Fishes and loaves with the locals in the footsteps of Jesus

A new tour company by two friends — one Palestinian and one Israeli — promises to bring visitors to the Holy Land a new kind of cross-cultural experience that includes literally breaking bread with the people of the land.

Breaking Bread Journeys takes groups in the footsteps of Jesus as they cross back and forth from Palestinian to Israeli territory, reminding travelers of the interconnections of the people, the faiths, and the communities that have lived here for centuries.

Breaking Bread Journeys will officially launch next month at World Travel Market in London, but its co-owners, Christina Samara and Elisa Moed, have been tour operators in the region for many years and have the personal contacts that will make the program work.

Groups may travel from Nazareth toward Jerusalem along the original route into Samaria, for example, meeting with the community in Burqin, where Jesus healed the 10 lepers, and before heading on to Jerusalem.

Samara say the group spends time in the Palestinian cities and villages, going from one religious site to the next and "seeing the living stones, the people who live there and can tell us about Christians live there today and interact with the Moslem and Jewish communities.

While she has worked mostly with Christian pilgrimages, the new partnership will offer more customized and interfaith packages.

""This is not new to us," Moed notes. "What’s new is doing it together and focusing on the encounter."

Beyond the religious-themed tours, Breaking Bread Journeys is offering a food and culture program steeped, literally, in the food of the region ("to learn about a people is to learn about their food"); a Herod and History program that will tour the Herodian structures in the Palestinian territories; a sustainability itinerary focusing on water and its role in the relationship between their two countries, with visits to the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee; and Two Eyes, which will look at the region through its inhabitants’ differing points of view.

All these are intertwined with relevant sites and encounters linked to the programs.

Samara Tourist and Travel Agency is being supported in the development of this initiative by the United States Agency for International Development through their COMPETE project in the West Bank as part of the Agency’s strategy to develop the Palestinian tourism sector and to make a significant impact in job creation and increased investment. – See more at: http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/57252/ldquo-breaking-bread-journeys-rdquo-ndash-a#sthash.NvsGqHsD.dpuf

Tourism to the Holy Land is important for both Israelis and Palestinians. In 2012, the Israeli tourism industry received 3.5 million visitors, and the Palestinian tourism industry received over 1.8 million visitors.  In fact, visitors to the Palestinian Territories increased over 40% from 2007 to 2012 – a positive sign that the region can safely receive increasing numbers of visitors. – See more at: http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/57252/ldquo-breaking-bread-journeys-rdquo-ndash-a#sthash.NvsGqHsD.dpuf

Wed like to convey our apprec to USAID in helping us get this proj going

Jerusalem — "Breaking Bread Journeys" is a new Palestinian and Israeli experiential tourism concept that will be introduced to the travel industry and media at the World Travel Market in early November in London. The concept was recently created by two tour operators, Christina Samara, a Palestinian and owner of Samara Tourist and Travel Agency, and Elisa Moed, founder of Israel-based Travelujah. Both women were introduced by Tony Blair’s Quartet Initiative and are launching this new tourism concept with the support of the United States Agency for International Development under the Compete Project in the West Bank, which emphasizes economic development, including tourism, as a path to peace and stability. 

"We realized that travel brings people together in many positive ways and helps in the pursuit of stability, prosperity and peace in the entire Holy Land," said Christina Samara. "So we designed a set of very special Palestinian and Israeli cultural and historic tours that include many of the classical sites that both of our companies have long been offering."

"However, we believed that what tourists really want is to experience the land in a personal way and we knew that by working together we could provide authentic experiences that would otherwise be virtually impossible," SUCH AS??explained Elisa Moed. "Each of our experiences provides opportunities for small groups tWHATo engage directly with local communities. These include experiences for faith-based clientele, as well as other market segments that are keen to learn and enjoy local traditional cuisine, art, and music and, of course, break bread with the people of the land."

Tourism to the Holy Land is important for both Israelis and Palestinians; in 2012, the Israeli tourism industry welcomed 3.5 million visitors, and the Palestinian tourism industry received over 1.8 million, a 40% increase from 2007.

Samara Tourist and Travel Agency is being supported in the development of this initiative by the United States Agency for International Development through its COMPETE project in the West Bank, to help develop the Palestinian tourism sector, create jobs and  increase investment.

By Cheryl Rosen