When the COVID pandemic hit and nearly paralyzed the tourism industry in Israel, tour educator Josh Even-chen decided that he would write a book to bring Israel to those who could not travel the country. The 30-year veteran of the industry who immigrated to Israel from North Carolina at the age of 7 had already experienced many setbacks in his career due to wars and intifadas. So when the pandemic stopped him in his tracks, he explored alternative solutions to bring people closer to Israel, without actually being there.
His book that he published in 2022, “The 36: A Modern Quest in the Ancient Holy Land,” takes the reader on a journey of two millennia in the Land of Israel, from the destruction of the Second Temple to modern-day Jerusalem. In this mystery thriller, fictional characters are tasked with a mission that leads them all around the country and back in time, where the past and present converge. Throughout the story, the reader journeys around Israel where its history, archaeology and geography come alive through the characters.
Even-chen was drawn to the field of tour education from his two passions: education and the Land of Israel. Whether he is guiding youth groups, young adults visiting Israel as part of Taglit-Birthright Israel, multi-generational families, interfaith couples or the many other types of groups he works with, his goal is to help facilitate a journey in the land that will create a long-lasting relationship with the landscape surrounding them.
“It’s about listening to where your clients are at and listening to what I would call these very subtle messages of the landscape that we’re in, and then forging a relationship between those two,” Even-chen explained. “It’s that combination of being able to understand where my people—as I call them—are at and then essentially creating the dialogue that helps them interact with the landscape.”
Even-chen offered an example from his educational tours of Masada. When he takes groups to the ancient fortress in the desert, he typically steers the conversation in the direction of values—the values of those who died there 2,000 years ago, the principles those he is guiding believe in, and whether or not their lives are fully aligned with their values. Even-chen hopes that through this type of dialogue, his groups will have a transformative experience that leaves them asking questions about their own lives and their own relationship with Israel. He hopes to evoke some of these messages in his book as well.
After the Hamas massacres of October 7, 2023, the tour industry was again brought to a halt, and Even-chen found himself without work. Between the over 200 days of reserve duty that he served, he managed to lead a number of academic missions to Israel’s south from MIT, UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford and Dartmouth. This was an entirely new experience for Even-chen. He saw his role as a tour educator in this moment as somebody who can facilitate a profound experience for people to bear witness, and then bring that message back home.
“When you go to all these different sites of the rehab centers, the hospitals and the psychological resilience centers and the Nova site, you need to have a professional who is capable of facilitating the experience in a way that will make that experience digestible,” he explained.
Even-chen is happy to see the tourism industry arise from its slumber once again. While many groups still opt to include sites such as Hostage Square and the grounds of the Nova Festival in their visits, more and more are incorporating the typical tourist attractions into their itineraries. Even-chen hopes that by summer, tourism will return to its more substantial numbers. And if not, he encourages lovers of Israel to read his book until they can step foot in the land.
Learn more about Josh Even-chen and contact him by visiting https://jevenchen.wixsite.com/website
Alisa Bodner is a Fair Lawn native who immigrated to Israel over a decade ago. She is a nonprofit management professional who enjoys writing in her free time.
