A new series on Netflix came out this past week which is the brainchild of the writers of Fauda: Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz. Raz, of course, is the main star of both Fauda and the new one, Hit & Run. The series has had mixed reviews. The general consensus is that it starts at strong as an excellent piece of drama and action, which the Israeli screen has become known for, however it seems to have just a few too many twists and turns and starts to bog down in the unrealisti

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

In a sudden turn of events, the Palestinian Authority has agreed yesterday to restart relations with Israel after six months. This apparently includes both security cooperation and finally accepting their taxes which Israel collects on their behalf (import/export taxes via Israeli ports). https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-authority-announces-renewal-of-security-coordination-with-israel/ https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/palestinian-authority-to-resume-security-coor

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

Two of the greatest problems the world faces are the rising rates of obesity and the fact that the amount of lost Airpods inhabits a collective space larger than Rhode Island. While I am not sure the second fact is true, the global obesity rate has tripled in my lifetime alone and is particularly acute in the US where over 40% of the population has obesity. And people lose their Airpods all the time. Well now Israel may have [partially] solved both of these problems. Forg

Seventeen years ago Ilan Ramon, of blessed memory, became the first-ever Israeli to go to space. Sadly, Ramon was on the Space Shuttle Columbia which disintegrated upon re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, killing Ramon and the other astronauts on board. Ever since then Israelis have wondered as to who will be next to take that giant leap forward, to infinity and beyond. Now we finally have an answer. At the end of 2021, 18 years after the Columbia tragedy, Eytan Stibbe is exp

There a ton of music and film festivals happening right now in Israel - as well as new Jewish documentaries available online as well. Here is a list of some of the highlights for you from your Israel tour guide! The Oud Festival - November 19-28 The oud is Middle Eastern string instrument and Jerusalem has held an international festival celebrating it for two decades. Due to COVID-19 it will not be happening in person. While this means that only local performers will be hig

There are so many great webinars on Israel and Jewish-related things this week. Here are some highlights, from your trusty tour guide of Israel. Plus, check out the videos below of the Dead Sea Scrolls lectures from earlier this month. Have You Ever Heard of Sigd? Monday, Nov. 16 at 8pm in Israel (1pm EST) Sigd is a Jewish holiday marked by the Ethiopian-Jewish community 50 days after Yom Kippur. It celebrates their finally making it back to Jerusalem - through all the tr

In recent days, Israel has signed separate deals with US and Russian manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines with enough doses to vaccinate the entire country. This is on top of the local vaccine which began human trials on November 1. As an Israel tour guide this is incredibly exciting as hopefully it means we will be able to get back to work en masse as early as this coming spring . The Russian Sputnik V vaccine is in the middle of Phase III trials but has supposedly shown s

When Sean Connery passed away last week, a number of his off-screen exploits and comments - both the flattering and not so flattering - were brought up. As a tour guide of Israel, I'd like to focus on one of them - a secret mission he undertook to Israel in 1967. Connery, who was starring in his legendary role of British secret agent James Bond at the time, visited Israel and at one point actually was taken to an Israeli Air Force Base. There he met with IAF Commander Motta

As a tour guide of Israel, for some reason this is a question I get a lot... what is Israel's stance on marijuana. Much is known about Israel being the world leader in medical marijuana, but legalization for recreational use has always lagged behind other countries. Well now that's about to change... Am Yisrael High. A major government hurdle has been passed on the way to legalizing and decriminalizing the use of recreational marijuana in Israel. This should allow a bill t

In 2009, Dan Senor and Saul Singer wrote a book called "Start-Up Nation" about Israel's incredible propensity for creating start-up companies. The book tried to understand the factors which turned tiny Israel into a global tech power, and in doing so, gave a new nickname to the country. Yet a decade and over a dozen billion dollar exits later, two questions arise. Are we still the start-up nation or have we now morphed into something else? And, perhaps more importantly, d

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, whom I consider to be the greatest rabbi, teacher, ethicist and philosopher of our generation, passed away on Shabbat. His deep knowledge of secular subjects, literature, history and philosophy from ancient to modern was unique among Jewish thinkers and as such, he was able to relate to a non-Jewish audience as well as a Jewish one. An ambassador for faith and morality, tolerance and repairing the world, his books have been and his videos have bee

As a tour guide of Israel, I am happy to let you know of some good news regarding the opening of tourism to Israel. Israel hit a milestone today when it opened today a coronavirus test center which allows for testing for both arriving and departing passengers. Outgoing travelers who test negative will then receive a medical passport which can be used to enter a number of countries. No word yet on whether incoming travelers from "red" countries will still be forced to quaran

Malawi is set to become the first African country to open an embassy in Jerusalem. Currently the only countries with embassies in Israel's capital are the US and Guatemala, though several other countries have claimed they will be opening ones as well. They include Brazil, Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Honduras, Moldova, Romania and the Czech Republic. For more on this breaking story click here: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/foreign-minister-ashkenazi-meets-with-malawi-counte

As a tour guide of Israel, I'm always being asked what Israelis think about the US and especially about particular US presidents. Today of course, all eyes are on the US and the presidential election. So I've collected a variety of voices for you to see what people are saying here in Israel about the candidates, the challenges the next president will face and the US-Israel relationship. One thing that is important to note - and in my role as an Israel tour guide I always re