Harkavy Tours

06/09/2026

It was Diane's fault! She likes carob, so I climbed the tree for her. It went downhill from there, literally. New Yalla story today. Link in comments.

30/08/2026

We raised four daughters in Memphis. All four live in Israel. Coincidence? Diane and I may have stacked the deck a bit. My version of how it happened 👇
See link to my article in the comments.

04/08/2026

I can't even go on vacation without finding an Israel story.
An occupational hazard, I guess🤷

My latest story, "The Good Samaritan I Met in Tuscany"
https://open.substack.com/pub/israelwithalan/p/the-good-samaritan-i-met-in-tuscany?r=1fr6qb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

19/07/2026

Apparently, growing up in the Bible Belt wasn’t enough.I had to move to the Jewish State to understand Christianity. Who knew?
My latest Yalla story:

https://israelwithalan.substack.com/p/i-had-to-move-to-the-jewish-state?r=1fr6qb

28/06/2026

“If you’re going to Israel 🇮🇱 you need a guide, and if you need a guide, you need to get Alan!” -Lavi Horwitz (7 years old, New York)

23/06/2026

Every profession has essential equipment. Lawyers have briefcases. Doctors have stethoscopes. Tour guides in Israel have water, sunscreen, and a very large hat. I never wanted to wear one.

This week's story is about surviving Israeli summers, hiking Masada in extreme heat, an Israeli dermatologist who scared me half to death, and a gift from family that turned out to be far more important than I realized.

"The Hat" is now on Substack.

How an Israeli Tour Guide Survives Summer

18/06/2026

Meet Haim Karel. Outside the course, he was everyone's favorite grandfather. Inside the course, he taught us that tour guides don't eat, p*e, or sleep. My latest article is about the toughest teacher I ever had and the hardest thing I've done since law school.

How the Israeli tour guide course taught me everything I wanted to know about the country, and a few things about myself I wasn't sure I wanted to learn.

24/05/2026

Tour guiding in Israel in 2026:
“Welcome to the Galilee.”
“On your left, beautiful mountain views.”
“And on your right, my complete emotional instability over ceasefire negotiations.”

New piece:
“The Ceasefire Paradox”

This weekend Israelis were asking: “Are we going back to war with Iran?” I was asking: “Will Gregg and Miriam still come?” The strange emotional whiplash of being an Israeli tour guide in 2026.

19/04/2026

Everything in Israel is "hafuch" or upside down, even coffee and politics.

Understanding Israel, One Upside-down Moment at a Time

14/04/2026

Today the siren sounds different. Read about it on Substack.

Holocaust Remembrance in Israel, In the Shadow of War