For this episode, I drove down to Jerusalem to interview licensed tour Guide Peter Gokhvat, who has been camped out and on hunger strike across from the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and the Finance Ministry for over 40 days. Soft-spoken and humble, Peter discussed his upbringing, immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union and laid out the demands that tour guides have regarding the current coronavirus crisis and the need for a clear, government-backed, exit strategy. He also brought us up to date on his recent meeting with the Minister of Tourism and other Members of Parliament (42 in all) who have visited the protest encampment and the steps that the government is taking to address the crisis.

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, Dr. David Gurevich has been ahead of the curve in seeing the potential of online events to provide a virtual space for guides. So, it seems only appropriate that we met over Zoom to unpack what he has learned from this experience, as well as to discuss his activism on behalf of tour guides struggling to obtain their unemployment benefits. In addition, we discussed the benefits and potential pitfalls of being a tour guide with an academic background and why it is that guides are so central to tourism. A graduate of Haifa University, Dr. Gurevich is an archaeologist who conducts research on Jerusalem, studies Second Temple Judaism and the history of the first archaeologists. He also studied Christianity and ritual murders! He has published numerous articles and spent a year at Harvard University as the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright fellowship. If you wish to contact him to learn more about the events that he hosts or to invite him to lecture, he can be reached at: www.israelincolor.com