Great review, thanks for sharing.

Lenett, how did you find this guide?

I see that this is your first post in Fodors and also in Frommers; you did not ask anything about your trip to Israel before the trip, but come after to tell us about this guide. It is a little strange, isn't? Advertising???

Looking in Google, I see that Sam is not a licensed guide, so I would not recommend him to visitors in Israel.

I have to second Valtor's comment. While Sam may be a pleasant person to travel with, he is not a licensed tour guide. You have no assurance as to the accuracy of his guiding and you run the risk of losing your guide in mid tour if you are stopped by the authorities. It is illegal in Israel for anyone is who is not licensed to guide.

First off let me say I'm new to this Forum. I did all my planning on Tripadvisor. We just returned from Israel and toured West Bank towns including Jericho, Bethlaham, and Hebron. When i was planning the trip I tried to get an Israeli guide to take us to Hebron but he declined stating that he did not have an armoured vehicle. I contactacted a few more guides and they declined. We chose to go with Sam Salem and had a wonderful time. We had no security problems and he had wonderful places for us to eat at. We even picked up Camel meat in Hebron and had it prepared in Bethlaham, To get to the places we wanted to go we had to use Sam and and he turned out to be a real joy!! We used 3 other liscensed guides for the rest of Israel, When we travel we don;t let political problems get in our way. To go to the places Sam goes you can't be an Israeli liscensed tour guide. He was a joy to travel with and gave us neither left or right wing agendas.

Okieman, Are you Lenett? or you just used the same service?

I am not Lenette or any service. You can follow our trip In tripadvisor.I'm just telling you how it is. I'll ask you . Can you take me to both sides of Abrahams tomb? Let's stop this rediculouse fighting. Sam does things other guides can't do so their jelious. I'm a musician who cares about All people and I want to see the world for myself without agendas and you sure have one so let it go.

Sam Salem is, indeed a nice man and, since he is, I believe Palestinian, can and will take you to sites in the West Bank. However, if you want to tour the Jewish sites in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel, I would certainly recommend a licensed Israeli Guide.
Note, however, that Sam's fees are significantly lower than the average Guide in Jerusalem.

Palestinian guide vs Israeli for certain sites is an idea I hadn't thought of. Thanks

"There seem to be a few very ardent and persistent among Sam's competition who I have seen constantly questioning his credentials".

There is a reason for this: Israeli travel guides have to take a demanding two year course and pass difficult exams to get their licence. Unlicensed guides take away their livlihood; they are also "hard working, honest, smart, friendly and capable" but chose to practice their vocation legally.

The requirement for licenced guides is not unique to Israel. For example, New York City:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/licenses/021.shtml
What would be your attitude towards criticism regarding an unlicenced guide in NYC?

I have also seen the persistent criticism of Sam on the various forums. Nobody has criticized him for guiding people in areas of the West Bank where Israeli guides can not enter. But he is guiding people "all over Israel", to quote your words.

Sam is entitled to take the course, write the exams and get his licence but he has chosen not to. Therefore he can be legitimately criticized for practicing his profession in Israel without a licence.

PS. I am not connected in any way to the tourism business.

I am one of the people who will constantly warn travelers of the risks they face using an unlicensed guide. I personally am NOT a guide and benefit not at all from telling people to use licensed guides. I spend time on these forums because I want to help people and warning them of a risk --that is helping. Judaism teaches that 'thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind" A new tourist to Israel is "blind" and using an unlicensed guide is a stumbling block--thus my motivation for posting!!

Jon - you have posted exactly twice on Fodor's, both times to post a glowing report regarding Sam Salem - so for starters - you post looks suspiciously like advertising which is not allowed on the forum. You never asked any questions planning your trip, didn't ask for help and now came back not even to post a trip report and share with us what you did, etc - but just to praise Sam - this is already a big question mark.

However, since you phrased your post in a manner of throwing down the gauntlet - allow me the privilege of responding.

Sam Salem may be the nicest, most charming, wonderful person on the face of the earth. He may be very knowledgeable, entertaining, exciting and anything else - what is not is licensed. The State of Israel - a sovereign, democractic nation has the right to pass laws as it sees fit - laws for this country - and anyone living here and visiting here is expected to obey these laws.

Sam Salem is NOT a licensed tour guide and he does not hold a chauffeur's license - as such it is illegal for him to guide tourists anywhere here and it is illegal for him to drive anyone around as part of these tours.

The fact that he has been known to couch tourists to say that he is a friend showing them around indicates that he knows what he is doing is illegal.

I don't know where you live, but I assume that if I come to visit your country you would expect me to obey the law there.

I assume (maybe I'm wrong) that while in Israel you didn't rob any banks and if you rented a car you didn't drive the wrong way on a one way street - a lawy obeying person does not get the right to pick and choose what laws appeal to him.

You are lucky in that you did not have a traffic accident while touring -had this happened, regardless of whose fault it was, Sam does not have the proper insurance and the insurance investigators would discover very easily the true picture of your relationship with Sam - you would have found yourself uninsured - as would Sam.

In case you think this is a bizarre, local regulation - most countries in the region (Jordan for example), many countries in Europe and many others require that any tour have a local guide with them at all time.

In your post you stated that it "is fully legal to take you around Israel" -- it is NOT.

What is legal is for you to tour on your own - but if you want a guide, you need to hire one who is properly licensed, who has studied for two years and passed a rigorous series of tests to earn the license and then continues to meet continuing education requirements to retain their license.

If you want to hire Sam, no one can stop you - but do not mislead others into thinking that he has a license, is properly insured or anything else - take the risk yourself, but don't risk someone else's vacation for them.

I visited Israel and the Palestinian Territories this year with my family and hired more than a couple of tour guides, one of whom is Sam Salem. In my research I posted frequently on the Trip Advisor forum and have posted there for several years. I've recently expanded my research to other forums, including this one, as I research another trip to the Holy Land and am saddened to see the vitriol against Sam Salem as a Biblcal & Cultural tour guide.

Sam was spectacular as our tour guide. We spent a few nights in Bethlehem, his home town, and the transition to areas off-limits to Israeli tour guides was seemless. His impeccable knowledge of Arabic, Hebrew, English; French and Spanish as well as his knowledge of local customs and people were invaluable. Sam's years of working in the United States also afford him a knowledge and comfort with American culture that I believe the Americans who have engaged his services find reassuring.

I am a person who does her own research on the history of an area before traveling there so personally I'm not looking for the most erudite guide on a subject, although I did find Sam's guiding to be on target with what I had researched before I left.

I also am keenly aware of insurance issues, (my husband teasing me that if I get any more life insurance on him that he's going to feel it's a hazard for his health). For this trip and other trips I have bought insurance in the United States to cover medical expenses and emergency medical evacuation. Personally, I would not be wanting to make any kind of international calls (whether to Europe, Israel, the Palestinian Authority or other parts of the Middle East), trying to process any kind of insurance claim. So while for me the issue of whether my guide carries insurance coverage is a moot point, I did ask about it as I was engaging Sam's services as a measure of his professionalism and was told that he has a chauffeur license and insurance. This is something that you can easily enough ask to see as proof. Incidentally, I was never coached in any way on what to say if stopped by whomever.

Along the lines of accidents and what could conceivably happen while traveling abroad or at home, I did sustain a head injury of my own fault while in the West Bank. I was quite scared, wondering what would happen to the rest of my family and our trip (since I was the sole organizer) if I had a concussion or worse. I had the above-mentioned medical and evacuation insurance so I wasn't worried about the ultimate expense but suddenly the logistics of it all loomed large in my mind (a sure sign I did not have a concussion!).

Sam immediately put my mind at ease as he delineated the steps he would take if I needed more care than what I was immediately getting. This involved knowledge of how to contact at the American Embassy and the channels to go through. This is where it's obvious to me that his work in the United States and for the United Nations in Israel have given him incomparable experience; his language skills which bridge all scenarios in Israel and Palestine once again are critical.

Incidentally, I've often wondered as I've seen Israeli-licensed guides obvious self-interest in their histrionic remarks about non-Israeli-licensed guides, -- how easy is it for Palestinians to be awarded a licensing guide? As easy as it is for, say, Palestinians to get a building license?

I found this thread attached to this link (#66 of the posting) also interesting when pondering the issue of licensed Israeli tour guides:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293978-i9392-k158739-l16600021-Bethlehem_Tour_Guide_Recommendation-Bethlehem.html

When we toured the Armenian quarter, we engaged the services of an Armenian guide. When we toured the Jewish quarter, we engaged the services of a Jewish guide. When in Palestine, it seemed reasonable (and the only feasible way since Israeli guides aren't allowed in there) to hire a Local guide.

HomeschoolMomofFour

Home school mom - I read your long post with much interest, especially since I am now planning my next trip to Israel.

It seems to me that there are some questions in what you say. The thread you put in a link to is quite out of date. I was told recently by friends who just returned from a visit to Israel and Bethlehem that Israeli tour guides are allowed to guide in Bethlehem now - so the information you refer to is no longer true.
My research also showed me that requiring a tour guide to be licensed is something that is not only Israeli but the Palestinian authorities also license their guides - so the question that then comes up is whether this guide you are talking about is licensed by either one of these groups.

IMHO the bigger question is whether when we visit other places in the world we have the right to make our own laws or whether we have an obligation to obey the law wherever we are in the world If we expect tourists to the US (or wherever) to obey our laws and regulations then we should do the same and if the local regulations require tour guides to be licensed - then we have no right to go about making our own rules.

"I am saddened to see the vitriol against Sam Salem"

There is no "vitriol" against Sam personally and no one here is questioning his knowledge or his ability as a tour guide.

The only issue here is the fact that he guides in Israel even though he does not have a licence. Nobody has in any way said anything about his guiding tourists in the Palestinian Authority. This is exactly what you have said - " When in Palestine, it seemed reasonable (and the only feasible way since Israeli guides aren't allowed in there) to hire a Local guide." - and nobody disagrees with you.

Regarding insurance, I like you am not an expert here, but it appears that if you tour with a licensed guide, then HIS insurance will cover expenses for any damage or injury incurred during the tour. If he is not licensed then you have to be reimbursed through your own insurance.

Of course Israeli guides have "self-interest"; they have invested two years of their lives in studying to get their licence and then they see others taking their livelihood. Why is this different from any profession in any country ?

"how easy is it for Palestinians to be awarded a licensing guide?" I do not know the answer, but if you look through the list of licenced tour guides (select "Arabic" for language), you will see many Arab names. I don't know how many of them are residents of East Jerusalem, but you are welcome to do te research.
http://www.tourism.gov.il/Tourism_Eng/Tourist+Information/Planning+your+trip/TourGuideSearch.htm

Finally, please tell me if I can choose which laws to obey if I visit your country as a tourist ?

"I found this thread attached to this link (#66 of the posting) also interesting when pondering the issue of licensed Israeli tour guides"

Comment #66 is based on 'anecdotal gossip' and the writer's personal opinion on the difference between "laws" and "regulations" in Israel.

I looked for references to the laws in Israel regarding tour guides and found this detailed site:
http://www.tourism-law.co.il/GUIDES.htm
Sorry that the site is in Hebrew only, but I assure you that there is a tourism law and there are Ministry of Tourism regulations. The site also refers to many court decisions that uphold the laws AND the regulations.

How does it work in NYC ?
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/downloads/pdf/sightseeing_guide_law_rules.pdf
Note that this document also refers to "laws and rules". For example:
§ 20-247 Regulations. a. The commissioner may prescribe such rules and regulations as he or she deems necessary to protect persons and property in the enforcement of this subchapter.

And one guide's personal view on the process:
http://www.touristhell.com/2009/01/so-you-wanna-be-tour-guide-part-2.html

PS: I am not a lawyer, I am not a guide and I am in no way involved with the tourism business and have no family or friends that are involved.

Where disappeared Lenett? He/she opened the discussion (this is the first and only message that he published in Fodors) and then silence ..!

Interesting, isn't?

Lenett - OPW - a "one post wonder"

Too many do so, too often, only to stir the pot and no other reason.