Gaza Synagogue Mosaic

what was being built. I am curious by nature, but I had no way to stop in and ask. But the cat is out of the bag.

In years gone by we used to stop at this place, as it had become known as the Inn of the Good Samaritan. The name is based on the parable by Jesus about the man that was robbed by highway robbers on his travel between Jericho and Jerusalem, and the treatment he received by various people passing by (Luke 10: 34-35).
Research and excavations have shown that the place existed in the late 2nd Temple period, became a monastery and resting site in the Byzantine period. In the Crusader period it was revived and also became a fortress to guard Jerusalem. And finally in the late Ottoman period it was rebuilt as a caravan stop. It was this last building that became known as The Inn of the Good Samaritan.

The rebuilding that has taken place has made the place into a unique museum, maybe even the only one of its kind. It is now The Museum of the Mosaics, and was opened to the public in the beginning of June 2009.

It houses and shows off mosaics from synagogues, Jewish and Samaritan, as well as Byzantine churches. These mosaics were found in Gaza and on the West Bank, and have up till now not been available to the general public. The exhibits are both indoor and outdoor.

No doubt this will become an important stop for many traveling the road between Jerusalem and Jericho or the Dead Sea. An additional advantage is that for the time being no payment is charged for visiting this new exciting museum.

I will admit that at the time of the writing of these lines, I have not yet visited the site, but I am sure to do so, as soon as opportunity arises.

Reminder: as a subscriber to Updates you are entitled to 10% discount on all touring services in private guided tours.

Courtesy: Jerusalem Post Online

Many of you come from far away. Many of you are here for the first time, many of you may have visited Israel before. But to all of you, being here is always exciting, and for athletes and their families it must be double exciting.

One – how well will he or she do in the field?
Two – how much of Israel will we have time to see?

Since none of us here at Your Guide to Israel can do much on number one, we can only do a little on number two, and that is to offer a special discount to all athletes and/or their families or friends, trainers and other participants on touring services in Israel.

Our services are for guiding and our speciality is guiding in private luxury vehicles, specially lisenced for tourists. We cover the whole country, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Masada. From Eilat in the south to Metullah in the north, which of course is also
the Galilee and the Golan. In short – all of Israel.

Our guides speak not only excellent English, but many of them speak other languages as well, so if you happen to be from a non-English country that should not stop you from receiving the best guiding possible.

Our special discount of 10% is on all guiding and touring services, no matter if you only order one day tour, or you want several days. No matter if it is now during the games, or if you stay on for a few days afterward. I will even extend it so that if you order touring services now,
but can only do them later, you will still receive that special discount.

As I said, this is our way of honoring your coming to Israel and participating or supporting participants in the Maccabiah Games. Please help us to honor you.

Tourism Updates:

Netanyahu Stops VAT on Tourism

Special Events to Bring Israelis and Participants together

If you are visiting Israel at the moment or within the next two weeks, you may possibly take part in one of the world’s most prestigious film events, The Jerusalem Film Festival.

The festival is the brain child of Lia van Leer, who inaugurated the first festival on May 17, 1984. Lia van Leer and her husband Wim (z”l) were the founders and moving spirit behind the establishment of the Jerusalem Cinemateque in the Hinnom Valley, but strongly supported by George Ostrovsky, of Brazil and Paris, as well as former mayor of Jerusalem Teddy Kollek (z”l) and the Jerusalem Foundation.

Since its establishment the Jerusalem Film Festival has matured into its present form, stretching over 10 days, showing 150-200 films in all genres and celebrating the best of international feature films, documentaries, Jewish experience of identity and history, television dramas, directors, and of course encouraging the blossoming Israeli film industry.

The Festival has move outside the building and showrooms of the Cinemateque building in Jerusalem and this year also offers showing in public places without entrance fees, such as the new Alrov-Mamilla Mall, The Ticho House and other places.

The Festival every year honors film makers with Life Achievement Awards. This years awards go to Theo Angelopoulos, Yosef Shiloah, Nurit and Yitzhak (Ijo) Shani and the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television.

There will also be special lectures or talks, a way for the public to meet festival guests. These guests will focus on varius subjects: Karin Albou will talk about Le Chant des Mariees, Theo Angeloppoulos on The Dust of Time, Gerald Peary on Criticism, Audience and Changing Reality, and Valie Export on Can Art Still Shock.

The Festival will for many Israelis and Jerusalemites take over their lives during these coming 10 days, starting on July 9th. As said, if you happen to be in Jerusalem during this period, hurry up and book tickets (if they are still available).

The official site of The Jerusalem Film Festival.