New Article: Meydani, Tour Guides Policy: Law or Political Culture?

Meydani, Assaf.”Tour Guides Policy: Law or Political Culture? The Case of Pilgrims in the Holy Land.” International Journal of Public Law and Policy 5.3 (2016).

 
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJPLAP.2015.075028

 
Abstract

The role of tour guides has not been widely discussed in the literature, and neither has the policy that governs the place of tour guides in relation to the pilgrimage in the Holy Land. The Israeli Supreme Court (1987) has enabled pilgrims to guide without a licence, in clear opposition to the position of the Israeli Tour Guides’ Association. This led to a public ‘storm’, as a result of the tension between law, tourism, religion and state. It seems that the pilgrims’ debate is not over yet in Israel. This paper will try to analyse the court decision within a neo-institutionalism approach emphasising non-governability and alternative political culture as explanatory variables.

 

 

 

New Article: Vyas et al, Differences in Travel Behavior Across Population Sectors in Jerusalem

Vyas, Gaurav, Christina Bernardo, Peter Vovsha, Danny Givon, Yehoshua Birotker, Eitan Bluer, and Amir Mossek. “Differences in Travel Behavior Across Population Sectors in Jerusalem, Israel.” Transportation Research Record 2495(2016).

 

URL: http://trrjournalonline.trb.org/doi/abs/10.3141/2495-07

 

Abstract

The population of Jerusalem, Israel, can be divided into three distinct ethnic sectors: secular Jewish, ultra-Orthodox Jewish, and Arab. Not only do these population sectors tend to inhabit and work in different areas of the city, but they each have unique household structures, activity patterns, mobility tendencies, and, ultimately, travel behavior. These substantial variations in behavior, largely driven by differences in culture and lifestyle that are not captured by other personal characteristics, are essential to representing travel behavior in the Jerusalem travel model. In this paper, sector differences were traced through the activity-based travel demand model framework by using the 2010 Jerusalem Household Travel Survey. Significant variations in behavior were seen both in direct relation to the population sector and in interactions with other socioeconomic and demographic characteristics such as income and gender. This is the first known travel demand model in practice to incorporate ethnic differences so extensively in its application.

 

 

 

ToC: Journal of Jewish Education 81.4 (2015)

Journal of Jewish Education 81.4 (2015)

 

Editor’s Note

 

Experiencing Jewish Education: Perspectives From Learners and Leaders
Michelle Lynn-Sachs
pages 345-347

Articles

Demystifying a Black Box: A Grounded Theory of How Travel Experiences Impact the Jewish Identity Development of Jewish Emerging Adults
Scott Aaron
pages 348-376

The Guide with the Tourist Gaze: Jewish Heritage Travel to Poland
Sharon Kangisser Cohen
pages 377-397

Parshanut Through Art: The High School Student as Biblical Commentator
Matt Reingold
pages 398-412

Book Review

Jordana Silverstein, Anxious Histories (Berghahn Books, New York, NY, 2015)
Joshua King
pages 413-417

 

Miscellaneous

Editorial Board EOV

New Article: Cohen and Ram, Tourism is not only the vector of biological invasion but also the victim

Cohen, Oded, and Yael Ram. “Tourism is not only the vector of biological invasion but also the victim: Evidence from Israel.” Tourism Recreation Research (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2015.1086130

 

Excerpt

Using the case of Israel, We shall attempt to show that tourism is the victim of biological invasion rather than its vector. The choice of Israel is purposive because it is situated on the crossroads of three continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) and has been the epicenter of human mobility for thousands of years, and thus it became the habitat of many alien species. The worst cases of biological invasion in Israel concerning species that were introduced via land/ocean use changes were intentionally introduced for ecological purposes (e.g. dune stabilization) or accidentally introduced via infested shipments.

 

 

 

New Article: Katz, Religion and Ethnicity in Israeli National Dolls

Katz, Maya Balakirsky. “Dressing Up: Religion and Ethnicity in Israeli National Dolls.” Religion & Gender 5.1 (2015): 71-90.

 
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.18352/rg.10108  [PDF]
 

 
Abstract

This article considers Israel’s national image both at home and abroad through the framework of Israeli costume dolls, looking specifically at the way that gender played a role in Israel’s national image as it travelled from domestic production to international reception. Initially, predominantly female doll makers produced three main types of Israeli dolls, but over time the religious Eastern European male doll triumphed in the pantheon of national types. Produced for retail sale to non-Hebrew speaking tourists by immigrant woman, the Eastern European religious male doll came to represent Israel abroad while the market pushed representations of the Middle Eastern Jewish woman and the native sabra child to the side-lines. This article examines the shift from the multi-ethnic collection of dolls as representative of the nation’s idea of itself to the privileging of the male Eastern European doll as representative of the normative image of Israel abroad.

 

 

New Article: Alon-Mozes, National Parks for a Multicultural Society

Alon-Mozes, Tal. “National Parks for a Multicultural Society: Planning Israel’s Past and Present National Parks.” In Landscape Culture – Culturing Landscapes: The Differentiated Construction of Landscapes (ed. Diedrich Burns et al; Wiesbaden: Springer, 2015): 173-83.

 

 

Extract

Both case studies demonstrate the power of the landscape as an agent fostering first national and later communal identity. Early planning of Gan HaShlosha and Zippori national parks emphasized the role of the biblical/Hellenistic pastoral landscape in reinforcing a common national identity among the Jewish settlers of Israel. Consequently, the Palestinians’ past was erased from Zippori grounds, as in other places in Israel, and their narrative was silenced.

Due to the failure of the melting pot policy and the emergence of Israel as a multicultural society, contemporary Israeli national parks are designed and managed in order to address the needs of various communities of visitors, and not solely the hegemonic ones. The new clientele includes veteran Jews and new immigrants, various Jewish ethnic groups, ultra-orthodox Jews, Christian pilgrims, and the Palestinians Currently, panning strives to increase the profitability of the parks by recruiting new communities, by enabling mass gatherings and communal cultural events, and by mitigating conflicts among participants. Various stakeholders promote parallel narratives within and surrounding the parks, advancing the parcelization of the area based on time or space zones. Within this relatively enabling system, even the Palestinian narrative of Zippori is marked on the land, in spite of objections based on nationalistic considerations.

 

 

New Article: Schnell et al, Entrepreneurship in the Periphery and Local Growth: The Case of Northern Israel

Schnell, Izhak, Zeev Greenberg, Sara Arnon, and Shmuel Shamai. “Entrepreneurship in the Periphery and Local Growth: The Case of Northern Israel.” GeoJournal (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10708-015-9676-9

 

Abstract

Entrepreneurship in the northern periphery in Israel should be viewed as a response to the crisis in rural agriculture during the 1980’s. Most entrepreneurs left their farms for salaried employment for a few years and they took professional courses in order to learn necessary skills before they opened their enterprises. They have developed new small entreprizes using local resources at times informally as means to reduce risks and they specialize mainly in internal tourism and construction related branches. While Jewish entrepreneurs develop mainly tourism activities oriented toward the national market, Arab entrepreneurs develop mainly construction related branches to local and home regional markets. Both represent two styles of peripheral activities. It seems that both styles has only limited potential to overcome their marginality.

 

 

New Article: Ghermandi et al, Jellyfish Impacts on Recreation in the Mediterranean: A Socioeconomic Pilot Survey in Israel

Ghermandi, Andrea, Bella Galil, John Gowdy, and Paulo A.L.D. Nunes. “Jellyfish Outbreak Impacts on Recreation in the Mediterranean Sea: Welfare Estimates from a Socioeconomic Pilot Survey in Israel.” Ecosystem Services 11 (2015): 140-147.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.12.004

 

Abstract

Jellyfish outbreaks in the Mediterranean Sea are part of an anthropogenic alteration of the marine ecosystem and have been documented as health hazards and threats to tourism. Their impacts on human welfare have, however, been poorly quantified. A socioeconomic survey, carried out in summer 2013, captures the impacts of an outbreak of Rhopilema nomadica on seaside recreation in Israel. Welfare losses are estimated based on per-visit value and expected change in visits patterns. We estimate that an outbreak reduces the number of seaside visits by 3–10.5%, with an annual monetary loss of €1.8–6.2 million. An additional 41% of the respondents state that their recreational activities on the beach are affected by the outbreak. Through a contingent valuation, we find that 56% of the respondents state a willingness to contribute to a national environmental protection program with an estimated annual benefit of €14.8 million. These figures signal an opportunity to invest in public information systems. A pilot study for adaptation was conducted in Barcelona, whose results confirm the importance of the welfare benefits of real-time public information systems. This study provides a benchmark against which the economic impacts of jellyfish outbreaks on coastal recreation and potential adaptation policies can be evaluated.

New Article: Mansfeld and Korman, Conflict Heritage Tourism along Three Israeli Border Areas

Mansfeld, Yoel and Tally Korman. “Between War and peace: Conflict Heritage Tourism along Three Israeli Border Areas.” Tourism Geographies 17.3 (2015): 437-60.
 
 
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2015.1036916
 
 
Abstract

The construction and evolutionary processes of conflict-heritage tourism sites in border areas in transition between war and peace can be understood through a comprehensive study of the functional, spatial, political and tourism processes along three border areas between Israel and its neighbors. Using a qualitative approach, conflict-heritage sites are shown to represent a relatively large component within the overall tourism supply in the studied border areas. The essence of this type of tourism site is an outcome of equilibrium between actual historical locations of conflicts along the border, their cultural-national importance, their perceived level of security, and their proximity to the borderline. The pace of development of such sites is relatively slow and incorporates their tourism opportunities as well as the physical-social-security challenges faced by tourism stakeholders in those areas. The developmental character of such sites depends primarily on security, economic and planning factors. Based on the Israeli study, it can be concluded that the development of a larger variety of conflict-heritage sites in border areas requires a distance from the frontier, as a result of the security-political situation. In addition, the more time passes since the last conflict in that area, the more sites will be developed, offering complementary tourism activities, often functionally connected to other types of tourism in such areas. Lastly, the study supported the postulate that conflict-heritage attractions do not disappear – but they change only slightly in terms of function when the security situation in those areas calms down. Based on the above insights, the paper proposes further research to better understand processes of heritage tourism development in dynamic border areas.

 

New Article: Singh and Krakover, Israeli Domestic Tourism

Singh, Shalini and Shaul Krakover, “Tourist Experience at Home – Israeli Domestic Tourism.” Tourism Management 46 (2015): 59-61.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.06.007

 

Abstract

Having engaged with domestic tourism, scholars have reported resident’s reluctance in admitting to being tourists in their home country. This research note is intended to report an exploratory study on Israeli holidaymakers, which was undertaken to understand citizens’ sense of being a tourist in Israel. The findings reveal that while the participants did not perceive themselves as tourists in their ‘own’ country, they admitted to feeling like tourists in specific circumstances encountered during their domestic travels.

ToC: Journal of Jewish Education 81.2 (2015): special issue on Israel Education (Part 2)

Journal of Jewish Education, Volume 81, Issue 2, April-June 2015 is now available online is now available online on Taylor & Francis Online. Special Issue: Israel Education, Part II This new issue contains the following articles: Editor’s Note Approaching Israel Education: New Agendas Helena Miller Pages: 97-100 Articles What’s in a Name? In Pursuit of Israel Education Shlomit Attias Pages: 101-135 Mature Zionism: Education and the Scholarly Study of Israel Hanan A. Alexander Pages: 136-161 Harnessing Teacher Potential as Israel Education Curriculum Developers Meredith Katz Pages: 162-188 The Educational Mission of the Shaliach: A Case Study in Australia Yosef Aharonov Pages: 189-211 Educational Travel to Israel in the Era of Globalization Elan Ezrachi Pages: 212-225 Book Reviews Erik H. Cohen, Identity and Pedagogy: Shoah Education in Israeli State Schools (Academic Studies Press, Brighton, MA, 2013) Daniel Osborn Pages: 226-230 Jack Schneider, From the Ivory Tower to the Schoolhouse: How Scholarship Becomes Common Knowledge in Education (Harvard Education Press, Cambridge, MA, 2014) Miriam Heller Stern Pages: 231-235

New Article: Kohn and Cohen-Hattab, Tourism Posters in the Yishuv Era

Kohn, Ayelet and Kobi Cohen-Hattab. “Tourism Posters in the Yishuv Era: Between Zionist Ideology and Commercial Language.” Journal of Israeli History (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13531042.2015.1005858

 

Abstract

This study examines the complex national messages conveyed, both verbally and visually, in Zionist commercial advertisement posters produced in the Yishuv during the 1930s and 1940s. It focuses on posters promoting tourism and vacationing in Palestine, representing the growing perception of the country as an attractive destination for modern tourism that is not only religiously motivated. The posters are examined as historical documents that shed light on the ways in which the foundations of tourism in the country were laid and imbued with ideological meaning through the verbal and visual language of the posters. The article seeks to contribute to the study of Zionist visual culture in the Yishuv era by employing an interdisciplinary approach that combines textual-linguistic and contextual-historical analysis.

New Article: Shumsky, Travel, Tourism, and Cultural Zionism in Herzl’s Altneuland

Shumsky, Dimitry. “‘This Ship Is Zion!’: Travel, Tourism, and Cultural Zionism in Theodor Herzl’s Altneuland.” Jewish Quarterly Review 104.3 (2014): 471-93.

 

URL: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jewish_quarterly_review/v104/104.3.shumsky.html

 

 

Abstract

One of the central elements of Herzlian spatial-political thought that has been filtered out of the deterministic historiographical discourse on Herzl-the-visionary-of-the-nation-state is that of travel and tourism, as well as the cultural significance and political context of the representations of travel and tourism in his utopian-political novel Altneuland.

The present article argues, however, that it is precisely through accounting for the notions of travel and tourism at work in Theodor Herzl’s Altneuland that one can appreciate Herzl’s perception of homecoming in its full complexity. The development of this argument is divided into the following three areas: (1) a survey of the expressions of the theme of travel and tourism in Altneuland which have been largely overlooked by virtually all the historians, political scientists and literary scholars dealing with Herzl’s novel; (2) a rethinking of the cultural and political aspects of Herzlian Zionism given the appropriate assessment of the role played by the motif(s) of travel and tourism in his vision of the future Palestine, as well as placing those aspects within the wider historical context of the contemporary development of political territorially-oriented national movements in the Habsburg Central Europe where Herzlian nationalism had emerged; (3) framing discussion on the journey element in the Herzlian Zionism in terms of relevant theoretical discourse on travel, tourism and homecoming, with purpose of drawing through the case of Herzl’s employment of travel motifs some broad theoretical reflections on travel, Zionism and homecoming in the time (and space) of fin-de-siècle multiethnic empires.

 

 

 

 

New Article: Avni, Homeland Tour Guide Narratives and the Discursive Construction of the Diasporic

Avni, Sharon. “Homeland Tour Guide Narratives and the Discursive Construction of the Diasporic.” Narrative Inquiry 23.2 (2013): 227-44.

 

URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jbp/nari/2013/00000023/00000002/art00001

 

Abstract

By analyzing the constitutive role of tour guides narratives, this article addresses the recruitment of tourism as a means of forging transnational ties between diasporans and their ethnic homeland. Combining theoretical frameworks from linguistic anthropology and the sociology of tourism, it examines the narratives told to American Jewish youth at three graves at a military cemetery in Israel and analyzes the discursive, linguistic, and rhetorical strategies in the narratives, including stancetaking, reported speech, and pronominal usage. Attending to the growing phenomenon of diaspora homeland tourism, it analyzes how tour guide narratives about the past work as a form of social action in constituting present day transnational identifications.

New Book: Sasson, The New American Zionism

Sasson, Theodore. The New American Zionism. New York: New York University Press, 2013.

 

Click here for Table of Contents.

Is American Jewish support for Israel waning?

As a mobilized diaspora, American Jews played a key role in the establishment and early survival of the modern state of Israel. They created a centralized framework to raise funds, and a powerful, consensusoriented political lobby to promote strong U.S. diplomatic, military, and economic support. But now, as federation fundraising declines and sharp differences over the Israeli-Palestinian peace process divide the community, many fear that American Jews are distancing themselves from Israel.

In The New American Zionism, Theodore Sasson argues that at the core, we are fundamentally misunderstanding the new relationship between American Jews and Israel. Sasson shows that we are in the midst of a shift from a “mobilization” approach, which first emerged with the new state and focused on supporting Israel through big, centralized organizations, to an “engagement” approach marked by direct and personal relations with the Jewish state as growing numbers of American Jews travel to Israel, consume Israeli news and culture, and connect with their Israeli peers via cyberspace and through formal exchange programs.

American Jews have not abandoned their support for Israel, Sasson contends, but they now focus their philanthropy and lobbying in line with their own political viewpoints for the region and they reach out directly to players in Israel, rather than going through centralized institutions. As a result, American Jews may find Israel more personally meaningful than ever before. Yet, at the same time, their ability to impact policy will diminish as they no longer speak with a unified voice.

Cite: Lissovsky, From Sacred Grove to National Park: The Tale of Hurshat Tal

Lissovsky, Nurit. “From Sacred Grove to National Park: The Tale of Hurshat Tal in Israel.” Landscape Journal 32.1 (2013): 1-18.

URL: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/landscape_journal/v032/32.1.lissovsky.html

 

Abstract

This paper presents Hurshat Tal (literally Dew Grove) in the Upper Galilee as a case study for one of the fiercest disputes in the history of landscape conservation in Israel. A proposal to convert this ancient grove, a sacred site for Muslims and the sole remnant of an ancient forest of Tabor oak that once extended over the country’s northern region, into a recreation resort highlights the profound differences between the desire to “beautify” and “improve” the landscape and the commitment to preserve natural and cultural remnants of the past. This paper underlines the conflict between the scientific interest of naturalists and the interests of the planning and tourism bodies, and describes the central role played by landscape architects Lipa Yahalom and Dan Zur, who endowed the ancient grove with a new visual image and cultural identity.

Space and Place in Jewish Studies—Conference on March 10 at JTS

 

"The Spatial Turn in Jewish Studies"

March 10, 2013
9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

The Jewish Theological Seminary
Mendelson Convocation Center
3080 Broadway (at 122nd Street)
New York City

Space and place have become increasingly important terms for understanding Jewish cultures. Join us for an interdisciplinary gathering of scholars, who will discuss their work in relation to recent intellectual and scholarly trends. Topics will include a range of areas, including architecture in the Talmud, the Bible in Israeli cultural memory, Agnon’s Buczacz, language wars in the Yishuv, and post-Holocaust Jewish architecture. A reception will follow the day’s panel discussions.

No RSVP is necessary. Contact Dr. Barbara Mann, associate professor of Jewish Literature and Simon H. Fabian Chair in Hebrew Literature at JTS, at bamann@jtsa.edu or (212) 678-8816 for more information.

The program is cosponsored by The Jewish Theological Seminary, the Zvia Ginor Fund, the Columbia University Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, and Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History.

Full Conference Program

9:30 a.m.

Coffee

10:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks

Welcome
Alan Cooper, provost, The Jewish Theological Seminary

"Space Matters"
Barbara Mann, The Jewish Theological Seminary

10:30 a.m.

Text/Culture/Memory

Chair: Stefanie Siegmund, The Jewish Theological Seminary

"Torah and Topography: Late Antique Rabbinic Culture Between Real and Symbolic Space"
Gil Klein, Loyola Marymount University

"Space, Memory, and th*e ‘Return to the Bible’ in Israeli Culture"
Yael Zerubavel, Rutgers University

"A Baedeker to Buczacz: Agnon as Tour Guide"
Alan Mintz, The Jewish Theological Seminary

12:30 p.m.

Break

2:00 p.m.

Geography/Landscape/Architecture

Chair: TBA

"Mapping Language Diversity in a Hebrew Society: A Spatial Approach to the Cultural History of the Yishuv"
Liora Halperin, Princeton University

"Space and Place in Diaspora Tourism"
Shaul Kelner, Vanderbilt University

"Jewish Architecture and the Memory of the Holocaust"
Gavriel Rosenfeld, Fairfield University

4:30 p.m.

Closing Reception