Going to the Holy Land
If you dig back into previous entries — and I’m talking about way back — you may recall I said I’d be in Israel right around this time of year. That hasn’t happened with twin deadlines staring me in the face. But the plan hasn’t been abandoned; it has only been delayed.
My original intention was to visit Israel without guidance, renting an excellent Airbnb I found and staying for a month. But during this busy time, I ran across a guided tour that fits my needs perfectly. It’s two weeks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with excursions to various sites outside the cities. One of these is the wall between Israel and Judea and Samaria, guided by an IDF colonel, and the other is a trip to the site of the Nova Festival. The former should be interesting. The second will probably be devastating, especially when coupled with an afternoon talking to a survivor of October 7th.
Some of my reasons for traveling to Israel are research-related, but mostly, I’m going because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for almost thirty years. Israel is important to me and has only become more critical in light of the October 7th slaughter. I have long considered support for Israel not a political position but a sacred duty. It’s our homeland and our last refuge in a world that doesn’t have much use for Jews. Without Israel, Jews have no safe place. Our fate would be in others’ hands. We know how that’s gone.