In addition to managing the Green Olive Collective he is an avid cyclist, gardener, juggler, a martial arts practitioner, and worked for many years with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). Fred has a 3rd degree black belt in Shotokan Karate. When he needs a break from the cauldron of the Middle East, Fred spends time at his family’s Shetland retreat.
Jehanne manages all the daily operations of Green Olive Tours. She is often the first point of contact for clients, quoting fees for tours, scheduling the drivers and guides, and overseeing the logistics.
Prior to joining the Green Olive Collective, Jehanne managed Murad Tours and has brought many years of experience in tourism to Green Olive. Jehanne was born and raised in Toronto, Canada where she studied Education, Psychology, and Accounting. She has two children, and divides her time between Bethlehem, Amman, and family in Canada.
Mohammad is an experienced tour guide having led political, cultural and historic tours all over Palestinian and Israeli areas of the country for many years.
He is a first generation refugee, whose family were expelled from their village to the west of Jerusalem in the 1948 Nakba.
Mohammad has been an eye-witness to all the major events of recent history, including the Six Day War, the Intifadas, and the daily oppression of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
He lives in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, with his wife and nearby adult children.
After working as a freelance guide for many years, Yahav joined the staff of Green Olive Tours in the spring of 2011 and became a Partner shortly after. He continues to be the tour leader for many tours, develops new itineraries, has translated the entire Green Olive Tours Spanish website, and is active in developing new markets.
Yahav was born in Jerusalem and has lived in the city all his life. He has been a journalist, a translator, a political activist and a spokesperson for human rights and a sustainable political solution in the region. He currently works as a tour guide, combining historical and religious knowledge with a firm grasp of the political situation, gained through years of involvement with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and other justice and human rights initiatives.
Yamen is a Green Olive Partner and has been guiding visitors to Palestine since 2009. He quickly gravitated to ‘alternative tours’ and soon began working for Green Olive Tours. Yamen has studied at The Tourism Research Institute-Palestine and has been involved with many organizations and programs in Bethlehem, bringing together foreign visitors, Palestinians, and other locals working toward a democratic future and an end to the occupation.
Born in Beit Sahour Palestine, Yamen lived several years in Canada, but eventually returned home. He has organised the Gift4Giving Program which collects funds to purchase toys and clothes for distribution to Palestinian refugees. As a strong believer in justice, he believes that one person’s voice or action can make a difference!
Yaniv is a Green Olive Partner and has worked as a Park Ranger at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve at the Dead Sea, and at the Tel Aviv airport conducting security screenings on commercial shipments.
Yaniv came to realise that many of his views were a product of Israel’s militarised society and education system, and in 2012 was imprisoned for 20 days for refusing to serve in the military reserves. He is involved as an activist and can often be found at coresistance activities in the southern West Bank.
Mirvate has been a fixture for Green Olive Clients for many years. She hosts most visitors who book package tours in Palestine, and is well known for her warm hospitality and great food.
Mirvate’s family are longtime residents of Beit Sahour, a suburb of Bethlehem, and her lovely home sits at the edge of the town with dramatic views of the neighbouring Jerusalem settlement suburb of Har Homa, segregated from Beit Sahour by the segregation wall and an Israeli military road.
Itamar is a former military refuser and conscientious objector who refuses to serve in the Israeli military. He is involved with many human rights organizations include Breaking the Silence, Ta’ayush, ICAHD, and others.
Itamar worked in the Jerusalem Holocaust Museum as a tour guide until he was sacked for discussing the Nakba (1948 expulsion of Palestinians) and its impact on Israeli remembrance of the Holocaust. National narratives and self-justifications are Itamar’s passionate interest in addition to history, politics and social change. Itamar is pursuing an M.A. in Anthropology, and is fluent in Hebrew, English and Spanish, and is an accomplished flamenco guitarist.
Alex was a Green Olive Vice-president from 2018 – 2022. He moved on to work with a high-tech company, Monday.com. Although he no longer works on staff, Alex remains involved with the organisation, consulting and guiding the occasional tour.
Born in New Zealand and armed with a postgraduate history degree and high school French, Alex began tour guiding in Paris in 2009 and has since managed two tour companies and started his own. He has led groups around the Sagrada Familia in Spain, erupting New Zealand volcanoes, through the canals of Bruges in Belgium, and among the gardens of the Palace of Versailles in France. Alex also helped create Barcelona’s first alternative tour focusing on its anarchist political history.
In 2018 Alex completed a Master’s Degree in Public Policy, Conflict Resolution, and Mediation. Although neither Arab, Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli, or Muslim, he finds this region the most fascinating on the planet and now lives here with his partner. Alex is a volunteer researcher with Amnesty International and a keen cyclist.
Erez comes to Green Olive with a wealth of experience in human rights, grassroots advocacy, participatory education, and solidarity initiatives, and has worked with civil society actors in Israel/Palestine for years.
He was raised in the Galilee before moving with his family to New Hampshire, and studied political science at DePaul University in Chicago before coming to Jerusalem in 2015 to support Palestinian-lead civil resistance efforts and explore the personal and geopolitical significance of the region. When he is not community organizing, Erez spends his time learning about political movements that inspire him, reading fiction, and listening to alternative rock.
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