Campaign Hopes to Improve Israelis
(Associated Press 14-OCT-1997):
Jerusalem: -- ``Leave the faucets there,'' urges a bumper sticker -- part of a new campaign to improve the sometimes embarrassing behavior of Israelis abroad.
Israelis are prodigious travelers -- about a quarter million are expected to travel abroad this month alone. But reports of bad behavior have cropped up recently from Turkey -- where hotel faucets were allegedly filched -- Jordan and other countries.
``We want to ... admit to our sins and move forward,'' said campaign sponsor Yuval Limon, manager of LaMetayel, Israel's largest chain of travel stores. He advised Israelis to ``respect the culture, property and feelings in countries they travel to.''
Limon said a survey of Norwegian hoteliers found Israelis to be the least liked of tourists because they ``steal everything possible ... at hotels: phones, bedding and pictures.''
His group aims to collect the 100,000 signatures needed to force Parliament's Education Committee to deal with the issue. They are also calling for classes on tourist etiquette to be introduced in schools.
Some believe the effort is not needed.
Tel Aviv University sociologist Yehuda Jacobson said the horror stories relate mainly to a few of the many young Israelis who travel after their mandatory army service in search of adventure.
For these travelers, ``the desire to get to know other cultures does not hold a high priority,'' he said.
