I've always been interested in visiting Israel, mainly because of all the politics we all hear on pretty much a daily basis from the news media - I just wanted to see what the situation was like first hand. Since I had already planned on visiting Egypt (my brother is studying Arabic there through a program at UT Austin), we decided visiting Israel would be relatively easy and also pretty cheap, since we could travel from Egypt to Israel by road -AND- there's no entrance visa/fee for US citizens (not the case with Lebanon and Syria, which we were also considering). After spending ten days traveling around Egypt, I contacted a private driver (who ended up being an old British expat living in Sharm el Sheikh, which was pretty random) to take us from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt to the border at Taba, Egypt, which is about a three hour drive through the desert. Being Pakistani-Americans (although all of us were born in the US), having a Pakistani tourist visa in our US passport, and physically appearing to be of Pakistani descent, we were pretty much already expecting to be intensely questioned at the Israeli border. The fact that we were two young brown dudes trying to enter Israel BY ROAD from Egypt didn't help to minimize the shadiness either, so we were ready for it. As soon as we got our Egyptian exit stamp on our passports and handed our passports over to the Israeli officials, the questioning began. From what I remember, I was asked -- "Why are you visiting Israel? First time in the country? What is your occupation? What were you doing in Egypt? What is your religion? Why did you visit the UAE in 2007? Why did you visit Pakistan in 2007? Do you have family in Pakistan? Why does your family in Pakistan choose to continue living there? What do you think of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict? Do you plan of visiting the Gaza Strip?" We were both asked these questions separately, and after given the all clear (or so we thought) we were free to proceed through Passport Control. They asked a lot of the same questions, but this time held my passport for about an hour while I waited in the waiting room. I figured they probably did some sort of background check on me, but after getting the all clear we were free to go. In the end, I have to say that all of the Israeli officials at the border were extremely polite and accommodating, I never felt any hostility or prejudice against me, which I really respect them for (honestly, I don't think the same type of response would be given to Israeli citizens attempting to visit Pakistan; never mind the fact that they can't enter the country anyways, but if they could). Entering Israel from Egypt by foot is akin to entering Texas from Mexico. Israel is obviously far more developed than Egypt and this is noticeable as soon as you cross the border (and realize that twenty minute taxi rides aren't going to cost you $2.00 USD anymore). Once in Eilat, we were lucky enough to barely catch the last bus of the day to Tel Aviv before all public transport shuts down in the country for 24 hours during Shabbat. The bus system in Israel is excellent, and the five hour ride to Tel Aviv was really smooth. We were in Israel for a total of 3 days/4 nights, and spent two nights in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I'm a huge fan of Tel Aviv - amazingly clean city, great food, not many tourists, awesome nightlife, beautiful women, fairly secular, excellent beaches on the Mediterranean, perfect summer weather, and beautiful women. Everyone was really friendly the entire time. Aside from the floods of tourists, Jerusalem was also amazing. Just the fact that I was essentially in the center of the monotheistic world was pretty surreal. One of the coolest experiences in Jerusalem was being able to visit the Dome of the Rock, which is off limits to non-Muslims (which I am extremely opposed to, by the way). Before letting you in, they basically ask you if you are a Muslim, check the name on your passport, and ask you to recite some prayers in Arabic. The Wailing Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and seeing all of the markets in the Old City was also pretty incredible. On our last day in Jerusalem, we took an "political tour" of the region. The tour operator was a Palestinian guy (who was one of the few Palestinians with a Jerusalem ID card), and he drove us around the predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem, showed us some of the Jewish settlements, took us across the infamous checkpoint into the West Bank, and gave us a glimpse into a Palestinian refugee camp (pictured above). Hearing his experiences first hand was pretty shocking to say the least. There was a Jewish couple on the tour with us from New York, and they were equally as shocked by what we saw. The disparity you see from the Jewish settlements in Jerusalem to the Palestinian shacks down the road was incredible. Alright, I need to stop typing now.
You should keep typing IMO, Israel/Palestine is honestly one of the most interesting places in the world. Hopefully one day I'll find some cash to go visit.
I will add one more thing. If you take a look at the last picture I posted, it was taken at a press conference for a Palestinian woman who had become a refugee twice in her lifetime. The first time was back in the day in 1967, and the second time was just recently when the Israeli government demolished her home, claiming that it was on public land (a Jewish settlement occupies the former location of her home, and can be seen in the background of the photo I took). Anyways, during this press conference the Jewish man who now lives on this woman's property came out to taunt not only the poor old woman during the press conference by yelling/cursing/waving his Israeli flag, but everybody at the press conference as well (including myself). From what I heard, he was part of a fanatical sect of Judaism whose adherents are primarily found in Brooklyn, New York (he was an American himself, having relocated to Israel). In the end, the IDF ended up forcing him to stop belittling the crowd. Oh, which reminds me -- I was pretty shocked the see that infamous IDF which we always hear about is made up of what seemed like uninterested Israeli teenagers, both male and female. Anywhere you go in Israel (restaurants, bus stations, airports, shopping malls), you'll see groups of them with rifles slung across their shoulder. Can be quite intimidating.
Israel is colonizing Palestine so that Israel can be as big as possible and Palestine as small as possible. It's kinda sad.
This is the one thing where I can't defend Israel. The argument of the settlers is that they purchased the land. Either way, this is not the first instance and unfortunately won't be the last. If both sides can eliminate the extremists from political power, we can finally get somewhere.
I couldn't agree more. I think there plenty of mistakes made on both sides, but what happens is that the settlers, and extremists on the Palestinian side create problems and then officials end up screwing up things in order make allowances or protect them.
Another interesting thing my Palestinian tour guide said was, "It's not the Israelis that are the problem. It's the Zionists."
Thanks for sharing your story man, I really enjoy hearing stories from people who go there. It's true that it's not the general population that is the problem. That is the case everywhere in the world in almost all conflicts. I think you'll find that 99% of any two populations will get along once they get to know each other. To be able to say that about Palestine-Israel is the best example of that. I really hope that everyone who has contributed to the creation and escalation of this conflict gets what they deserve in the end. Franchise2001, Even in Jewish law, giving someone a self-determined sum of money and taking their property does not constitute a legal purchase. Any sale requires offer and acceptance. However, as I understand it, a Muslim cannot be party to a contract with a Jewish person, so this is a "compromise" of sorts according to the settlers. Please correct me if I'm wrong, this is just what I have conjured up from random conversations with random people.
I'm not sure of the circumstances of the "purchase" of these lands if the settlers just determined the buy price or if there were true negotiations and offer/acceptance. If what you say is true, that Muslims can't be party to a contract with a Jewish person, then we will always be at war.
Even if God came down from the heavens, and proved his existence to every person on the earth, and told us all to get along, humans would still find a reason to hate people different from themselves.
The circumstance is that there is a a tiny minority who sold willingly. Palestinians will say there are none, but that is bullcrap. Then there is a large chunk who were forced into taking a silly amount of money for their assets. Then there were those who refused to be forced, and their land was just taken. Ottomaton, Can you confirm that please? Assuming Muslims fall under the "gentiles" category, how can they possibly enter into a contract under Jewish law since they don't meet the conditions of a person who is able to enter into contracts except as a suboordinate? Would really love to clear this up.
As someone who just spent many pages in a bull-crap thread dealing with spurious fear-mongering accusations that muslims are required to kill non-muslims, I would think you would be able to see through something like this. In simply practical terms, how would the Jews have survived the dispora, living in foreign lands, trading with gentiles if they were bound to not honor contracts? I'm not really sure where to start. It is sort of disproving a conclusion where I don't even understand what it is I'm supposed to be disproving. Perhaps you should tell me specifically what piece of evidence makes you thing this. Is there some specific text that you believe advises this?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3744516,00.html Thought-police is here Rona Kuperboim slams Foreign Ministry’s plan to hire pro-Israel talkbackers Rona Kuperboim Published: 07.10.09, 13:11 / Israel Opinion The Foreign Ministry unveiled a new plan this week: Paying talkbackers to post pro-Israel responses on websites worldwide. A total of NIS 600,000 (roughly $150,000) will be earmarked to the establishment of an “Internet warfare” squad. The Foreign Ministry intends to hire young people who speak at least one language and who study communication, political science, or law – or alternately, Israelis with military experience gained at units dealing with information analysis. Beyond the fact that these job requirements reveal a basic lack of understanding in respect to the dynamics of the online discourse – the project’s manager argued that “adults don’t know how to blog” – they are not too relevant either. An effective talkbacker does not need a law degree or military experience. He merely needs to care about the subject he writes about. The sad truth is that had Israeli citizens believed that their State is doing the right thing, they would have made sure to explain it out of their own accord. Without being paid. Foreign Ministry officials are fighting what they see as a terrible and scary monster: the Palestinian public relations monster. Yet nothing can be done to defeat it, regardless of how many foolish inventions will be introduced and how many bright communication students will be hired. The reason is that good PR cannot make the reality in the occupied territories prettier. Children are being killed, homes are being bombed, and families are starved. Yet nonetheless, the Foreign Ministry wants to try to change the situation. And they have willing partners. “Where do I submit a CV?” wrote one respondent. “I’m fluent in several languages and I’m able to spew forth bull**** for hours on end.” Anti-democratic initiative Any attempt to plant talkbacks online must fail. Especially if the State is behind it. Not only because it’s easy to identify responses made on behalf of someone, but also because it’s anti-democratic. When the Israel Electric Company or other companies do it, it’s annoying. Yet when the State does it, it’s dangerous. Imposters on behalf of the government are threatening free discourse even if they only wander through the virtual space. The Internet was meant to serve as an open platform for dialogue between people, rather than as a propaganda means. Something worrisome is happening here lately. We see the accumulation of silencing attempts. The Nakba Law, the bill calling for a ban on protests outside the homes of politicians, Lieberman’s Loyalty Law, and the biometric information database. The free speech hunting season is on. Thankfully we have the Internet, and it enables us to identify processes, discuss them, warn about them, and join forces against them. We can assume that soon we’ll see the establishment of a website opposed to this new initiative, unless such site already exists. Perhaps even a group on Facebook. I wonder whether all its members will be Foreign Ministry agents, or whether it will also include some real people. This is not a police state: This is a thought-police state.
