Amiel: A Story of a Family

When in summer 1839 the Amiel’s set out from Casablanca to Jaffa on a journey of faith and deliverance, in a boat that also carried boxes of bones - the remains of Jews from the land of their birth, to be reinterred on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives - it was the start of one family's return from exile to the Holy Land, of which their fathers and forefathers had dreamed and for which they hadprayed for generations on end.
These replanted roots, a culmination of a process of faith nearly 2000 years in the fulfillment, were a beginning as well, though not lacking in hardships and turns of fortune. Settling first in Jaffa and then in what is now Tel Aviv's Neve Tzedek neighborhood, the Amiel's were expelled by the Turkish Ottoman government, and for five years the family lived in Alexandria, Egypt, until the defeat of the Turks by the British opened the door once again for them to return. (Amiel Tours founder Eliahu Amiel, known as Chuzy to all, was one of the first Israelis to visit Egypt after the peace agreement with Israel in the 1970's, and he located the grave of his grandfather Eliahu Amiel, who had passed away in Alexandria during this mini expulsion). * Picture: Chuzi's father, Moshe Amiel (sits on left side), with friends
Moshe, Chuzy's own father, had played a modest role too in British efforts during the First World War, serving as a sergeant in the Mule Corps and fighting in the famous Battle of Gallipoli. Later Moshe Amiel served in the Public Work Department, paving roads through the land that would be Israel, and Chuzy recalls these days fondly, when he would go out with his father to work, as the spark that ignited his own love for the land. Later, Chuzy served in the mythological units of the Palmach (the paramilitary armed forces of pre state Israel) taking part in the battles for Safed and its surroundings. 1947: the year prior to Israel War of Independence, and a young Jewish girl from Poland found her illegal way to the Promised Land, luckily saved as an Arian. She arrived via the displaced person camps in Europe and those the British had set up in Cyprus . Named Irit – “Irena, the name I was given at birth, died in the Holocaust and when I came to Israel , Irit was born,” - she met Chuzy while both took part in establishing Palmachim, a new kibbutz on the seashore. They were kibbutz members for three years before leaving. Later they married and the roots of the proud Sephardic Amiel family from Morocco and of his bride from Poland became eternally intertwined. * Pictures: Moshe & Chuzi in Purim Parade Moshe & Chuzi on the BSA

But it was not only with Irit that Chuzy fell in love. In the 1950's the local bus cooperative where he worked had just received three red brand new tourists' buses, and Chuzy adored them so much that he just had to be one of the drivers. One thing lead to another-as a bus driver he started working with tourism, and then he became a tour guide, and in turn a tour operator, department head and, in 1976 he founded his own company. In moving so smoothly and quickly up the ladder of success, Chuzy also served as a model for many others of a similar background in Israel 's fledging tourism industry and as a proof that hard work and dedication would be rewarded. Since then Amiel Tours, the company Chuzy founded, that is now managed by his son Oni, the fifth generation of Amiel’s fortunate enough to live on the land of their Israelite ancestors, has gone from strength to strength. * Picture: Chuzi, Irit, Oni & Dita
The State of Israel too has recognized Amiel's contribution to the tourism industry. Chuzy who celebrates his 80 birthday in 2007, was selected by the Ministry of tourism as its “Man of the Year” in the industry in 1996, and in 2000 he was honored for "A Lifetime Working Tourism" by the President of the State of Israel. Now closing out more than three memorable decades as one of Israel 's premier tour operators and developing hand in hand with this young, dynamic country... * Picture: Chuzi along side Prime minister David Ben Gurion * Far Right: Young IDF paratrooper officer Oni Amiel
* Right: Chuzi leads Independence Day Parade
Last October 2006, we had the honor & pleasure to welcome the new Minister of Tourism, Mr. Isaac Herzog, in our office. From the left: Mr. Chuzi Amiel, Minister of Tourism & Mr. Oni Amiel