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Touring Israel

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Traveln On listeners will discover the beautiful country of Israel with Arie Sommer, Israel Tourism Commissioner with the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Then Tonya & Ian will share the recording of a recent Town Hall meeting they facilitated for their good friend Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. Rajmohan will share his thoughts about current world events, his grandfathers legacy and his role as the new president of Initiatives of Change (IoC).

Episode Segments

Destination: Israel!

Tonya & Ian talk with Arie Sommer, Israel Tourism Commissioner with the Israel Ministry of Tourism, to learn about the beautiful destinations there. They\'ll talk about the travel bargains available now to Israel and how travelers can get information about Israel before they book their trip.

A Town Meeting with Rajmohan Gandhi

Global citizenship and cross - cultural education are two of the core values of Traveln On. Recently, professor and author Rajmohan Gandhi led a global town meeting, where Ian and Tonya were granted unprecedented access. Ghandi, whos also President of Initiatives of Change International, a group dedicated to building bridges across the worlds divides, sat down with an audience to discuss the globall financial crisis, President Obama, Iraq, and Pakistan, among other topics.

Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Rajmohan Gandhi

Rajmohan Gandhi is a biographer and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. His maternal grandfather is Rajaji and his father is Devdas Gandhi. Rajmohan is also a journalist and political activist. Mr. Gandhi, a research professor at the Centre for Policy Studies in New Delhi, India, has written widely on the Indian independence movement and its leaders, India-Pakistani relations, human rights and conflict resolution.

Arie Sommer

Consul Arie Sommer, a veteran of the Israel Government\'s Ministry of Tourism, was nominated Tourism Commissioner for North and South America in October 2005. This is Mr. Sommer\'s second term in New York, where he served in the same position from 1996 to 2001. In his 28-year career with the Ministry of Tourism, he has represented Israel as the Director of the Israel Government Tourist Offices in Atlanta, Houston and Los Angeles, and has served as Director of Overseas Offices and Operations at the ministry\'s Jerusalem headquarters. Prior to his present appointment he served as the ministry’s Deputy Director of Marketing Administration. Arie Sommer was responsible for organizing the first-ever convention of Jordanian and Israeli Travel Agents in Israel in December 1994, as well as the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin\'s historic Conference on Peace Tourism in September 1995. In the United States he oversaw Israel\'s 50th Anniversary and Millennium tourism campaigns, and was responsible for Israel\'s recognition of American and Canadian efforts to build tourism to Israel with the creation of the 50th Anniversary Travel and Tourism Awards. In 1999 he was chosen the \"Middle East Destination - Person of the Year\" by Travel Agent Magazine.

Friday • March 20

CST 9:11 | EST 10:11 | MST 8:11 | PST 7:11 | GMT 6:11

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