We’ve been a bit ashamed to admit we never visited Israel in all our travels, so we finally committed the time and energy to do it well. I guess we’ve avoided it because we’re not at all religious, but we did want to better understand the ancient history AND the current politics to better grasp the nuances of the region when reading the news. It’s amazing how much easier it is to relate to the various sides when you’ve been there and met the people living it.
We engaged a guide and travel planner Amy Ben-Dov who made all the difference in the world. She was as comfortable talking with authority about each of the monotheistic religions and offered a balanced perspective on the feuding factions and political parties.
On our first day in Jerusalem, Amy wasn’t available, so she lined us up with another guide, Assaf, who was also outstanding. He took us to the West Bank, Dead Sea, and Masada. It was cool and windy – we didn’t really feel the need to take the touristy Dead Sea plunge, but Assaf convinced us. I’m glad he did. The sensation of extreme buoyancy was much different than I’d imagined. The photo here looks fake, like we’re resting on the sand, but it was 3 feet deep! 
He even made us do the mud, though the “black face” yearbook scandal was hot in the U.S. at the time.
Assaf had lived in a traditional Kibbutz next to Gaza when he was a young man. 3,000 missiles were fired in his time there, but after having children he moved to a safer part of the country. It was very interesting to hear his views on the socialist model of his first Kibbutz and his “life goes on” sense of survival.
We had 3 days with Amy in Jerusalem. She started with a rapid-fire primer (with charts) on the 3,000 year history of the area. It made everything we saw easier to understand and much more interesting. She also appreciated our interests in food exploration and booked tables at unique and fascinating venues. If you go, Machneyuda in Jerusalem was especially interesting, though she could only book us for 3pm it is so popular.
And as a special treat, she arranged for us to meet with Dr. Johnathan Speyer, a noted journalist and adviser to governments to learn about the conflicts in the region. Having been in-bedded with Iranians, Kurds, and rebel groups made his knowledge of the wars and factions in Syria, Iraq, and Israel is amazing. Our one-hour appointment with him ran almost 2 1/2 hours! Fascinating.
We spent a couple of fun nights in Tel Aviv and participated in Purim night, the Jewish equivalent of Halloween. And finally we golfed in Haifa. There are only two courses in Israel – not a golf destination for sure!
People rave about Israel. We enjoyed it, learned a lot, and are glad we went, but it doesn’t make our top 5.
D & D Adventures 