I went there, strangely enough for business reasons, but got in some free roaming tourist time, and heard it myself from clergy and some of the faithful Greek Orthodox citizens. A priest in Capernaum was explicit in explaining they purposely manage "construction" road closures to frustrate Christians. The way they regulate tour guides is crazy... unless you want to force an agenda, that is.
I love how my comments got ratioed. Demanding to know reliability of sources before rushing to judgment is encouraged, unless the sources are making negative claims about Israel.
Nope. Sorry, but its best to try and demand source verification from everyone.
I can totally buy a story like that, and have heard some similar things to those.
But when checking out the Jerusalem tours advertised at my hotel in Tel Aviv, I noticed that every single one stopped by the museum of the holocaust, without exception. The only way (aside from going yourself without a tour) to avoid it was to go on a Saturday. I guess it's a legal requirement of all tour buses.
In Nazareth I spoke to a small business owner located above some Roman ruins, a legit and interesting archeological site, who explained how the ministry of tourism blackballs sites that they don't like. And then you have businesses closed for holidays according to the religion of the business owner ... shave-and-a-haircut knock and you can get in, even while they pretend to be closed to avoid fines from the religion police. Like I said, it's got some strange goings-on.
I went there, strangely enough for business reasons, but got in some free roaming tourist time, and heard it myself from clergy and some of the faithful Greek Orthodox citizens. A priest in Capernaum was explicit in explaining they purposely manage "construction" road closures to frustrate Christians. The way they regulate tour guides is crazy... unless you want to force an agenda, that is.
It's a weird place, Israel.
Thanks!
I love how my comments got ratioed. Demanding to know reliability of sources before rushing to judgment is encouraged, unless the sources are making negative claims about Israel.
Nope. Sorry, but its best to try and demand source verification from everyone.
I can totally buy a story like that, and have heard some similar things to those.
I was surprised how overt it was, TBH.
But when checking out the Jerusalem tours advertised at my hotel in Tel Aviv, I noticed that every single one stopped by the museum of the holocaust, without exception. The only way (aside from going yourself without a tour) to avoid it was to go on a Saturday. I guess it's a legal requirement of all tour buses.
In Nazareth I spoke to a small business owner located above some Roman ruins, a legit and interesting archeological site, who explained how the ministry of tourism blackballs sites that they don't like. And then you have businesses closed for holidays according to the religion of the business owner ... shave-and-a-haircut knock and you can get in, even while they pretend to be closed to avoid fines from the religion police. Like I said, it's got some strange goings-on.