I’ve always enjoyed “director’s cuts” of favorite movies or documentaries because you feel like you’re sitting casually with the host, director, and producer of the show as they reminisce and kibitz on “behind the camera” insights. And I’ve always wanted to record one so our viewers could get to know our producer/director Simon Griffith. If you enjoy our TV show and are interested in both how we make our shows and what it was like filming our Holy Land special in Israel and Palestine, here’s a chance to join me and Simon in a fun, candid, and intimate peek at our production process. As you watch this, you’ll better understand why I feel so thankful to be able to collaborate with an artist like Simon Griffith.
(You can watch Rick Steves’ The Holy Land with the normal audio anytime at ricksteves.com/holy-land.)
This spring, my Istanbul-based tour guides planned an educational tour to Iran and extended an open invitation to our tour guides and staff. A half-dozen people in my office — eager to learn more about an often-misunderstood land — signed up and booked their plane tickets to Tehran. But now, in response to the USA denying entry to Iranians, Iran has (quite reasonably) decided to keep out Americans. Of course, a few cancelled vacations are just the beginning: Many, many people around the world are already suffering far greater hardships because of this weekend’s events.
As someone who loves how effectively travel can foster international understanding and peace, it’s clear to me that, by overreacting to a trumped-up fear of outsiders, our new president’s actions will actually make us less safe.
I traveled to Iran a few years ago to produce a documentary for public television. I was struck by the wonderful, kind-hearted, open-minded people that I met there. Getting to know the Iranians was the highlight of my trip. And I believe that the show we produced did more to contribute to peace than anything I’ve ever done.
It’s clear to me that thoughtful travel can be a force for peace — and, yes, national security. When we travel to troubled lands and get to know people who are supposed to be our enemies, we humanize them. By meeting each other face to face, we make it tougher for forces in their land to demonize us with their propaganda, and tougher for our government to demonize them with ours.
I’ve seen a lot of walls in my travels. They are monuments to failure, and they’re never good. Whether separating East Berlin from West Berlin, Protestants from Catholics in Northern Ireland, or Israelis from Palestinians in the Holy Land, walls are an instrument of misunderstanding and hate. I know this because in each case, I’ve actually met the people on both sides of those walls, heard their perspectives firsthand, and gained both understanding and empathy.
On Friday, President Trump built his first wall — made not of concrete and barbed wire, but of a dangerous and half-baked executive order. And now, Americans who want peace and who love the world will be the ones paying the price.
I don’t care whether you voted for Trump, or whether you identify as a Republican or a Democrat. We can respectfully agree to disagree on most issues. But if you’re a traveler who has a curiosity about this world, banning people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the USA is bad news. You want to talk about safety? For the last eight years, we’ve remained extremely safe from external terrorist violence…without ever closing our borders to an entire faith or nationality.
Meanwhile, I can imagine no more successful recruitment tool for ISIS than Trump’s new ban. Just like new subscriptions to The Nation magazine are booming and the ACLU is getting more donations in three days than they normally do in an entire year, the appeal and allure of ISIS is also spiking.
Right now, I’m trying to figure out how I can make a difference in this fight. I’ll share more thoughts soon. In the meantime, I invite you to meet a few Iranians, through my public television special. As you see these faces, keep in mind: These are the people our president has decided are too dangerous to meet in person — the people who our president risks radicalizing at the same time he risks radicalizing our own country.
This is the final clip of a 10-part series of interviews I did while producing our public television special Rick Steves’ The Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today. Considering the impact of American policies on the daily lives of both Israelis and Palestinians, this is my attempt to introduce you to some people in both camps whose voices might otherwise not be heard.
For a thousand years, there has been a mosque on Bethlehem’s main square — commemorating the birthplace of Jesus (who is also an important figure in Islam). I enjoyed a conversation with a Muslim cleric at the Mosque of Omar in Bethlehem. This happy and talkative cleric shared a charming view of Islam. He explained the Muslim take on Jesus. He prayed. And when I asked him to repeat the prayer in English, his raw and simple love and acceptance that he was a child of God brought me to tears. As you listen to this discussion, realize that anyone can drop into a mosque, like we did, and get to know a cleric.
This is clip #9 of a 10-part series of interviews I did while producing our public television special Rick Steves’ The Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today. Considering the impact of American policies on the daily lives of both Israelis and Palestinians, this is my attempt to introduce you to some people in both camps whose voices might otherwise not be heard.
Venturing into a simply fortified Israeli farming settlement in the West Bank, we met a young farmer who welcomed us with fresh-squeezed juice and a chance to film his thoughts. A young father, he was enjoying what he considers the good life: to be a farmer, back to nature, and raising his kids in an idyllic settlement in the West Bank.
This is clip #8 of a 10-part series of interviews I did while producing our public television special Rick Steves’ The Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today. Considering the impact of American policies on the daily lives of both Israelis and Palestinians, this is my attempt to introduce you to some people in both camps whose voices might otherwise not be heard.
We visited with students at Birzeit University, the leading university in Palestine, to discuss what it’s like for a young person — particularly a young woman — to live in the West Bank. In my endeavor to talk to different people with different views in the Holy Land, I talked with three charming young women about their reality: Western popular influence; how and why they might wear a hijab to cover their heads; and a few fashion tips.
