Rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram won Israel's 3rd-ever gold medal this past weekend and the first-ever by an Israeli woman. It was the second gold of the Olympics, following artistic gymnast Artem Dolgyopat's gold-medal winning floor exercise. Ashram won in the all-around event, defeating a pair of Russian twin sisters whose country felt it had been robbed [photo by Reuters]. It was our fourth Olympic medal this year, whereas the most Israel had ever one in any Olympics prior

Maaleh Adumim and Mishur Adumim are Jewish communities/settlements just east of Jerusalem in the Judean Desert, which are usually best known for being the reason of perhaps the most contested real estate (outside of the Temple Mount) in the Israel-Palestinian conflict (though that's a subject for another time). Now, however, they are trying to be known for something brand-new: a new entertainment capital. That's right, it's glitz and glamour in the desert as Israel's most m

Tokyo 2021 has already become Israel's most successful Olympics in history and there is still more to go. On Sunday, the big news was that Artem Dolgopyat won Israel's second-ever gold medal (following windsurfer Gal Fridman's victory in 2004), this time in the men's floor exercises in artistic gymnastics. It was Israel's first-ever medal in gymnastics and the three medals Team Israel has won so far is a new record for any one Olympics. (Photo by Lionel Bonaventure/AFP) Alr

The 2020 Olympic Games are finally upon us - in 2021 - and this year might be Israel's best chance to finally a grab a second gold medal in the Olympics. Not since Gal Fridman won gold in windsurfing in Athens in 2004 has an Israeli athlete stood atop the podium while representing Israel (others with Israeli citizenship have won while representing other countries - one of them is even the flag-bearer of the USA this year - I'm looking at you, Sue Bird). With our biggest-ever

I just walked across my entire country. Okay it's Israel, so it's not that big, but I can tell you that it was not easy.... The hike is called "Yam el Yam" or "Sea to Sea" and it starts on the Mediterranean seashore and heads across the northern part of the country known as the Galilee to Lake Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee. There are a few different versions of it, but the classic one begins at the Achziv Beach and goes through the Kziv Stream, Mount Meron and

One of my favorite stories in the Jewish canon occurred in this past week's Torah portion. "And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching. Raising her eyes, Rebekah saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel..." In itself it's not so exciting, until you realize that "alighted" is a polite word in English for what actually transpired in the Hebrew: she saw Isaac and promptly fell off the camel. Now, however, an article in the N

Israel has emerged now from a second lockdown, which was enacted over the Jewish holidays. While indoor spaces such as museums are still closed, the national parks are now open and more and more places will be opening in the coming weeks. As a tour guide of Israel, I cannot be more excited to get back to work providing incredibly meaningful, memorable and enjoyable experiences here for my clients. At this point, Israel has identified 34 green countries. These are countrie

I'm very excited today. Not only did we finally get the first rains of the season today, but now that we can go outside again (after a second lockdown), Israelis are trying to do something incredible. On October 30th they will be attempting to break the record for the world's largest beach cleanup. As a tour guide of Israel, I can definitely get behind this - and hope to participate as well. Israel has incredible beaches - the sandy beaches along the Mediterranean, the co

I am sitting here looking at the absolutely stunning photos on the Instagram of Ayala Fishaimer and I cannot stop. Fishaimer is an Israeli wildlife photographer who has taken photos of animals all over the world, though of course, as an Israel tour guide, I am partial to the ones of animals in Israel. Which animals might you see here? Glad you asked. Foxes, jackals, hyenas, wild boar, ibex, rock hyraxes, antelopes, deer, oryx, camels, ostriches, donkeys, sheep, goats, hedg

Israel set a record last year with 4.55 million tourists. That was an 11% increase over 2018 which itself was a 42% increase over 2016. Even more amazing is that 94.4% of visitors to Israel reported a good to excellent experience in the country. That's an incredible success rate and I take pride in that, as a tour guide of Israel, I have a small part to play in that. If you are unaware, becoming an Israel tour guide is like getting a master's degree. It is a 2-year course

What do you do when as an Israel tour guide you are tasked with planning an outing in Israel for "people who have gone everywhere and seen everything?" Well - first of all, those people don't actually exist, since despite its size, there is so much to experience here - but I had as my touring crew for the day the closest thing to that: 9 other licensed Israeli tour guides. I quickly realized that I needed to think out of the box and my eyes turned towards the heavens. A q

I just read an article on CNN about a tourist being fined $1200 for trying to take sand from Sardinia's beaches and it got me thinking.... which things should you NOT take from Israel? I made a short list of those things - as well as a more extensive list of things which are frowned upon here but which unsuspecting tourists do all the time (or just not wise things to do while here). The first set of don'ts relates to that great quote "take only pictures, leave only footprint

This past week your trusty Israel tour guide took a 3-day trip to the coast and north of Israel: Wineries, dairies, national parks an incredible heritage museum and the grave of maybe the most famous person who never lived. Check it out (photos at the bottom): Day 1: The Grave of Harry Potter - I actually wrote an entire separate blog post about this here, but Israel is the final resting place of Harry Potter - just not the one you are thinking of. This one was a British sol

Now here is a woman after my own heart. She loves to hike. She loves to drink. But what on Earth is she thinking combining the two? As a tour guide of Israel I absolutely cannot condone this. However, if you wanted to come on an outdoor adventure in Israel with me we could absolutely combine these two things together (but you know, holding the drinking until the end of the day). One great place to do it would be in the Golan Heights. The Golan has some of Israel's most b

In just 10 days, Israel is set to make history. An Israeli team will be joining the Tour de France for the first time, and while most of the team members are not Israeli, an Israeli was selected by his teammates to be the first Israeli cyclist to participate in the world's greatest cycling competition. And he has only been cycling for three years! Everyone, meet Guy Niv... https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/israeli-cyclist-to-participate-in-the-tour-de-france-for-the-fir

A major travel update: Visitors from 20 countries can now enter Israel without requiring entering into quarantine upon arrival. Israelis (or visitors coming from Israel) can also now enter into a few more countries without quarantining, though they will need to show negative tests for covid-19. Just keep in mind that if you do come to Israel, you may need to quarantine upon returning home, depending on the current rules in your home country. As a tour guide of Israel, this

So you have been on a hike in Israel and saw a bunch of trail markers and wanted to know what they meant. Or you plan on hiking in Israel and want to get prepared. Either way, this post is for you. But first, a little history. 2600 years ago, after the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and taken many of the Judeans to captivity in Babylon ["by the Rivers of Babylon"], they placed someone in charge of Judea before they left - a man named Gedaliah. A Jew who was not happy w

An amazing video of an Israeli family on vacation at the incredible Beresheet Hotel on the edge of Machtesh Ramon (often called Ramon crater though it is not one)... A group of male ibex (not a mom and kids, as the man clearly traveling without a tour guide of Israel in tow, claimed in Hebrew) came to drink from their private swimming pool with a view - while they were in it. One of those "Only in Israel" moments... If you don't know what an ibex is, it's kind of the love ch

Everyone loves to come to Israel and ride camels. They are cute. They are funny. They are furry. They are fun to name [though nobody has ever beaten Alexander Camelton, though shoutout to Camela Anderson, Mark and Dorothy Camel, Camel Newton, Camela Harris and Camella Duchess of Cornwall]. They are also not something you would ever want to run into with your car... You see if you live in the West and hit a deer when you drive, your car gets dented and the deer goes flying.

Yesterday we celebrated 51 years since man walked on the moon (on the Western calendar). The good folks at Stand With Us put out this amazing photo to commemorate the occasion. This is the supermoon as seen from the grave of David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, in the Negev desert. One of my favorite things to do as an Israel tour guide is to go out to see the stars in the desert. Just what remember what the great tour guide of Israel, Kobi wan Kenobi once said.