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An Online ‘Sister In Israel’

Jerusalem — One of the realities of life for many American immigrants to Israel is that they become ad hoc party planners for friends, siblings and cousins who wish to plan a wedding or other special event in the holy land.

Since leaving behind her Israel-oriented family to move there permanently 18 years ago, Jael Kurtz, originally from Riverdale, has "found myself constantly organizing for them, with a lot of enjoyment, bar and bat mitzvahs. I'd always have to find new and exciting things for kids ages 0 to 18, things to do that are off the beaten path. A lot of great places to throw parties are smaller and overlooked by foreigners. I wanted to see how people could find these things online."

To her amazement, there was no English-language online information portal for people seeking to throw an event in Israel. A popular Hebrew site, Mitchatnim.co.il, focuses mostly on weddings and, in Kurtz's opinion, "is very flashy." She wanted to create a site where "people would really feel what they will see in the end. And I wanted it to be personal recommendations, not just advertising — so people could feel that they have a 'sister in Israel,' and are getting quality information."

So, together with fellow Bet Shemesh resident Judy Krasna — who also made aliyah, from Long Island, a decade ago — Kurtz set about creating just such a service. Between juggling jobs and their children, they spent eight months researching service providers.

Last month, the friends launched CelebrateIsrael.com, which provides original, creative ideas for weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and corporate events in Israel. Their goal is to attract more tourists who are celebrating life-cycle events, and to highlight small, specialized vendors who, Kurtz said, "may otherwise fall under Americans' radar."

Focusing, for now, mostly on the Jerusalem area, the site provides profiles and recommendations for hand-picked caterers, venues, photographers, entertainers, ketubah artists, and decorators. There is even space dedicated to small guesthouses, tour guides, and chesed programs for bar- and bat-mitzvah kids.

Each service provider who is profiled on the site is reviewed personally by Kurtz and Krasna, and bears their stamp of approval.

"We are only profiling people we've heard, seen, tasted, or who have been referred by people we know," Krasna said. "We want to see that the service provider can communicate in English and provide the kind of service that English-speakers want, the type of people we'd want to work with if we were the consumer. It's really hand-picked information."

Kurtz added that "I want to give smaller businesses in Israel an opportunity to shine. A lot of these vendors do not have marketing budgets. They don't know how to market themselves. But they are gems. Each one has a special twist to what they do. We don't take just anyone."

A casual browsing of the site revealed a surprising array of possibilities for the creative party planner. How many people know that it is possible to throw a bar mitzvah at the top of Masada, and to invite actors who dress as characters from the boy's Torah portion and mingle with the guests? Or that Mini Israel Park has a catering hall and large conference room? Or that one could host a bat mitzvah or wedding in a Moroccan tent with a view of the Dead Sea?

Among the vendors recommended on CelebrateIsrael.com are balloon artists, lighting specialists, a leadership training program for businesses, a Dixieland band, and contact information for ordering a chocolate fountain or lollipops with a bat mitzvah girl's edible photo on them. There are wedding sites at ancient synagogues, in strikingly lit caves, and at halls with stunning views of Jerusalem.

Kurtz and Krasna are working personally with each service provider to train them in the ways of the American customer, as Israelis are often accustomed to last-minute event planning and lackadaisical customer service. "We informed all our vendors that we expect them to answer any inquiries within 12 to 18 hours," Kurtz said. "I want to hand out to people a five-year calendar and tell them to mark it. Things are changing in Israel. We're hearing that even Israelis are booking nine months in advance. We told our vendors to expect our people to book at least a year ahead, and they have to be able to support that."

At the moment, the site founders are working almost entirely on a volunteer basis. They will collect referral fees from the vendors when site users make reservations, but they do not accept payment from the vendors for the advertising, nor do they charge users for the service. Eventually they hope to start earning advertising income from tourism vendors whose services fall outside the scope of the site, such as airlines, large hotels, and Israeli cell phone rental companies.

"If we were doing this for the money, we'd need a different business model," Krasna said. "I just hope people use the site, and that they come. It's a special experience to celebrate in Israel. Our friends who have done it here have said there is nothing at home that is comparable. You can do events with a view of the Old City! You can pay a million dollars in New York, but you can't buy that view."