Travel
Lonely Planet: Israeli tourists a nuisance
Itamar Eichner
Published: 01.03.12, 15:20
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1. the truth
cc ,   tel aviv   (03.01.12)
and nothing more.. this boys don't know Howe to behave ,before there own mom and dad, they are loos and no respect or what ever .they are the BIG shame for the country Israel ,and there families .
2. Oh yeah?
Devorah   (03.01.12)
Remember the Chilean miners who were invited to visit as guests of Medinat Israel over the Christmas holiday? How did they respond? With grace? With appreciation? No! Some wanted to bring their entire families and friends, and one even wanted to bring his mistress! So, save the criticisms, Chile, because your dirty underwear is still showing.
3. Lonely Planet Sucked In Too
Dallas ,   Canada   (03.01.12)
Disgusting. I will never look at Lonely Planet's books again.
4. Hmm
John ,   Herzliya, Israel   (03.01.12)
Despite the fact that one has to admit that you are special in many ways and not just the positive ones (waiting in lines, anybody?) this sounds to me like a bad joke. Each and every nation has different kinds of persons. I have also met very nice and very kind Israeli tourists, but also the noisy ones. But it goes for every nation.So, stupid comment.
5. some truth to the story
alsky ,   toronto   (03.01.12)
I would tend to agree that Israelis have a bad habbit of littering and yes, they certainly can be arrogant and rude. Ive always said----I love Israel. Its just that I dont like many Israelis. Sometimes the truth hurts !
6. Sadly Israeli travelers have only themselves to blame
tf ,   herzliya il   (03.01.12)
The bad reputation of Israeli travelers follows us where ever we go. It crosses continents and we can't keep saying it is a local problem of just those locals. Anybody who has been on the backpacker circuits has seen how awful Israelis can behave. It is frequently appalling and almost always embarrassing. One of the worst feelings when traveling is checking into a hotel, showing your passport and seeing the friendly welcome instantly evaporate. We all know the story of the Sabra rough on the outside but sweet inside. We smile and say take the time to find out how sweet we are inside. As my grandfather remarked tho, there is a supermarket full of good fruit that requires no effort who needs the bother of something so troublesome? When was the last time anyone here ate a prickly pear?
7. Israeli tourists in Chile
Ari Gold ,   LA,USA   (03.01.12)
If there is a problem with tourist behavior in Chile don't travel to Chile. There's plenty of other countries that will welcome Israeli tourists. It's a Big Planet not a Lonely Planet.
8. World wide reputation of rude Israeli kids--sorry!
mea   (03.01.12)
It is time--HIGH time--that Israelis accepted that the post military Israeli kids touring ARE often VERY selfish, very rude and take getting out of paying for services a matter of pride. I have heard merchants complain about Israelis from Alaska to China, to Thailand, to India, to Turkey and back again. The accounts are of jumping out of taxis just before the destination, then running away rather than paying, staying most of the night and then complaining to hotetiers that the room was not clean and refusing to pay, ordering beers, drinking sot then claiming it was bad, and many more such tales that have nothing to do with prejudice. It is strange that Israel and the IDF have never figured out that one of the most effective hasbara tactics available would be educating kids leaving service on how important it is to be ambassadors for the nation as they travel. Instead, this global reputation for arrogance and aggression conforms the prejudice already ceded in many people's minds.
9. Really?
Nechama ,   USA   (03.01.12)
I had been following all Chilean Media and their comments on Rotem Singer and the anti-jewish epidemia. For your knowledge Chileans are doing a very bad propaganda to their own country outside of Chile itself. Like ruining the Machu Pichu sites by urinating and etc. Or raping, murdering and robbing anyone in Europa...It happen to be that he didn't started the fire and who accused him was 2 israeli girls. Their aborigens gunned down a rescue helicopter and over 50 fires were step up within the time of the fire. Where were their rangers? having potato chips. The Israeli turist spend money and are nice and polite, I had seen them in Argentina and every place I travel. Don't be anti-jewish-israeli! look what other tourist do also. Young people are that: young.
10. Some truth, indeed
Thomas ,   Stockholm, Sweden   (03.01.12)
I've lived a couple of years in Guatemala, and I hate to admit that many Israeli tourists tend to make more noise than most other tourists, more partying and acting out. I guess the reason for this is that they are many, they are young, and many of them have recently survived two or three years in the line of fire. Young tourists from other countries rarely have a similar background. That being said, I still believe young Israeli tourists should be made more aware of how their behavior might affect opinion in the countries they visit. Especially when traveling in large groups.
11. One more antisemitic accusation...
Shalom ,   U.S.A.   (03.01.12)
Take over Chile or just Patagonia? Israeli tourists' behavior? The israeli people are more civilized than any other people who are killing each others and destroying entire neighbourhoods because of a soccer game!
12. Canadians aren't?
Nechama ,   USA   (03.01.12)
I don't like many Canadians I find them too childish and arrogant and stereotype. I had a Canadian roomate in a youth hostel, the most selfish person a ever meet. Arrogant and had no consideration for no one. What has to do with a bag of beans? on this case. Israeli's are nice, warm, good friends and ready to help any time and they have what Canadian's don't have: a heart!
13. Does Lonely Planet mention Germans in Canary Islands?
William ,   Israel   (03.01.12)
or English in Mallorca? Both groups are highly annoying to locals.
14. some truth to it
chantalle.ezer ,   Frankfurt Germany   (03.01.12)
I have encountered Israeli tourists in the PR China and Thailand and have to agree with the authors of the respective Lonely Planet edition. A little bit less noisy, less stoned, less drunk, less overbearing and they would be warmly welcome all over the world. Ezer
15. #9 - Machu Pichu is in Peru
William ,   Israel   (03.01.12)
Never ever get Peru and Chile mixed up. Never. Peruvians are wonderful people especially near the Andes in Cusco. And their Pisco is 1000x better than the diesel fuel Chileans pass as "Pisco". All Chile has is better PR, which works even if they spread vicious lies about other ethnicities.
16. Now you can start saying that this is anti-semitisim?
Deena ,   Tel Aviv   (03.01.12)
Is any of you a foreigner living in Israel? I love living here, but I have to say that there are somethings about Israeli culture that abroad might turn really evident: 1. People really have problems standing on a line here. 2. Courtesy, holding a door open, letting others seat etc... is rare here. 3. The tables of hotels in Eilat and Dead Sea are just disgusting of all the food that is thrown away as people are bringing it without any consideration. I can list other examples. We should take this a way to reflect, no to keep being blind and deviate everything to politics.
17. bubkes and bubbemeiser
Levi ,   Bet Shemesh   (03.01.12)
complain? young people are the same all over, try fort lauderdale or palm springs or colorado river at spring break, americans are much roudier than Israelis. shecket, bavachashaw
18. Ask any Surfer for the most aggressive Surfers in the waves
Kelly Slater ,   L.A.,Usa   (03.01.12)
Guess who? Go to Sri Lanka or mal pais in Costa Rica for Surfing and make yourself an opinion. There are places in latin america where Israelis get no more accomodation. It's not that there is no nice Israelis travelling. The problem is that 80% are agressive, noisy, respectless idiots who constantly ask for discount. If you need a therapy from your militarised brain, get it within Israel....
19. Huh?? I disagree with this....
rid ,   ny, us   (03.01.12)
Do they write chapters like that for people from other countries? (I actually don't know. It seems that it would be really insulting, though.) I live in New York City and we have tourists from EVERYwhere. There is none of this alleged extra-loud, obnoxious behavior from Israeli tourists - No more than any other tourists, and definitely no more than any other Mediterranean region tourists (obviously it's not the most shy, quiet region, but what's wrong with that?) And the only reputation they have is for being good looking. Love the conspiracy theory...If anything, it just proves that people sometimes take out anti-semitism on Israel - probably without even realizing what they're doing - since it's no longer acceptable to do it to the individuals they know who are Jewish. I'm sure we can all work at being better tourists. In the US we know we have a bad reputation and we make fun of our selves. In NY there are tourists from other countries who "stand out" in the crowd because of cultural differences, but we don't expect everyone to act the same.
20. i grow tired
courrtney ,   usa   (03.01.12)
of responses like #2... "oh yeah what about iran, what about them, what about them???"
21. #6, Agree, my experience also, from Peru.
Michael ,   California, USA   (03.01.12)
Something is going on there. Young Israeli tourists are well behaved in the U.S. and in Europe, but in South America and Asia they behave like spoiled brats. I saw them in several countries, but the worst I've seen was in Thailand and Peru. Arrogant, dirty, noisy, disrespectful of the locals. It didn't fit the sweet image of the Sabra at all. I saw a group of under-30 Israelis in Peru with significant wounds visible on their bodies after healing. War wounds I guessed and they confirmed it to me. It is hard to describe their unruliness at the location we met, but I attributed to their desire to lehishtahrer mi sevel. They must have been sent there as a group by some organization, not traveled on their own. Why weren't they instructed how to behave by this "organization" before their trip?
22. My experience supports this but what about English?
Anonymous Oleh   (03.01.12)
As far as Latin America, I have only been to one small country in Central America for several months and the Israelis (tourists) there had a horrendous reputation, some of which I witnessed first hand. However in many of the other countries I have been I have always been amazed at the belligerency and carrying on of the British tourist youth yet they don't get written up. Taking into account S. Amerca's history of Nazi sympathies and Spanish/Catholic pedigree my guess is we've go some bias issues going on.
23. Completely true
David ,   San Francisco   (03.01.12)
When I was in college I worked as a waiter at a restaurant very close to the San Francisco airport. The Israeli's weren't "rude" but weren't pleasant either. CONSTANTLY trying to get things for free, argue about the bill, ask for things that don't come with what they ordered- pretty annoying to be honest. We had many Arab tourists too, who are actually louder than the Israeli tourists. But than they also tended to be more friendly, and would only argue among themselves over who was going to pay the bill.
24. Well..
Laura ,   Chicago   (03.01.12)
I went to Thailand with two good Israeli friends. When we went looking for rooms they made me go check in. As they were afraid that they would be told they had no rooms because they were Israeli. I was like whhhaatt? Then they told me that Israeli's are so loud and obnoxious no one wants to have them in their hotels/hostels. That they steal from the rooms, leave them a mess, ect ect. That is kind of sad that even Israeli's know that they are bad travelers.
25. In Norway and France, muslims are raping girls
Susya Bar Dror ,   Israel   (03.01.12)
it very common. In Norway about 50-100 girls are raped every year by muslims. In France, girls are raped by muslims and then forced to work as prostitutes. Same also in Austria and Italy.
26. sof sof the truth!
ber ,   Yahud   (03.01.12)
I'm an oleh chadash and hardcore Zionists, but some days like today I'm so sick of Israel's and their unbelievably rude crap that I wish I was on the first plane going out. No Israelis are fueling anti Semitic fervor by their bad behavior.
27. These latino fascists
Raphael ,   Netanya   (03.01.12)
Were not bothered at all to welcome Walter Rauff, the so polite and decent inventor of gas chambers. The old connexion between the nazi german colonists in Patagonia and the some 200.000 palestinian immigrants found a predictable common activity. Boycott Chile.
28. Sad but true....
Ben ,   Ramat Gan   (03.01.12)
Rather than scream antisemtism or anti-israeli bias..... take a long hard look israelis - whilst it might be tolerated playing loud music at a campsite all night in the kinneret it isnt acceptable anywhere else... israelis are banned from some campsites/hotels/eateries in Chile and for very good reason.... we cant blame it all it on al the army.... the army doesnt teach kids to say please or thank you.. the army doesnt kids to wait in line or not talk loudly on the phone in an elevator...... its a problem with the society that needs to be addressed.
29. Israeli Travellers Chile
Adam ,   London   (03.01.12)
I have encountered many Israelis abroad and in many cases their behaviour was loud and rude with an attitude that all those around them are fair game.
30. Tourists abroad
sk ,   US   (03.01.12)
I thought the world hated Americans for being loud, boisterous and pushy. Maybe the young Israelis just got influenced by all the American Hollywood crap they watch on TV ;)
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