home Sept. 7, 2012 A prolific travel writer Ben G. Frank focuses on Jewish communities. CYNTHIA RAMSAY A trip to Detroit. That’s when it all began for Ben G. Frank, author of A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe: Third Edition, A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia and Ukraine, A Travel Guide to Jewish Caribbean and South America and, most recently, The Scattered Tribe: Traveling the Diaspora from Cuba to India to Tahiti & Beyond. “When I was 14-years-old, my father put me on a Greyhound bus in downtown Pittsburgh, bound for Detroit,” explained Frank to the Independent in an e-mail interview. “When I got there, my cousins showed me the city: Vernors Ginger Ale plant, a Tigers baseball game, the Chrysler assembly line. I called it ‘travel.’ After all, I went from one destination to another, and I had fun. And I have been traveling ever since – mostly to exotic Jewish communities.... But, what really clinched travel for me was a trip I took four years later as a member of the second Habonim youth workshop in Israel, where we spent a year working on a kibbutz, studying and traveling around the country. A remarkable journey!” Nowadays, Frank pointed out, a nonstop El Al flight from New York to Ben-Gurion Airport takes 10-11 hours. “About a half-century ago,” he said, “when I went, this was the route: from Idlewild Airport (now JFK) to Gander, Nfld.; to Shannon Airport, Ireland; to Amsterdam, then by train to Paris; from Paris, overnight train to Marseilles; then aboard a Zim Line passenger ship, the Negba, which was a former American freighter or ferry boat, to Naples; to Piraeus, to Haifa.” Frank, who has worked as a journalist and has owned his own public relations firm, said that, in his travels, he has “always sought out the Jewish community and wrote about them for Jewish and non-Jewish publications.” His first three Jewish travel guides were put out by Pelican Publishing Company; the latest, by Globe Pequot Press. His wife often travels with him and the pair has taken their two sons, Martin and Monte, on trips to England, France, Brazil, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Israel. They also took their 12-year-old grandson, Randy, on a trip to Israel, which is mentioned in The Scattered Tribe. “Proudly, I must say he has been to Israel twice since that memorable trip,” added Frank. “So, if you can, take your grandchildren on a trip to the Jewish state, it will be rewarding!” For travelers wanting to get the most out of their journeys, Frank recommended, “First and foremost, as strange as it sounds, one should really want to go to a destination or destinations. Get excited about visiting the country, or countries, of your choice. Try as much as possible not only to read up on the destination and its sites, but plan ahead a day-by-day schedule. Even if you go on a guided tour, there will be free time. Have some ideas what to do in leisure hours, so you don’t sit around the hotel lobby trying to plan. Remember though, rest is good, especially when traveling. You can always come back. “Regarding visits to Jewish sites: long gone are the days when you could just walk into a synagogue or Jewish museum overseas,” he continued. “Contact the offices of Jewish organizations or houses of worship and tell them specifically when you are coming and ask what security arrangements they have in place. Always have your passport with you. Security, especially in Europe and South America, is very tight. They may actually take away your passport while you are inside the building. “Try and meet as many residents of the country you are visiting. Some programs offer visitor exchanges/dinner with a family, etc. These are very valuable and will help make your sojourn memorable. “If you are on your own,” he concluded, “a good suggestion is to take a general city tour and then go back and see the sights that interest and intrigue you. In certain countries, it is valuable to sign up with a tour ahead of time. Everything possible that you can do in advance will help. For example, know the days that the museums or centres are open, and that includes Jewish institutions, which may be closed on Friday, but open on Sunday.” Frank has visited some 88 countries, including the 10 that are featured in Scattered Tribe. Despite this breadth of experience, and the research he puts into every journey, he said, “I still realize how little I know and that is why, even after I come home and write about a country or city, I still try and keep up with events in that locale.... The point is travel enhances one’s knowledge. Your trip should motivate you to read up on the country you visited. I, of course, take copious notes if I am on a tour or trip, and I write as much as I can in my notebooks – more even than the average journal kept by a tourist. So, I highly recommend you keep a journal. “Also, since I am a voracious reader, I get lists of good books on the country, its Jewish community. For instance, I am planning a trip to Cyprus, which intrigued me after reading Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell. But, I also want to learn about the Jewish community, its institutions, etc., and, in this case, how it feels for a Jewish person living about an hour’s flight from Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people. I want to learn about the struggles of the Greeks against the Turks who, about 40 years ago, seized a part of this beautiful island, or the British rule on the island and how the latter deported Jews fleeing Europe after the Holocaust from Palestine to Cyprus, and the current close relations between Israel and Cyprus and Greece, especially after Turkey has turned away from the Jewish state and is in fact hostile to Israel.” While Frank does as much pre-travel reading and planning as he can, he stressed that, “for travel writers and astute tourists, it is the chance encounters that are crucial. Cafés, boat rides, restaurants provide opportunities for instantaneous meetings. That’s when I really get the information I need to write a good travel piece. The Scattered Tribe is full of anecdotes and experiences of meeting travelers by and by. Some of the best travel books I have bought were discovered just walking along the quays on the Seine River, in Paris, for example; or the secondhand bookstores in London. They still grace the shelves of my library and, I must add, are much used.” Frank has an extensive library, especially travel guides and narratives, he said. “I also save my travel notebooks and I keep going over them, even after I have written articles or books,” he added. “First of all, they are a memoir and, secondly, they give me ideas for future articles. Also, photos help remind one of sites and experiences.” In his travels, Frank has witnessed Diaspora Jews’ strong support for Israel. He gave the example of France where, “Despite the pressure and the real danger of antisemitism, they support Israel to the fullest.” He added, “Frankly, I didn’t see the divisiveness regarding Israel overseas that at times occurs here in North America. In Russia and Ukraine, for example, I believe Jews there strongly support Israel. Remember, a million Jews from the former Soviet Union still live in Israel and about a million Jews from the former USSR still remain in Russia and Ukraine. But, many from Russia and Israel travel back and forth, as a visa is not required between the two countries. Russian Jewry and Israel and their relationships are both covered in The Scattered Tribe.” Other countries, with much smaller Jewish populations are included in The Scattered Tribe, raising the question, perhaps, as to why some Diaspora communities continue to thrive while others struggle to survive. “Whether it’s the Bronx, N.Y., or Seville, Spain, or Yangon, Myanmar, Jews do not leave unless truly threatened. Yes, numbers of Jews in any given community may assimilate, but I don’t know too many Jewish communities which have died out, even oppressed ones,” said Frank. “Take Cuba, for example. In 1959, when Castro began spouting his atheistic and communist beliefs, which threatened not only the Jewish religion but its livelihood, most of the 14,000 Jews left in the early 1960s. A remnant of about 1,500-2,000 Jews remained. Despite the aid of Canadian Jews and Jews from outside the U.S., we almost lost them and, undoubtedly, would have, had not the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, thus forcing Castro to open up and at least allow a semblance of freedom of religion. In the last two decades, a Jewish revival has taken place on the island and there are three synagogues and a kosher butcher shop and rabbis visiting and Jewish organizations, like the JDC [Joint Distribution Committee], now aiding the community.” Frank added, “Another example where Jews ‘hang on’ is Burma (Myanmar). In 1964, most of the Jews fled that country when a brutal military regime took over the government. And yet, a few dozen stayed on. Every day, Moses Samuels opens the 100-year-old synagogue, Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue, in Yangon, Myanmar. He hopes to get a minyan. Most of the time, he does not, unless tourists arrive. Approximately 20 Jews live in the country. And, now, with Myanmar opening up to the West, more tourists are flocking to this historic land. “I never say a Jewish community is about to die out. Back in the 1980s, Jewish commentators were saying that the Austrian Jewish community would not exist much longer. Four decades later, there are about 6,000 Jews in that country, with synagogues, kosher restaurants and activities. The Diaspora is strong; it relies of course on Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people. One very significant fact: the Diaspora after 1948 is voluntary. We Jews live in various countries around the world because we want to, knowing that should trouble occur, we have an address: the state of Israel.” Even though there are Jewish communities almost everywhere in the world, Frank lamented that, while a relatively large amount is known and written about Europe, including Russia, “we know little about North Africa and Asia, where Jewish communities once flourished and ... even today, exist as small Jewish congregations. Morocco, for example, has about 4,000 Jews and a rich Jewish history. In Hebrew or Sunday school, I was never taught about Jews in Asia and, yet, Jews have lived in India for over 2,000 years. I feel we have a job to do; not only to tell the story of the Jewish Diaspora, but also to educate Jews all over the world as to these wonderful, welcoming, small, exotic Jewish communities throughout the world. They are our brothers and sisters, too. Asia is ‘in’ today, tourist-wise. So, Vancouverites, since you are close to Asia, visit the ‘Scattered Tribe’ there. They would like to see you. Bon voyage!” ^TOP