Guide book maps tourism in Judea and Samaria

When Haaretz approved writer Karni Eldad’s idea for an article on B&Bs (bed and breakfasts) in Judea and Samaria, the left-leaning Israeli newspaper probably didn’t envision that the assignment would be the precursor to an entire book on the subject.

But after Eldad discovered the abundance of boutique tourist attractions in the area, that’s exactly what happened. While Judea and Samaria are often scapegoated by the international community — and by media outlets such as Haaretz — for being a territorial “obstacle” to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, Eldad’s “Yesha is Fun: The good life guide to Judea and Samaria” explores a special dimension of the Jewish communities beyond the so-called “Green Line” (the 1949 armistice line). Yesha is a Hebrew acronym for Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, the latter of which has been Palestinian-controlled territory since August 2005.

“Haaretz is probably hating themselves for doing that,” Eldad tells JNS.org, looking back on the B&B article assignment. “The book has succeeded so much that they didn’t really know what they did when they agreed to let me write this piece.”

Published six years ago in Hebrew but not until last year in English, “Yesha is Fun” (edited by Shlomo Bashan and with art by designer Amasa Menachem) provides a tourist’s guide to the areas of Samaria, Binyamin, the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea, the Etzion bloc, and Har Hebron. Whether it be the medallion-encrusted wines in Binyamin, the branded olive oils in Samaria, a holiday cottage with a jacuzzi under the glow of the Judean desert’s sky, a restaurant on a farm in Gush Etzion, or the cheeses of the southern Hebron hills, Judea and Samaria’s treasures flew largely under the radar among foreign tourists and Israelis alike before Eldad published her book.

“There was no book dealing with tourism on the other side of the Green Line,” says Eldad. “No one had this information.”