All opinions expressed are those of the writer.
From their first steps out of the Ben-Gurion airport into the Israeli sunshine, Passages travelers from all over the United States rely on a key individual to navigate their time in Israel: their guide.
Though Passages Fellows, Senior Fellows, Trip Staff and other trip coordinators are imperative to the structure of the Passages program, guides play perhaps the most significant role in cultivating the Passages learning experience. With their immense range of knowledge, quick thinking, creativity and love for education, the guides who work with Passages are exceptional and fundamental in upholding the mission of Passages.
Meet Meir, a guide for Passages. I had the privilege of working with Meir over the Winter 19-20 trip season. He was gracious to allow me to interview him about his guiding experience. Meir began his training to become a guide after serving in the army.
“To be honest,” Meir said, “I didn’t know how amazing [guiding] was until I did it.”
According to Meir, the training to become a guide requires two years of university education, with extensive learning about subjects like history, religion, archaeology, science, and geology, among other topics. This process culminates in a highly demanding final exam. Upon passing the test, new guides will often work for two or three years.
Meir suggested that though the lifestyle of a guide can present unique challenges, if a guide passes a two-to-three year benchmark of guiding, being a guide can become a career for life. Meir believes that the personal connections guides make with visitors to Israel truly create a meaningful, memorable experience for travelers, saying, “A quality tour guide makes the trip to Israel so much more than just another trip.”
Similarly, the guiding experience is meaningful for the guides themselves; while guiding, Meir said, “I got the chance to meet people from all around the world and try to do some good in the time that we have together.”
A life lesson from Meir? To “never judge a book by its cover.” Meir shared his opinion that though sometimes people are quick to judge others based on their appearance or a first impression, it is important to attempt to develop a relationship with them in order to understand them.
“Most times,” says Meir, “I discovered that people are much more deep and genuine once you peel [back] that first layer, and it is always important to give someone that chance.”
Exposure to the diversity of culture, beliefs, and backgrounds is just one of the many components of a Passages experience, much of it facilitated by the group’s guide. Meir reflected on the challenges and opportunities presented by his work as a tour guide.
“You meet people from all different backgrounds, faith and culture,” he said, “and you are challenged every day by that.”
Meir shared that during his childhood, he was taught that he can learn from each person he meets and every opportunity he encounters.
“A famous Jewish text says that you must observe nature and the animal kingdom and take some quality from each animal,” Meir said.
He related this proverb to the experience of meeting all kinds of people from around the world during his tours. He considers it a blessing to both influence and be influenced by many different people.
Tour guiding is a vital part of the Israeli tourism scene, as Passages participants know well.
The tourism industry is also an incredibly vital part of the Israeli economy. In 2019, 4.55 million tourists visited the country, producing roughly 23 billion ₪ for the Israeli economy. The rate of tourists grew by 11% from the previous year.
However, with the events of the COVID-19 pandemic, Israeli tourism has come to a serious standstill. Though the Knesset and other government leaders are taking action to slowly begin reopening various public spaces like beaches, schools and trains, the country continues to take great caution in approaching its response to the pandemic.
Because international travel is still very limited and highly discouraged, the tourism scene in Israel suffered a loss of over $2.7 billion. Tour guides, companies and operators are out of work, in addition to the loss of revenue hotels and other hospitality services are suffering.
Though Meir admits that the experience of losing work due to a global pandemic was unprecedented, he calls the change in pace “a blessing in disguise.” Upon reflection, Meir recognized that the events of COVID-19 allowed him to spend much-needed time with his family.
“I got to appreciate how crazy my life has been and that I was running a sprint for so long,” Meir said. “Life is not a sprint, it’s a journey. So, I am taking life slower now, God-willing.”