Israeli teenage girls couldn't believe their eyes when they saw a tweet from The Twilight Saga film series' Kellan Lutz inviting them to meet up at Jerusalem's Jaffa Gate on a September evening. "They were really cute," Lutz says of the 30 young fans who mobbed him at the Old City entryway. "They kept asking why I'm here."
Lutz, one of People Magazine's 2010 Sexiest Men Alive, was touring Israel with his mother and a group of actors, singers and a radio talk show host organized by an organization called
America's Voices in Israel to promote the country as a tourist and cultural destination.
Kellan Lutz overlooking the Old City walls, where fans met him during his trip
"I'm an action junkie," says the movie star and Calvin Klein model, who had toured the historic sites of Jerusalem on his own last year and jumped at the chance to return. "Israel has so much to offer, whatever you're into, from old history to fun activities. We went ziplining in the Golan Heights yesterday, and I got a nice tan off-road jeeping."
At a Jerusalem press conference, the celebs were stoked about their adventures in the Holy Land, marveling that Israel is nothing like it is portrayed abroad. "Most people in the US picture ducking flying bullets and explosions," says Miguel Ferrer, a veteran TV actor who voiced the villain Shan-Yu in Mulan and stars in the upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man series. His wife, who'd spent time in Israel, encouraged him to go despite his hesitance. "Pretty much everything I thought was wrong or incredibly shortsighted or ignorant."
Ferrer was surprised at the wide diversity of the country's citizens. "There is something to be learned from every person I speak to, from the high-level cabinet official to the guy who brings me coffee in the morning. In the States, everyone thinks Israeli people are like-minded, and nothing could be further from the truth."
'The only risk is that you won't want to leave'
Latina salsa superstar Carolina La O observes that her native country of Colombia also suffers from a public image problem and she wants to set the record straight regarding Israel. "People say you take a risk coming here," she says. "The only risk is that you won't want to leave."
Coming from a devoutly Catholic country, La O perceived of Israel as "the dream of your parents and grandparents, your friends and neighbors. When they read on Facebook and Twitter that I was going to Israel, they all said, 'Oh my God, you are so lucky! It will change your life!' It's my dream coming true and I'm enjoying every single minute."
Salsa star Carolina La O photographing the Jerusalem skyline
She and the Cuban singer Didier Hernandez (formerly of the boy band Menudo) scouted out salsa clubs in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and tweeted madly throughout their first trip to Israel, spreading images of scenery that Hernandez termed "sababa," Hebrew slang for "cool."
"In Tel Aviv I took a picture of the beach and all my Twitter followers said, 'Are you sure you're in Israel?' I will invite them all to come and visit," Hernandez says. "My friends back in Miami think we should open a travel agency for Latin American tourists. [In promoting Israel], I think the key word is 'safety.' Anybody can come here and have a good time."
For John Carlson, a Seattle talk radio host, "It was surprising how safe Jerusalem is - safer even than Seattle in terms of how at ease people seem to feel. The biggest misconception people have in the US is that there is constant tension in Israel, and I just don't see it." Carlson also noted: "There are people from every place on earth living and visiting here. The only down side is once you're here you realize how much more there is to explore, which is why I'll be coming back."
Trendsetters and opinion-makers
America's Voices in Israel began 10 years ago by bringing traditional media and radio personalities to broadcast live from Israel. In late 2010, under the leadership of Irwin Katsof, the program started bringing "new media" mavens, professional athletes and entertainers, key opinion-makers, moderate Muslim leaders, diplomats and other influential personalities to get acquainted with Israel's science and technology, agriculture and fashion, entertainment and art, religions, culture and history.
Some of the recent America's Voices participants have included Joel-David Moore, star of Avatar; Lori Loughlin and Greg Germann of the TV shows Full House and Ally McBeal; and cast members of House, Raising Hope and Grey's Anatomy. Most of the participants aren't Jewish.
Ferrer, who is of Puerto Rican and Irish descent, said "pretty much everything" about his experiences in Israel was pleasantly surprising. "People at home, particularly in our industry, labor under tremendous misconceptions about Israel. I felt I had a fairly decent grasp of Jewish history, and I found I was completely wrong. The sightseeing was just the icing on the cake."
Lutz refers to his two Israel trips as "an amazing personal journey. I felt I grew five years worldlier on the first trip, and I told all my friends in LA about it. If there were a Harry Potter world that existed somewhere, everyone would jump to experience it, and that's how I feel about Jerusalem and the whole of Israel. The history alone is mindblowing. I want to come back and bring more family and friends."
La O encourages Israelis to speak up for their nation. "You need to explain to the world, 'Give us a chance to show you who we really are.' You live in a paradise - a perfect combination of the past and future."