While Jews worldwide are getting ready to sleep out under the stars this holiday week, one tour guide in Jerusalem is also gearing up to do so – but for the next four months.
Josh Levinson plans to hike the entire Israel National Trail and film his journey across the whole State of Israel. The trail is 1,100 km. long and spans the entire length of the country. The film will be the most comprehensive online tour of Israel yet.
Levinson, 51, generally leads in-person tours, but as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism in Israel has significantly declined over the last year and a half. Missing the experience of guiding visitors in person, and hearing from his former guests how much they were missing the country, he decided to take on this project.
Explaining his motivation, he said: “Over the last 18 months since the skies closed, friends I’ve made during my four years as a guide have frequently commented that they’re longing to get back to Israel again. I started offering to film a couple of their favorite places here and there, but it occurred to me that if they were missing Israel, others would be, too.”
“I’ve really missed guiding people," he said. "Israel is such an amazing country; wherever you look there’s always something of interest to see. I loved bringing it to life for my guests. Doing the trip and filming the whole thing just seemed to make sense.”
The Israel National Trail runs from the Lebanese and Syrian border in the north, down the Mediterranean coast to Tel Aviv, across the Judean hills to Jerusalem, and down through the Negev to Eilat, a hike which normally takes about two months.
Levinson’s trip will take about four months, however, since he will be veering off the trail to circumnavigate the Sea of Galilee and head into some of Israel’s more remote areas, giving his audience an unparalleled view of the Land of Israel.
“Other people have walked the trail and filmed their experience, but no professional tour guide has yet undertaken a video series of this magnitude,” Levinson noted.
But while he’s used to guiding people around the Jewish state, he’s never had to do it on film before.
“I’m not too worried about the technical aspect," he said. "I figure I’ll learn how to manage the camera as I go. It’s all part of the adventure."
As part of the project, Josh plans to interview others in the tourism industry to find out how they’ve made it through the last eighteen months, both financially and emotionally. Tourism brought a staggering NIS 22.5 billion ($6.49 b.) to Israel’s economy in 2019, and the sudden loss of income hit many hard.
For Josh, it has put an extra hurdle in front of completing the project. While he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Israel and its history, what he doesn’t have is some of the equipment required to complete the project.
Undeterred, he has launched a crowdfunding effort to raise NIS 10,000 to pay for filming and hiking gear. The deadline for the campaign is October 3 and 47% of his funding goal has been reached so far.
“The reaction to the campaign has been great; friends have been really supportive,” he said. “But it would be great to hit the target and make the project a reality – not only for me, but for the millions of people out there who want to be able to reconnect with Israel again.”