A friend of mine who is in close contact with the Israeli Ministry of Tourism has alerted me to a new initiative.
The Ministry of Tourism has recently launched a program aimed at maximizing the “Israel Experience” for visiting celebrities – actors, actresses, athletes and other people of note. This is a personalized hosting service that is not available to the average tourist. When visiting Israel, the VIPs (think recent visitors like Denzel Washington, Johnny Depp, Gerard Butler and Perez Hilton) are able to see a side of Israel that most can’t see, in a manner that befits their status (read: incredible exclusive tours with flexible timing).
The Ministry is willing to work with each celebrity individually in order to provide as much or as little red carpet treatment as is desired. If a celebrity already has a set itinerary, he/she could feel free to take advantage of the Ministry’s hospitality as an “extra” activity (or to gain priority access to places already on their itineraries). However, if a celebrity is interested, the Ministry is open to planning his/her entire trip, crafting a unique experience based on that celebrity’s specific interests, including historical and cultural opportunities. The overall goal is to enhance their visit to Israel and make it as enjoyable and me mor able as possible.
My friend has informed me that last week, Claire Danes, accompanied by her husband, English actor Hugh Dancy, made her first visit to Israel to film the Showtime television series Homeland, based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War. Danes and Dancy toured the country with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism after filming completed on Homeland.
Heck, I even have their rough itinerary :
Tour of Old Jaffa & Tel Aviv
Sea shore Promenade
Neve Zedek
Nahalat Binyamin
Carmel Market
Shenkin
Tel Aviv Port
Bauhaus in Rothschild Boulevard
Caesarea
Caesarea Harbor experience – multimedia presentation of the history of Caesarea, followed by a tour of the Crusader City , the reconstructed Roman Theater and the Roman Aqueduct
Jerusalem
Mount of Olives
Tour of the Old City (Arab market, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Cardo, the Temple Mount , the Western Wall)
Private tour of the Kotel tunnels
Yad Vashem
Wow, I wonder if I qualify as a celebrity, because I would just love to see all of those places within the space of a couple of days.
In the meantime, my celebrity readers of Israellycool should take note of this additional benefit of visiting the Holy Land.
Not you, Mel. You may as well stay away.
