SALT LAKE CITY — Israeli-born and Utah-bound, Daniel Rona estimates around 30,000 people have gone on his "Israel Revealed" tours over the last 50 years.
“The moment you step out of the aircraft or cross the border into Israel, you feel the holy of the Holy Land,” he said. “It's not made up. It's just a blessing sense of comfort and understanding.”
While Rona is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the tour company is not tied to the religion in an official capacity.
His son Steven was guiding the most recent tour when Hamas started attacking Israel. Rona said all 36 tourists, many from Utah, made it out of the country unharmed.
“We're the only Latter-day Saints who are licensed guides,” he said. “It's a requirement in Israel to have a licensed guide, and the reason for it is pretty obvious: we know what's going on. We're connected to the military. We're connected to the police, we're locals, we speak the language, and we have a staff that lives there.”
Rona normally goes to Israel every other month. His children are still in Jerusalem; he and his wife raised them there, and they each served in the Israeli Defense Forces, or IDF.
This won’t be the first time Israel Revealed has to pause its tours, and it won’t be the last, he said.
“We've gone through this four or five times,” said Rona. “We're still there, and people return. It's because of their faith and their inspiration, and they know they've got locals taking care of them.”
