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Yossi Ghinsberg is an Israeli motivational speaker and author. He was born and raised in Israel. He served three years in the Israeli Navy on the Red Sea and during this time he befriended the Bedouins of the Sinai Desert. This was his first taste of a new and exotic culture and he was taken with the mysteries of their wholesome philosophy and nomadic lifestyle.

In 1981, while traveling in South America, Yossi was separated from his friends and survived three weeks in the midst of the uncharted Bolivian Amazon. This forming experience left him with many existential questions. Yossi graduated from Tel Aviv University with a double major degree in Business and Philosophy. His thirst for knowledge took him to an extensive study of Kabala Mysticism both in academic and authentic experience. The desire for direct experience and worldly knowledge outside the class room beckoned Yossi to a world of travel and adventure.

In 1992, Yossi returned to the Amazon to initiate The Chalalan Project, demonstrating that the best strategy to conserve pristine rainforest is sustainable development in cooperation with indigenous inhabitants rather than mere conservation. Yossi promoted recognition of intellectual properties for indigenous people.

In 1995, he was appointed Vice President of The Center for Investigation & Treatment of Addiction (CITA). In this capacity, Yossi promoted a new humanitarian approach to treatment of opiates addiction, establishing 12 treatment and research centers around the world from Mexico to China and finally establishing and managing his own clinics in Australia where he also launched the 'Alma Libre' initiative to educate society about opiates addiction and promote reintegration of rehabilitated patients.

In 2001, during the peak of the Palestinian Intifada, Yossi was invited to return to Israel to produce a reconciliation festival. The festival managed to attract spiritual leaders of Judaism and Islam as well as unprecedented audiences.

He is the Author of 'Jungle', an international best seller based on his harrowing experience in being lost in the deathly Amazon Jungle. Yossi's survival story was vividly portrayed in a gripping documentary, I Shouldn't Be Alive, produced for and by The Discovery Channel. He is a successful international public speaker inspiring people from many countries. His latest book 'Laws of the Jungle' offers insights, tools and guidance garnered from years of living in the Amazon with indigenous tribes to help people.

Yossi is married to Belinda and has three daughters; Mia, Cayam and Nissim. Belinda is expecting a new baby boy.

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Yossi Ghinsberg", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0