PHOTO: Elisa L. Moed, an Israeli Jew, and Christina Samara, a Palestinian Christian, formed a new company last year called Breaking Bread Tours. (Photo by David Cogsell)
Reports in the news media on the violence in Israel and Palestine tend to give a bi-polar view, a clear black and white picture of two sides forever in opposition. The reality on the ground is more complex and nuanced. There are deep divisions over policy among Israelis on the right and left wings of the Israeli political spectrum. And there are also deep unities among many Israelis and Palestinians who abhor the violence and just want to live with their neighbors in peace.
Taking a simplistic, black-white view is nearly impossible when talking with Breaking Bread Journeys, a tour operation formed by two women, one Israeli and one Palestinian, offering tours throughout the Holy Land. The very existence of the company breaks through the commonly held stereotypical views of what is happening in the Holy Land.
Travel Pulse contacted Christina Samara, a Palestinian Christian living in Jerusalem, who partners with Elisa L. Moed, an Israeli Jew, in Breaking Bread Journeys.
TravelPulse: Your company recently sent out an email headlined "Is it safe to travel in Israel?" So why don't we start with that question?
Christina Samara: The email is connected to our blog on our website that talks about security. As you all know from the news, things have changed on the ground, but it is still safe to come as a tourist. Parts of the country are not affected. But the media and the stories are keeping the tourists away. We don't blame anyone for being afraid to come.
In terms of safety, there are rockets flying out of Gaza especially to the coastal region of Israel, including where Elisa lives. In the last few days the sirens have sounded and everybody runs to the shelters. But also in terms of the capabilities of Israel, with the Iron Dome, most of the rockets are intercepted and don't cause any major damage or injury. So far from the statistics we know that it's been quite minimal compared to what is happening on the other side.
But in terms of tourism, we do have a lot of tourists still here in the country. Most of them are traveling home again now, but most were able to do their tours completely. Some areas were avoided especially around the Gaza Strip area. We re-routed certain tours. That's what all the tour operators here do.
The tourism ministry sent out a letter that answers a lot of questions about security. Tourists that are here have been able to travel and do their tours with slight adjustments. Everyone is surprised at the way things really are when they come here, and what is not portrayed in the media.
Of course the media always shows the most terrible and negative things. Don't misunderstand me, the situation is terrible at the moment. No one likes it and we're hoping it will end very quickly so we can get back to our lives and everybody will stop the killing on all sides. We want the tourists to feel safe to come and continue with their tours.
TP: It's great for us in the U.S. to be able to talk to you to get a balanced view from the scene and to see the tourism perspective.
CS: We did have several groups here, but the last two groups that were supposed to be here now canceled. We're just keeping all the tour operators and tourists updated about the latest news. We're telling them they can wait until the very last day to decide whether to come or not, to see whether the situation deteriorates more.
The whole tourism industry has been very cooperative on all sides. The hotels are not charging any cancellation fees, and neither are the tour operators. All the money is refunded if the tourist decides not to come. In this crisis situation the tourism industry is really being good; good to each other and to the tour operators abroad who organize tours or individual travelers who decide they cannot make it, who don't want to put themselves at risk.
We all wish them all the best and tell them come back some other time when it's more quiet. There is nothing more we can do. We're very understanding.
[BLURB]"In this crisis situation the tourism industry is really being good; good to each other and to the tour operators abroad who organize tours or individual travelers... who don't want to put themselves at risk." [/BLURB]
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We've been through this before, unfortunately, so we do have experience in these crisis situations. If the tourists are here we know how to change things around on very short notice. The bus drivers, the guides and ourselves are constantly on the news checking everything where the tourists would be going for that day, if it's safe or not. If it's not we will simply re-route and be very creative. But we haven't had need to do that. Most of the tours the last two weeks have been running as scheduled. Since last week, most of the tours that were supposed to come in have decided not to come.
The airlines all over the world have also been very helpful in terms of not charging cancellation fees on the condition that another tour is booked within six months. So many of the groups that were supposed to come now are rebooking within six months.
None of the tourists are losing any money. I hope they feel that the whole industry is generous enough to waive all the cancellation fees and all that, because it's a situation that is out of our hands.
TP: You mentioned that there have been rocket attacks where Elisa lives. Where is that?
CS: That is Ranaana, just north of Tel Aviv, and they are getting sirens there. And I'm in Jerusalem. The first three days we had sirens too, but we're not getting any in the last two or three days. Even the Palestinian territories, Nablos, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jericho, everything is quiet right now.
Those are the areas that are on our programs. They can be visited. People are still welcome. But we understand if tourists decide not to come. We don't force anyone to do anything if they are not comfortable.
Two weeks ago, how the whole thing started, the three Israeli settler boys being kidnapped and found dead, and the Palestinian boy being kidnapped and burned alive, all of this started rioting in certain places right after the funerals. But it has subsided. It's not happening anymore. The only thing now is in the big cities, and it's all under control, there are peaceful demonstrations, asking for killing to stop in Gaza, or yesterday in Tel Aviv two different parties had demonstrations in Rabin Square, left and right.
The police and the military are handling these demonstrations. It's not rioting anymore. It's just peaceful demonstratios, pro-war or anti-war so to speak, as in any other country. If someone says, 'Let's move in the ground troops,' people in Israel have shown they are against it, and others say, 'Yes, we want it to happen.'
This is what we hear on the news. I'm trying to watch all different sides of the news, CNN, BBC, the Israeli news as well as the Palestinian news or the Arabic networks. We're trying to stay aware of everything that is happening.
There are also apps that give alerts in case of a siren or rocket attack, apps of news stations that send alerts if there is a siren. These technologies are helping us with the bus drivers and guides knowing what is happening on the ground. We know the areas well. We have contacts everywhere. We call ahead to check if things are safe or not.
TP: I think your company would be more appealing than ever now with your contacts in both the Israeli and Palestinian areas.
CS: Yeah. We don't go into politics. We try not to even though it's the subject to talk about. We did have a recent trip that was a big success while things were happening, and they had a chance to ask how people on both sides feel about the situation. How do you feel about the Palestinians who are being killed? How do you feel about the settler children being killed? And they were very impressed with the responses and openness of people ready to talk.
TP: That's great. As horrible as things are and as hopeless as it sometimes seems, it's just nice to see this kind of dialogue.
CS: All the tour operators in the whole country, unfortunately, we're all used to this situation and we all know what to do in these circumstances, and we all use our experience in that sense. With me and Elisa, the plus side is she has her sources and I have mine so our groups are double safe.
And we are not willing to take any risk. If there is any real danger, we would just tell our people not to come. That would be our advice. We don't want to take the responsibility; and we don't want to put anyone at risk.
One of your questions was: Is it fun? The whole situation is not really fun. And I don't know if people on a tour might describe their tour as a fun tour. But I think they would say that the tour was very deep in terms of what they got out of it. I'm not sure fun would be the right word at the moment to use describing the tours.
It's a deeper understanding of the issues. There is no way around it. They will feel it and hear about it. We try to stay as neutral as possible. We don't tell them what to think or feel or what side to take. We're still very neutral.
We are following up on all the travel warnings from all the countries, especially the U.S., and if there is anything named that is in one of our tours, we take it out.
TP: How has it been in Jerusalem, where you are?
CS: The first three or four days we did have sirens, but no known damage. The Iron Dome system has been working well. And since then we have had no threat. But that doesn't mean it couldn't still happen at any moment. Shooting rockets is still going on from both sides. We just hope it ends as fast as possible.
Everybody has been going to work. The kids are going to summer camp. The tourists are doing their tours. The restaurants and malls are open. You might feel there are fewer people outdoors simply because it's summertime and people stay indoors. Also it's the month of Ramadan and all the Muslims are fasting. And during fast time, most people stay home and quiet. Most go out in the evening after they break their fast after sundown. Ramadan month is a very quiet month.
TP: I'm very appreciative that we have this opportunity to hear your report from inside Israel. Your company in particular helps us to understand that the situation is not black and white.
CS: We're still humans, thank God we still have that. We feel it very much. I care for Elisa's kids and she cares for my kids. We just have to feel like we are all human beings here and we should not be going through this. Unfortunately it's happening every time. We really hope there is a peaceful and just solution, not just ceasefire that doesn't solve anything.
We do hope this region finally gets a solution, which is a very difficult thing. We're not taking sides or fighting about the situation. It just hurts to see kids and people and innocent civilians getting killed. It just hurts and everyone is depressed, I can tell you, everyone. It's just sad.
It's good to expose some positive in in this whole negative situation. There's still hope and there's still the positive and we have to hold on to that.
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