By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – As the widow of billionaire Carnival Cruise Lines founder Ted Arison, Lin Arison has had the chance to travel wherever she wants to around the world. The Carnival Corporation owns not only Carnival Cruise Lines, but such other cruise lines as Princess Cruises, Cunard Lines, Holland-America, Seabourn Cruises, and Costa Cruises among others.
Although Arison founded Carnival Cruises in Miami, Florida, where it still is headquartered, he moved back to his native Israel, bringing his New York-born wife with him. Over the years Lin got to know and love her husband’s land, and with the eye of an accomplished travel writer and lover of innovation, she began assembling her impressions, along with those of co-author Diana C. Stoll, into a unique travel case that includes four books; four DVDs; a portfolio of 25 images, mainly landscapes, taken by photographer Neil Folberg; a flash drive explaining in animated format how the world has been benefited by Israeli inventions; a map of Israel, and a scarf created by Philip Blau and Helena Blaunstein of the Frau Blau house of fashion.
This $125 (retail, per Amazon) assemblage is named Discovering Today’s Israel: The Desert and Cities Sing, and besides being an obvious possible Chanukah gift for Zionists, this may well be a prototype for marketing to at least two classes of travelers: those who like to do extensive research before they go, and those who want to travel vicariously in the safety of their arm chairs. One can imagine similar travel cases being assembled for each of the nearly 200 nations in the world.
Arison and Stoll were quite selective in the stories they wished to tell. They eschewed politics, avoiding the dispute between Jewish and Arab Israelis and Palestinians that provide fodder for daily newspapers and newscasts, Instead, they focused on Israel’s diversity and innovation—looking at a school program that provides refugee children with a sense of belonging, as shown in the heartwarming Academy Award winning documentary Strangers No More (one of four DVDs). They also examined Israel’s culinary scene, in which the tastes of many immigrants’ home countries are brought together, utilizing fresh Israeli ingredients. This segued into an examination of Israel’s ground-enhancing advances in agriculture, water reclamation, and experimentation with such soil enrichments as biochar.
Within the collection also are examinations of the Israeli art scene, with four artists in particular—Sigalit Landau, Micha Ullman, Michal Rovner and Barry Frydlender—given special attention.
One of the books in the collection looks closely at innovation in such areas as nanotechnology, industry, education, and water conservation, while others complement the DVD’s excursions into art and design; cuisine, hotels and recreation.
Innovation is examined again, in a cartoon featuring a father telling his precocious young daughter about Israel’s achievements. The animated story is included in thumb drive format.
Additional treasures include Folberg’s set of photographs, each of which can be framed for viewing at home or in an office; and the beautiful scarf that can accessorize any woman’s wardrobe.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com