There’s no way to summarize a weeklong press trip to Israel in just one column. So I’ve taken two.

For the background on our amazing journey, see my column from last week, One Step Ahead of the Rockets: An Unforgettable Press Trip to Israel | Travel Research Online. But if you’re looking for details on how to plan a great trip, here are some highlights from the itinerary put together for our group of 20 international trade press by Ellen Shapiro of the Israel Ministry of Tourism and our tour guide, Mika Rabinovich. So here goes:

Jerusalem — Maybe it’s because I respect war correspondents, who risk their lives to cover the story, and sometimes wish I was one. Maybe it’s because, since Covid, I appreciate the privilege of being among the first visitors to support a tourism industry in distress. Maybe it’s because my roots are here, in the only place on earth where Jews are not a minority.

Or maybe I’m just another Baby Boomer looking for a “safe adventure,” excited to push the boundaries and get my heart pumping a little, all the while knowing I really am likely to survive unscathed.

Travelers knew Wednesday was going to be a mess at the airport—but they didn’t plan on the extra stress of pro-Palestine protesters blocking the access roads as well.

More than 60 protesters were arrested after two separate demonstrations closed roads leading to JFK and LAX airports, backing up traffic and forcing some travelers to get out of their Ubers and walk to the terminals.

No flights were delayed at either airport.

In New York, Port Authority Police officers arrested about 25 demonstrators who blocked traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway near the Terminal 4 exit for about 20 minutes at 11 am, and about 35 protesters who tried to block Century Boulevard near LAX with traffic cones, trash bins, scooters and debris, at about 9:30.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey dispatched two buses offering rides to travelers involved in the backup to allow them to reach the airport safely.

A few days earlier, a multi-car caravan blocked roads to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department accused protesters of throwing a police officer to the ground and “attacking uninvolved passerbys in their vehicles,” without providing further details about either incident. Traffic was impacted for about two hours.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, protests have broken out in cities across the United States. In New York, pro-Palestinian organizers protested events, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the annual tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center.

At a news conference on Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “I don’t believe that people should be able to just take over our streets and march in our streets. I don’t believe people should be able to take over our bridges. I just don’t believe you can run a city this complex where people can just do whatever they want.”

It’s been a record-breaking year in the travel industry—but as 2023 nears an end, travel advisors who sell the Middle East are wondering about the possible fallout of the Israel/Hamas War. Some already are feeling the pinch as suppliers shift itineraries, customers try unsuccessfully to cancel—and travel advisors and their commissions are caught in the middle. Again.

“I have been fighting with Regent since they announced my clients would not be going to Israel and Egypt—which was the whole reason for their trip—and put Greece in its place,” says Samantha Hamilton at Ultimate Vacations. “My clients have already been to Greece and have no desire to go back Read the rest of this entry »

It appears that Israelis are just not having Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to restructure the country’s judiciary. Demonstrations, that have been ongoing since Netanyahu announced his plans in January, were ratcheted up to a much hotter level last Sunday after he fired his defense minister. The minister had urged Netanyahu to ease up on his push to defang the judiciary because it was leading to dissension among the military. That created a “clear, immediate and tangible threat to the security of the nation.” The news stories might have raised the concerns of anyone thinking of traveling to Israel.