Your Team

Knowledgeable Passionate Professional Creative

The team at Kenes Tours understands how important your trip is to you, your family, and your organization. Time is valuable. Travel is expensive. You need a partner who will listen carefully to your unique goals and make sure every detail of your trip aligns with your group’s vision.

Our job at Kenes Tours is clear: To deliver a custom travel experience that strengthens relationships with your organization, inspires a love for Israel, and ensures a vibrant Jewish future.

We know the most impactful experiences, the best tour guides, the most incredible restaurants, and the clean and comfortable accommodations. Our team members in North America, South America, and Europe understand the nuances of group travel, the dynamics of Jewish organizations, and the ways to make your trip meaningful and memorable. When you are “on the ground,” we have you covered 24/7.

In short, we stop at nothing to create the meaningful, worry-free adventure your group will savor from start to finish and remember forever.

You have a vision. We’re going to make it a reality.

Meet Your Travel Partners

LEADERSHIP

Yoav Bruck

Co-Owner

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Tel Lachish is one of Israel’s most important archaeological sites. It is located near my childhood home of Moshav Lachish.
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Golfing in Thailand
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle
Item I never travel without:
My swimsuit and goggles. I was a three-time Israeli Olympic swimmer.
Why I love to travel:
Freedom, change of routine, meeting new people

Cheri Levitan

Former client; now Chief Executive (Expedition) Officer

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Jaffa! I love the historic port and coast, the sights and sounds, and knafeh, a delicious Middle-Eastern dessert!
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Italy. I love the food, Amarone, the people, the Dolomites, the coastlines, and Formula One races at Monza.
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle! I have long legs and I will not move to the window or middle…so don’t even ask.
Best travel tip:
Always bring a travel roll of toilet paper(!) and a carry-on with stuff you’ll need for at least 24 hours.
Why I love to travel:
The more I learn about other countries – through touring, eating, and speaking with locals – the more I learn about myself and my own journey through life.

Guy Har-Nir

Chief Operating Officer

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Mount Shlomo in the Eilat mountain region – best sunsets in the country
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Diving with sharks – especially great white sharks in Mexico, South Africa, or Australia
Window or aisle seat?
Window seat for sure! I love to look outside!
Item I never travel without:
A good book. You never know when you will be delayed somewhere with no reception.
Why I love to travel:
I love the adventure, seeing new places, and connecting with different cultures. The diversity in our world is amazing, and nothing compares to experiencing it firsthand.

U.S. Client Team

Ilana Blumenthal

Director of Marketing

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Sitting on the Ahava sculpture at The Israel Museum to get the best view of Jerusalem.
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle
Best travel tip:
Always talk to the locals! They’ll provide great ideas to enhance your travel experience.
Why I love to travel:
Israel is my second home and I can’t stay away. I love meeting new people from different walks of life and immersing myself in their cultures.

Luciana Cherques

Director of Sales – Latin America

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Sitting and relaxing on the beach in Tel Aviv. I am and will always be a carioca (person born in Rio de Janeiro).
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Going to the Pisco Museum and exploring the Sacred Valley in Peru
Window or aisle seat?
Window
Best travel tip:
When traveling overseas, make sure your passport is valid for at least six months.
Why I love to travel:
I love exploring unique places, trying different foods, meeting new people, and learning about diverse cultures. Travel is an adventure of self-discovery. We are all a lot more similar than we think.

Sarah Cytryn

Director of Business Development

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Achziv Beach - it's truly the most beautiful place on earth.
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Any island in Greece. My top choice at the moment is Corfu.
Window or aisle seat?
Window! I may be the tallest Jewish woman on earth, so a window is an absolute must.
Item I never travel without:
I never travel without a good hand and face cream! Also my husband and best friend.
Why I love to travel:
To me, traveling is like breathing. I feel suffocated when I stay in one place for too long. Traveling is what I do to feel alive and connected to this stunning and diverse round globe we live on.

Adam Mazo

Director of Sales – Overseas

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Walking and eating around Shuk HaCarmel (Carmel Market)
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Playing pool with Buddhist monks at a hidden monastery in Bagan, Myanmar
Window or aisle seat?
Definitely the window seat
Best travel tip:
Find out where the locals eat to experience local foods and feel like a local.
Why I love to travel:
Travel is freedom – it opens up my mind to new experiences, allows me to meet new people, and allows me to learn about different cultures and all that entails (food, history, art, religion, language). My favorite quote is: “I travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape me.”

Benny Scholder

Director of Sales – North America

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Golan Heights. Aside from its unparalleled beauty, for a relatively small area, it packs a huge punch and brings together every element and narrative of the Israel story.
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Maui, HI. It’s where my wife and I went on our honeymoon, and I’m a sentimental kind of guy :).
Window or aisle seat?
Window, of course! Nothing beats the view of our planet from 36,000 ft.
Item I never travel without:
Tide to Go stain pens – because I never miss an opportunity to get delicious international food all over my shirt
Why I love to travel:
Travel provides the opportunity to discover our planet, reveals our shared humanity, and allows us to step out of our comfort zone. I love to taste delicious and authentic cuisine you can’t get anywhere else, and maybe most of all, to become the person I never knew I wanted to or could become.

Israel Team

Shelley Aidler

Director of Jewish Travel

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
I love to visit the desert! Specifically, any spot south of Mitzpe Ramon to the Arava region
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Anywhere with a great nature experience and preferably near water
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle; I am too tall for a window seat.
Best travel tip:
Always bring a carry-on bag with things you need for 48 hours (clothes, toiletries, and prescriptions)....just in case!
Why I love to travel:
I thrive on meeting new people, the change of pace, and learning about new cultures.

Ayelet Antebi

Pilgrim Department Manager

Aurelia Haimovich

Purchasing Manager

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Caesarea. I live close to Caesarea and like touring there, especially in the winter when the waves crash on the pier.
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Of course, Paris (where I’m from). It’s the most beautiful city in the world.
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle, so I can feel free to move whenever I want.
Best travel tip:
Prepare a pack list so you will not forget anything.
Why I love to travel:
Although I hate flying, I like to travel to get to know new places, new people, new cultures and, of course, taste the local food. Most of what I like about travel is the possibility to disconnect from the stress of daily life. On vacations, I am the most relaxed person (which I really am not in “real” life…)

Keren Hatkevitz

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Jerusalem
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Boston, Massachusetts
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle
Item I never travel without:
Tfilat Haderech (prayer for the journey) and a good book
Why I love to travel:
It allows me to pause from my daily routine and see life differently.

Russell Lord

Travel Consultant

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Everywhere between the HaYarkon River and Abullafia (yes….I love Tel Aviv)
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Following in the footsteps of Moses through the deserts of Saudi Arabia
Window or aisle seat?
Aisle (unless I can get the whole row)
Best travel tip:
Explore the unique, the different, the authentic, the local. You’ve got Starbucks at home.
Why I love to travel:
The more I travel, the more I understand how beautiful the world is. So much to learn, to see, to experience. Traveling is educational, challenging, fun, and delicious.

Hillel Meyer

Director of Development and Liaison to the Jewish World

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Sites are great, but they are just the platform for the real thing, and that is meeting with local people and creating meaningful dialogues and memorable moments.
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
I love visiting areas of renewed Jewish life like Krakow and Prague.
Window or aisle seat?
With my long legs, always the aisle seat, and if possible, upgrade with points!
Item I never travel without:
I will not travel without my tallit and tefillin. They are an essential part of my daily routine.
Why I love to travel:
In today’s world, with everything we see and hear through the media, it’s important to experience places firsthand.

Neta Shmuel

Director of Development and Liaison to the Jewish World

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Caesarea National Park and Harbor. You can breathe in the history of one of Israel's wonders that combines ancient structures, archeology, and a picture-perfect ancient harbor.
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Japan. It has a unique culture and heritage that is different from everything I've experienced so far.
Window or aisle seat?
Window!
Item I never travel without:
Passport, cell phone, and credit card. You can buy anything else at your destination.
Why I love to travel:
Travel lets you explore new destinations, cultures, and views.

Hadar Shteinbuk

FIT Department Manager

Favorite travel spot or experience in Israel:
Mt. Carmel
Favorite travel spot or experience outside of Israel:
Palawan Island in the Philippines
Window or aisle seat?
Window for sure
Item I never travel without:
Snacks. Always carry snacks with you. I recommend tasty dates.
Why I love to travel:
I love to experience different cultures, cuisines, languages, and most importantly people!