German Youth Educational Travel to Israel

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of German youth educational tourism to Israel. A qualitative analysis of visits to the main tourist sites in Israel was conducted, and the analysis and interpretation of interviews that were conducted with the youths reflected characteristics of the youths’ sense of a tourist place. The experiences of the German youths in Jerusalem, on the Tel Aviv beach, at memorial sites, in seminars, and in visits to the private homes of Israeli youths blended into a central narrative of creating a reality of a new coexistence that is based on mutual respect between the next generations of Germans and Israelis. We suggest that a reconstruction of identities emerges from the dialectics between the home place of the tourists and the toured places in Israel.

Keywords:

• educational travel
• youth tourism
• identity reconstruction
• attitude change

Notes

1. To maintain the anonymity of the young participants, we use their initials here.