Over the past two weeks, my wife and I, along with friends from Rehovot and about 100 Anglos, cruised the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Ionic Seas under the guidance of Mano Cruise Co. and AACI Travel. We were part of a larger group of Israelis that numbered roughly 1,000 people. The trip included an 11-night package with eight port stops. The port venues were fascinating, educational, and had significant Jewish content. The Mano ship, the Crown Iris, is not a mega-boat. It was put into service in 1992 and refurbished in 2018. The ship is very well maintained. The rooms and public areas are immaculate and continuously serviced. Many of the rooms are compact, but suites with a balcony are quite comfortable.
The food on the Mano line is high quality and plentiful. All food is kosher, and there are mashgichim who can provide information on the level of kashrus (Rabbanut, Mehadrin, Gush Katif, etc.). The menu is varied, and even after 11 nights and 22 meat meals, we were not bored. The service in the dining room was good but not top-notch. Going through AACI had some major benefits. We had our own section of the dining room and were allowed to enter 15 to 30 minutes before the scheduled mealtime. We thus avoided the crunch at the buffet, which was the method of serving all meals. For those allergic to crowds, Mano offers private, waiter-based dining, but at a significant premium.
AACI-led tours feature English guides and careful attention to the needs of the traveler. We were accompanied by a rabbi and his rebbetzin, who provided food for thought nearly every day. We also had our own minyanim and Shabbos program. The AACI CEO, David London, happened to be on this tour, and this proved to be a major advantage.
Traveling outside of Israel is not without its challenges. Upon boarding, we attended an orientation that stressed safety considerations and introduced us to what might be encountered on shore. The itinerary included stops in Greece, Italy, and Croatia. In Croatia, we did not encounter antisemitism or anti-Zionism. This was not the case in Greece and Italy. On our first stop, Kalamata, Greece, we observed armed police at the port and could hear chants of “Jews not welcome,” “Jews kill children,” and “genocide.” However, the police, who accompanied us throughout the land excursions, made sure we did not have face-to-face encounters with protestors. Police were with us at every stop in Greece. It is a sad fact of life in 2025 that Jews are seen as undesirables and treated as pariahs by small, vocal fringe elements of certain European countries.
The major anti-Israel activity was in Brindisi, Italy. We had advance notice that this would be the case, and the ship even changed its schedule of stops to avoid meeting the antisemitic elements at this port. This was to no avail, as the Mano line is an easily identified target, and we were met by a loud protest. I note that this and all anti-Israel protests were small—very small indeed. One person screaming into a megaphone can have a huge but outsized effect. One of our tour guides in Crete, on the way to visit the Etz Chaim Synagogue, stated that “all of these protests are the work of a small group of extremists. They do not represent the viewpoint of the Greek people.” As we Israelis travel the world and encounter the haters and the anarchists, we should realize that often they reflect a minuscule minority view. However, as exemplified by the attack at Bondi Beach, Australia, even two crazies can be deadly. We must not ignore vile antisemitic protests, regardless of the number involved; they must be strongly opposed. At the same time, perhaps the media should be circumspect, should not provide these ignorant fools with a platform from which to spew their hatred, and should not blow them out of proportion.
Traveling in Greece, Italy, and Croatia, we saw the remnants and artifacts of vibrant Jewish communities in places like Lecce, Split, Dubrovnik, and Crete. It is a bittersweet experience to view the rich history of our people. We are uplifted by the contributions the Jews who wandered the globe made to so many nations. Nevertheless, it is painful to learn that these communities have either long disappeared or are on the edge of extinction. Returning to Haifa Port, even under siege by Storm Byron, we felt fortunate to live in a country governed and protected by our people. With Hashem’s help and wise Jewish leadership, we will have a home and refuge long into the future. Am Yisrael Chai.
Dr. Naider is a former provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the College of Staten Island and Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at the City University of New York. He and his wife, Anita, made aliyah in 2020 and now live in Rehovot.