The trailer for an Israeli English-language film - a loose modern reenactment of the story of Jacob and Esau - has just been released. The film stars Harvey Keitel as Abraham, Shira Haas (from Unorthodox and Shtisel) as Leah and Lior Ashkenazi in the title role of Esau. Ashkenazi is the winner of 3 Ofirs (the Israeli Academy Awards) for best actor. It also features as Sarah, Gila Almagor who won a lifetime achievement award at the Ofirs - and then won two best actress awa

Schnitzel. For some 40% of Israelis, it is their go to family meal. If you have traveled through Israel, and somehow branched out beyond falafel and shwarma for a quick lunch somewhere, you probably went for schnitzel. As a tour guide of Israel I have ingested more than my fare share of this delightful dish. In recent years, however, it is has been cool to take a look back at its humble origins, discover how it became "Israeli" and then magically make it into the centerpi

This week's Torah portion is Parshat Noach, when we tell the story of Noah, the ark and the flood. According to the story, God promises never to destroy the world again by means of a flood and gives us the rainbow as a reminder of that promise. As such, some Jews today are taking the opportunity to make rainbow challah for their Shabbat tables. As your trusty tour guide of Israel, I have collected some recipes, photos and videos for you, should you like to try it home. Sh

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

Now there is an even more incredible reason to sign up for MasterClass, the online go-at-your-own-pace learning program where you learn with experts in their field. The James Beard Award-winning author of numerous cookbooks such as Jerusalem, Plenty, Flavor, Simple and Essential Ottolenghi, now has a masterclass online where he teaches you to cook over 30 Middle Eastern delights. On top of that, if you sign up for MasterClass, you don't just get access to one course, but all

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

On Friday night we begin Sukkot, the Festival of Booths. In ancient times this was the most popular Jewish holiday and I have to say, that it weren't for my mother's insanely delicious matzah ball soup and chopped liver on Passover, Sukkot would absolutely be my favorite one as well. On Sukkot we building temporary dwellings outside of our homes called sukkot in which we are supposed to eat and even sleep in for 7 days in Israel (8 days abroad). We also gather together four

As an Israel tour guide who leads food and wine tours of Israel, I am always on the lookout for great wines to be able to recommend to my clients. So of course it's important to keep an eye on the major world wine competitions to see how Israeli wines are faring. The 2020 Decanter Wine Awards - the biggest wine competition in the world - just announced its winners. 18 Israeli wineries received commendations (it is unknown how many of the 400+ wineries in Israel participated

With 2020 being a total mess across the board, wouldn't it be great if we could just fast forward to next year? Well, for the Jews among us, next year is already upon us. The Jewish calendar is about to turn over as we celebrate Rosh HaShana and enter into the year 5781. Your trusty Israel tour guide and Jew guru is here with a collection of things to help you celebrate the Jewish New Year in style. But first... if you are not sure about which High Holiday activities you s

As a tour guide of Israel, and one who leads a mean Israel culinary tour at that, I would be a total fraud if I did not know the name Janna Gur. A noted writer and journalist, she has authored two of Israel's most famous cookbooks. Now she has written an article about the thriving and hip culinary scene of Tel Aviv - in the 1920's and 1930's. It's a fascinating look at the history and development of the city through the lens of food (remember the city only began in 1909 an

There is so much happening this week when it comes to Israel. Here is your experience Israel online update, courtesy of your tour guide of Israel: 1) The Israel Festival is being re-run online this week between September 15-17. Check out performances by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, various Israeli musicians including Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai, jazz performances, performance art and dance performances by the great Israeli troupe Vertigo. All the information is av

I will be honest here. The only gefilte fish debates I ever knew usually revolved around why would you want to eat that in the first place, how long might one survive if he/she fell into a vat of gefilte fish jelly and is it really from the Dead Sea (the acceptable answers are: only with a ton of horseradish, 2 minutes and no, but it should be). Yet apparently there is an incredible historical debate about just how gefilte fish should be prepared and a line on the map was dra

As a tour guide of Israel, one of my favorite stories here revolves around a Jewish rebels healthy snack almost 2000 years ago when battling the Romans. A date pit was found in the storehouses of the famous Judean Desert fortress - Masada - which was besieged by - and ultimately captured by - the Romans in the year 73 CE/AD. The date pit was brought to the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and a modern miracle occurred. Like something out of Jurassic Park, they ma

The fantastic Israeli ice cream shop, Anita's, is opening a new branch in New York City. It was supposed to have opened back in April but due to corona it was delayed. If you have done a Tel Aviv walking tour with me we have undoubtedly stopped in there for an incredibly delicious treat. Now they are bring 150 flavors with them to the Big Apple, including, some new ones for the American market, such as a peanut butter and jelly ice cream! For more on the story - and where

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

So you are planning on coming to Jerusalem and need some help deciding where to eat. Well, you've come to the right place. I'm a licensed tour guide of Israel who leads an absolutely delectable and diverse Israel culinary tour (more on those below). Like many visitors, however, you may be doing some regular touring and just need some recommendations about where to eat at night - and especially on Friday night (if you are not observing the Sabbath) when much of the city shu

Yesterday basketball legend Ama're Stoudemire made it official: he is a Jew. At a ceremony in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak, Stoudemire went in front of the Beit Din - a Jewish court - and also immersed himself in a mikveh - a Jewish ritual bath. And just like that Ama're Stoudemire became Yehoshafat ben Avraham, his new Hebrew name, which means "God will Judge, Son of Abraham." Over the years, I have come to deeply respect Ben Avraham for his never-ending search for truth,

It has been one of the distinct pleasures of my professional life to partner with Pastor Dr. Kevin Dieckilman as the guide for his Israel study tours. He is an outstanding teacher and spiritual role model and a man who truly loves the Land of Israel, the People of Israel, the State of Israel and the God of Israel. Together we lead several two week spiritual experiences in Israel each year for Christians. [In addition to being an observant Jew, I am also a PK - a preacher's

On Monday, September 14 at 8PM Eastern Time, Michael Solomonov will be giving a free online cooking class for Rosh HaShana. Solomonov is the 2017 James Beard Award winner (the Oscars of food) for Best Chef in the USA and his flagship restaurant Zahav in Philadelphia is the 2019 James Beard Award winner for best restaurant in the USA. The event is being sponsored by the Jewish Federation of The Lehigh Valley and is free but requires advance registration. I don't know if the

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