My friend Joe and I traveled with our temple in Bellevue, because of the small number of us who were able to make the trip, we were joined by the Temple Beth El from St. Petersburg, Florida. Within the two groups, there were contrasts. The Florida group was lead by their charismatic and learned rabbi (bottom picture on right), we were lead by our Cantor David Serkin-Poole. Each made valuable contributions to our visit. The Florida group was all couples, along with a daughter and seemed to know each other well, while our group mostly left spouses at home and were getting to know each other. Joe and I flew over and back on Air Canada's 787 (middle picture).
It was on this trip that we realized how perilous this country's existence can be. While we visited the Golan, we could see beyond the borders of Syria and Lebanon, both generally hostile countries toward Israel. The trip gave us context into the media's coverage of the country.
The two great cities Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are so close, yet so different. Tel Aviv, is the stylish, cultural center of the country, it is where the State Of Israel was born and is recognized diplomatically as the "capital" Jerusalem (top picture), little more than 50 miles away is so different. It is the spiritual city. It is the hub of three major religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The Arabs and Jews often coexist in harmony. You can often hear the Muslim calls for prayer throughout the day. Arabs are often working alongside Jews.
Our guide Shari (bottom picture left) did an outstanding job teaching and reporting and helping us get to know the country that we love.
There is a lot to be proud of in the State Of Israel, the country was developed from a desert to a fertile country and seems in many ways so peaceful, but being a young country, with so many security issues (you see soldiers both men and women throughout the country) there are so many questions.
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