Winter 2008-9 Trip....

Behind "what was is like?" many have politely asked since I returned Wednesday are questions either about my safety (isn't there a war going on there?) or my morality (isn't there a war going on there?). How could I possibly have gone on "vacation" in Israel when the country was trading bombs with the Gaza strip?

Well, much of my time there was spent watching the news 2 times a day, checking online news 3 times a day, and listening to BBC radio ten times a day. Almost every conversation I had was about causes and effects. Everyone I spoke with agreed Israel had to respond to the 8 years of rocket fire. Some I spoke with were staunchly opposed to the method. For brief periods, I stopped talking with my mom at all. During these daily exercises I traveled to the north to Safed, to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, to the Negev and Eilat, and all over the south of the country for 12 days.

Tanks were on the roads when we drove around the outskirts of Beersheba, which was being bombed by Hamas. I saw the IDF's F-16s flying towards Gaza while I was walking through Ramat Hanadiv. My mom had frantic friends with children who were called to support the ground offensive. My friend in Tel Aviv was worried to pick up when I called him from an unknown number, and later to tell his pregnant wife when he did get a call. We drove through East Jerusalem a day before violent protests broke out there. We saw riot police on our way back from Safed. Our hosts in the desert near Azuz said they had large groups cancel their stays.

Beyond these immediate signs, the atmosphere there was not that different for a tourist than my first trip in 2007. Still soldiers at bus stations, highway check points, holy sites, and everywhere else. Still private security checking bags at entrances to stores, malls, and cafes. The threats Israel faces are impossible to ignore while your in the country. During this visit the threat was not just present, but immediate and practical. We altered driving routes to avoid rocket fire, we had to cancel a trip to Petra in Jordon, I had explained to me a public service announcement on the radio detailing what to do if the bomb sirens went off.

I did however profoundly enjoy my time in Israel, especially seeing my friends Pablo and Ester in Jerusalem, going to a wedding in Jaffa with Boaz and Ligad, partying New Years Eve in Tel Aviv with Anat, as well as walking around the Negev and snorkeling in the Red Sea with my mom.

Here are some pictures from my trip.