About the Tour Guides

Reuven Abergil
Reuven Abergil emigrated to Israel with his parents and 9 siblings from Rabat, Morocco, in 1947. The family was situated in an immigrant camp in Pardes Hana from which they fled to the border-line Jerusalem neighborhood of Musrara. As a child Reuven was a victim of the radiation experiments carried out by the government as part of an American sponsored medical experiment. His first political action was to hand out leaflets in Musrara during the popular uprising of Morocan immigrants in Wadi Salib, Haifa.
Reuven became involved in the Israeli Black Panthers following the arrest of his friends, and his house soon became headquarters for the movement. He went on to become one the key figures in the Israeli Black Panthers movement, and as such was present at the group’s infamous meeting with, then Prime Minister, Golda Meir. Since then has been active in the struggle for social justice and peace in Israel/Palestine as a member of various groups and movements. He currently serves on the board of the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow and was also recently elected to the leadership of Tarabut (“connection”), a joint Jewish-Palestinian political party for peace and equality in Israel.

Tamer Halaseh
Tamer lives in the Palestinian village of Sawahra on the edge of Jerusalem, one of the communities that has been cut off from the city by the Separation barrier. A graduate of Al Quds University in Jerusalem, he also has two years of study towards a law degree. Tamer has worked in the tourism and hospitality industry for many years in a variety of capacities including, project manager, tour guide, and public relations. He has lectured on the Israel/Palestine situation and is a founding member of 'Jerusalem Peacemakers', an NGO that fosters better relationships between Palestinians and Israelis. Tamer is the International Coordinator for a Palestinian Organization, Bridges for Cultural Exchange, and conducts tours for ToursInEnglish.com.

Samer Kokaly
Samer is the Operations Manager for the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) in Bethlehem and conducts a variety of tours in Palestine. Established in 1995, ATG operates according to the tenets of justice tourism, that is, tourism that holds as its central goals the creation of economic opportunities for the local community, positive cultural exchange between guest and host through one-on-one interaction, the protection of the environment, and political/historical education. Samer Kokaly works tirlessly to promote a positive image of Palestine and its people and to contribute to establishment of a just peace in the area. He is a graduate of the Thessaloniki University in Greece, and has previously worked as an air steward and with a travel agency. The Kokaly family live in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem with an extended family spread around the world in Spain, Chile, Greece and the USA.

Sarah Mechlovitz
Sarah moved to Jerusalem two years ago from New York, where she began studying for her MA in comparative literature at Hebrew University. Since arriving, she has been active in learning about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and in working toward an end to the occupation. Sarah teaches once a week in a community center in Hebron and is currently writing her thesis which investigates the Bible's role in conflict.

Rotem Mor
Rotem Mor is a 26 year old Israeli peace activist. At the age of 19, after a year and a half of service, he declared his refusal to serve in the army, a decision for which he spent time in prison for. After his dismissal from the army Rotem dedicated most of his time to working with Israeli youth through various projects including: guiding seminars for youth contemplating their army service, guiding groups of young Israeli conscientious objectors, organizing an alternative summer camp for youth and delegations of young objectors to France and the U.S.
He has also been an active member of the Palestinian-Israeli-International movement against the Israeli built separation wall, taking part in joint protest with a focus on his hometown of Mevaseret Zion (on the outskirts of Jerusalem) where he took part in organizing joint resistance to the wall together with the neighboring Palestinian villagers. He has published various articles dealing with his work with youth and against the wall and is now in the process of composing a book about his experiences He is currently a student of Middle Eastern classical music at the Center for Middle Eastern Music in Jerusalem where he is also running a project to promote Middle Eastern culture in Israeli society.

Eyal Niv
Eyal Niv is the Israel Coordinator for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and recently completed a double major BA in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and Communications at Hebrew University. He has been certified to teach Hebrew as a foreign language by Hebrew University, and has taught at the Holy Land Institute in Sho'afat (East Jerusalem). He is currently studying for his MA in sociology and anthropology and speaks Hebrew, Arabic and English.

Lucía Pizarro
Lucía earned her PhD in philosophy at the University of Essex and has completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In addition to her academic work, she has also been involved with issues relating to peace and conflict in the Middle East. Lucía has published several articles about her experiences in Baghdad immediately following the US invasion in 2003.

George Rishmawi
George Rishmawi is the Coordinator for the Siraj Center For Holy Land Studies. He organizes the Palestine Encounter programs which brings International visitors to Palestine for first hand experience living with Palestinian families and working with Palestinian activists. He also has established the Travel and Encounter program and the Palestine Summer Encounter for the Holy Land Trust. He has expertise in non-typical tourism activities including cultural tours, political mission, and environmental hiking tours. Rishmawi is a peace activist, cofounder of the International Solidarity Movement , a board member of the Network of the Christian Organizations in the Bethlehem area, and former board member of the Palestinian center for Rapprochement in Between People in Beit Sahour.


Fred Schlomka
Fred Schlomka Has been involved professionally with Israeli/Palestinian relationships for ten years. In addition to managing Tours in English he is active in the Israeli peace movement and a partner in North Bridge Investments, a unique Israeli/Palestinian company. In 2003 Fred was awarded a Social Entrepreneur Fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation in New York for his work in advancing relationships between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. He has lectured on Israeli/Palestinian issues in Europe and the USA, and his articles have been published widely. . . . . more

Yahav Zohar
Yahav Zohar was born in Jerusalem and has lived there all his life. He has been a journalist and a translator and is currently a professional tour guide, guiding throughout Israel and in Jordan. Yahav also volunteers with Rabbis for Human Rights (though not a rabbi) is a member of Combatants For Peace (though never a combatant) and tries to spend at least one day a week working towards a just peace and an end to the Israeli Occupation.