Lonely Planet's Israel Guide Book (an Palestinian Authority)

Lonely planet Israel guide book photo gallery is definitely a tourists' highlights of Israel. Overall good treatment of Israel and the Palestinian territories

Today's Ha'aretz English edition (29-Sept-09) has an article titled: "Why Israelis shouldn't read travel guides to their country" By Yotam Feldman, Haaretz Correspondent [link]. The article cautions against Israelis reading the lonely planet travel guide on Israel. Although it does not condemn outright the writing. The quote about Tel Aviv is a hint of Feldman's overall view of the Lonely Planet's style:

The Lonely Planet guide depicts residents of Tel Aviv as idle and relaxed: "After a few days in Tel Aviv (or TA as it's affectionately known by expats) you may start to wonder if there is such a thing as a weekend. The city seems to be on permanent holiday, and at any time of day or night you can saunter down a main street and find crowded cafes, joggers, beach bums and dog walkers."

If you are a regular reader of this blog I hope this is not the impression you got. But truthfully, this article does remind me of the continuous impression of Tel Aviv tourist and expats pushed on me. It does seem that people come here to relax and forget that Tel Aviv is also a center of a vibrant country. I have a few stories that would make the point, they will be left for a bar or a drink on the beach (any takers?) From an outsider's view this impression of Tel Aviv as a laid-back coffee sipping and idle / lazy den is certainly understood. I mentioned the cafes and bars in Tel Aviv on more than one occasion.

Lonely Planet's web site, to some the authority on travel on a budget for independent individuals (no tour groups and air-conditioned buses here) says this about Israel introduction of Israel and the Palestinian Territories latest edition:

Like the patchwork of new arrivals at Ben-Gurion airport, Israel is an amalgamation of peoples who arrived over centuries of time, each one staking their claim to the land. Territorial disputes led to violence, which in turn made for some epic accounts in the Bible – not terribly dissimilar to what is playing out on nightly newscasts where you are today. But contrary to popular belief, Israel is not a war zone to be avoided, and it has such rigid security that travel is surprisingly safe. Somewhere along the line, politics and the bitter facts of life in this uncertain land will nudge their way into your trip. And while Israelis and Palestinians love nothing more than to argue, muse and prognosticate over the latest political currents, it’s best to leave your own opinions at the door. Enter the Holy Land on a clean slate and you’ll never watch the nightly news the same way again.

This description I agree with. It seems like tour guides need to give some semblance of reality. After all, eventually a purchaser of the book will end up in Israel and Lonely Planet will be judged by it's accuracy. In that respect, travel books are a better guide to places than the popular media and fictional Hollywood depictions. But I do not agree with Yotam Feldman's warning to Israelis. As he portrayed to the book store seller to be buying the guide for a "tourist friend", we all have to eventually explain Israel to "tourist friends". And Tel Avivians are not soft and sensitive to the point of being humiliated by "The Lonely Planet" organization. Actually, one way of judging their publications describing other locations is by reading our book. This is the only place we know well which we can use as a point of reference (an Israeli reading a guide book on India has to assume that the information is written for non-Indians and is accurate.) Every travel writer has his own views and personal style. Americans see Israel in a mix of optimism and frustration which reflects their experience as American citizens in their country and their media's portrayal of Israel. In some respect, specially in the US, it is very difficult for individuals to separate the media's image from what they believe to be the truth. Specially in the US, where a smaller percentage of the population travels to Israel than European counterparts. Americans simply can not understand or explain the reality in Israel without using the information from CNN, ABC, NBC and the New York Times as a basis. This is something that Israelis do not understand. They ask over and over: why do you believe the TV news as if it was the Torah brought down from the mountain by Moses? Don't you understand the bias, the imbalance, the errors and omissions of reporters? Well, even if they understood, what can they use as a true description or a counterpoint to the TV news? Aha, tour guides from the Lonely Planet? Not likely unless they plan a trip to Israel.

I use the US as a basis because I know Americans better than Europeans. Inevitably I am surprised by European tourist opinions of Israel when they differ dramatically from Americans. Not that Europeans have a more balanced and accurate view of Israel, sometimes they do and sometimes they are just different. The Lonely Planet tour guides definitely have a certain approach, but this is what gives them their style and trust among certain traveler groups. Other tour guides like Fromer's and Michelin have different style, but style should not deter us from reading and commenting on travel guide's opinion and descriptions.

The photo gallery on the Lonely Planet Israel book page focuses on tourist resorts. A friend poking fun at them calls it the "Israeli stone collection" referring to the many pictures of stone buildings and landscapes of gray Jerusalem stone. Hey, what can we do, we live in a country full of stones, we build stone buildings, make fun of our stones if you like. In general, I give the lonely planet good marks in overall honesty and description of life in Israel. So if you like their style and approach, buy the book before coming to Tel Aviv and don't worry if one or two places are not describes 100% as you see them on your trip. I can't really comment on the Palestinian Territories descriptions that will have to wait until we are all in more friendly terms.