Gold in Jerusalem (Sacredsites)
How safe is the holy land?
BY KARLI VEZINA
The State of Israel was declared in 1948, when Palestinians broke free of thirty-one years of British rule and fifty-five years of trying to establish a homeland. Since then Israel has met almost constant conflict with their surrounding countries and Islamic militants who believe the land is rightfully theirs. On the flip side, Israel has maintained democracy and has made peace with Jordan and Egypt. It is home to Nazareth, Jerusalem the Dead Sea and Zion. All are famous landmarks thanks to the Holy Bible, and lets be honest, Bob Marley and reggae music has done a lot to promote Zion.
The Foreign Affairs of Canada website, the watchdog for Canadian travelers, has placed the travel advisory for Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip at the second-lowest level of warning, “exercise high degree of caution.” It’s been this way for a while, and the news makes it evident that the State of Israel never seems to be stable—and it isn’t. But despite these red flags, can you still travel to the holy land?
“When you’re in Jerusalem, it’s always going to be dangerous, because they’re always at war,” says Jewish-Canadian Sarite Harris. She went on her birthright trip to Israel (a free trip for Jewish people aged 18 to 26 to experience their culture) in 2005. At the same time, she notes, “It’s hard to judge what’s going on there right now because we’re not there, but I didn’t feel unsafe at all, at any point in my trip.”
To learn more about Birthright, click here.
For those whose passion for Palestine can’t be quelled, here is some insight one how to travel Israel. Group travel, as Sarite did, is a great idea and will help you to learn the history better and feel more secure at the same time. That is of course, if you can keep up!
“We were in a huge group, with a bus and a tour guide. I wouldn’t say it was a bad thing to go with a group, because our tour guide was really knowledgeable, but there wasn’t a lot of down time and it was almost like a sheltered trip,” says Sarite.
Azra World does group travel, check them out here.
Gil Travel is also keen on small group travel, check them out here.
As far as dress code and conduct for women traveling in Israel, Sarite recounts her trip: “When we went to the Wailing Wall we had to wear shirts that went down to our elbows and skirts down to our knees out of respect because there are a lot of orthodox Jewish people there.” In holy places it is “frowned upon” if you’re not wearing the proper clothing, but Sarite says, “we generally wore the proper clothing everywhere out of respect.”
For those who are wondering, the women’s lace hair covering (often referred to as a doily) is only necessary for married women. For women Wanderers, says Sarite, “you definitely have to be more respectful” but that could be said about a number of different countries on your travel list.
Another option is volunteering to travel and there are a number of groups who strive to help with education, school building, home building, war-torn clean up and the like. This too would most likely be done in a group setting and you can investigate further with these two for starters:
http://www.ivolunteer.org.il/eng/
http://www.jewishservice.org/vol_israel.html
Let’s face it Wanderer’s, the State of Israel will never be Disney Land, but that’s what makes it what it is. Jesus lived there. What more do you want? Historically, biblically, geographically (the Dead Sea), it is a true Mecca for those with travel in their souls. If you want to see it badly enough, you will make it happen. Remember that life is short, so make the most of every adventure. IT!
Karli Vezina has storied many of her experiences from her one year in South Korea. Read them and other great articles by searching “Karli Vezina” in TWW’s database.
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