced, and honest-- If he has an opinion on an issue, he’ll tell you, but he’s not trying to indoctrinate anyone with his views.
-
“Presents multiple perspectives on complicated topics.”
My Graduate program toured Israel with Sam and he was incredible. His knowledge base is wide and his humor is on point. Sam truly knows how to present and discuss multiple perspectives on complicated topics, delve into history’s lesser known facts, and keep groups engaged for days on end.
Thank you, Sam! My tour was amazing!
-
“A neutral account of the contentious parts of Israeli history.”
Samuel is an engaging story-teller, has a great sense of humour and recommendations for food, music, souvenirs! He is genuine and gives you a neutral / factual account of the more contentious parts of Israeli history that you are unlikely to get from other guides (trust me: I had a not-so-great experience with another guide at Yad Vashem). I spent eight days in his company and he is one of the reasons I had the time of my life in Israel!
