After traveling to Israel and the West Bank, any pre-trip fears about the dangers in traveling to this region were quickly diminished once we arrived.  Security is definitely a top priority for Israel, almost to the point of paranoia.  Any pandering from the media in regards to instability in this immediate region is somewhat unfounded.  Israel has virtual control over many areas in the West Bank, with the establishment of illegal settlements, illegal checkpoints, and illegal construction of highways through Palestinian owned land.

Unfortunately, most people in the United States are unaware of this illegal occupation by Israel.  Somehow, our media is very negligent in reporting on the oppression of the Palestinians.  Ironically, the very oppression that the Jews experienced in Europe during the first part of the 1900’s, parallels to some extent, what the Palestinians are currently experiencing under the Israeli government.  Apparently human kind doesn’t learn from history.  It’s not right but with the continued unwavering support by the United States government, Israel will continue to be discriminatory in their treatment of the Palestinians.  I can only hope the international community continues to put pressure on Israel and the United States to stop this illegal occupation.  That said, I am glad we traveled to this area.  For anybody looking for a place filled with ancient and modern day history, Israel and Palestine will not disappoint.

As my wife and I planned our trip to Israel, we knew that we wanted to visit areas in the West Bank.  Unfortunately, if you were to rent a car in Israel it cannot be driven into Palestinian controlled areas, such as Bethlehem.  Also, given the previous history of suicide attacks in the region, we did not want to use any public transportation.  We then narrowed our search to either taking a group tour or a private tour.  After reviewing multiple tour operators on Trip Advisor, we came across Shalom Langer Tours which offered private tours.  Shalom Langer is an independent, licensed tour operator in Israel and he offered the flexibility in designing our tours that best fit our time schedule.  Looking back on this decision, booking three separate day trips with Shalom Langer was the best decision of our trip to Israel and Palestine.  Our three day trips with Shalom Langer consisted of a day trip to the biblical north to Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, and Mount Tabor, a day trip to Jerusalem and Bethlehem and a day trip to Masada and the Dead Sea.  Shalom picked us up at our hotel in Tel Aviv at eight in the morning.  Each tour lasted as long as we wanted it to and we never made it back to our hotel in Tel Aviv before seven in the evening.  We never felt rushed once in our three days with Shalom.  If we wanted to see something, he made it happen.  For example, when touring Jerusalem, we wanted to visit Oskar Schindler’s grave on Mount Zion.  Although this was not normally part of his tour to Jerusalem, he had no problem adjusting to what we wanted.  One of the great things about Shalom is that he is very passionate about what he does.  Although he does hundreds of tours a year, his enthusiasm never wavered.  He seemed as excited as us to visit each of the sites.  His knowledge of the different sites was second to none.  The other great thing about Shalom is that he has a very balanced perspective.  Given the tense situation in the region, Shalom really gave both sides of the story.  Although he is passionate about his country, he also gave us perspective about the Palestinians.  While spending eleven hours for three straight days with any tour guide, you want to make sure that they have knowledge but also are easy to talk to and personable.  Shalom was all of these and more.  Shalom was very professional, contacting us via email helping us plan our itinerary.  I look back very fondly on our three days with Shalom Langer and can highly recommend him to anybody looking for a tour guide while visiting Israel.  Here is a link to Shalom’s website: www.shalomlangertours.com

As I traveled through various areas of the West Bank, I started to get a feel for what life must be like as a Palestinian living in an occupied territory.  While driving on the roads leaving Jerusalem, Palestinian villages were easily visible.  I quickly noticed large black containers located on the roofs of Palestinian houses.  I found out these large black containers were filled with water.  Israel controls the vast majority of the water supply to the West Bank.  As such, Israel siphons more of this water toward the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.  Palestinians have limited access to water, sometimes just a couple of days a week.  These water containers allow the Palestinians to have a water supply even in spite of Israel’s unfair distribution.

Next, there is the issue of checkpoints.  While passing back from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, I got the experience of passing through a checkpoint.  It certainly is not a quick process.  We waited in line for probably at least a half hour waiting to have our passport and documents checked by armed Israeli guards.  What makes this so frustrating is that Bethlehem and East Jerusalem are by international law, Palestinian cities.  People who are Palestinian residents cannot freely pass within their own territories due to the illegal occupation by Israel.

 

Besides setting up these check points, Israel has illegally constructed highways through the West Bank that are accessible only for residents of Israel.  If any vehicle with a Palestinian license plate is found driving on one of these highways, the car is usually stopped by Israeli police within minutes.  On the sides of these highways, Israel has constructed large fences with barbed wire for security reasons.    If this measure is deemed necessary by Israel, you have to question why they would build the road in the first place, placing its citizens in danger.

 

The unfortunate part of these highways and checkpoints is that it is a huge inconvenience and detriment to daily life for Palestinians.  On the sides of these highways, there are exits that lead to Palestinian villages. Palestinians who work and need to access these roads are not allowed to by Israel.  In fact, the only way Palestinians can drive on these roads is by getting picked up on the side of the road by a vehicle with an Israel license plate.  In addition, a simple thirty minute drive from one Palestinian village to another may taken several hours and may not even be possible because of the many checkpoints that are encountered in the West Bank.  Israel can decide not to allow Palestinians to pass through checkpoints for no reason.

 

Even more disgusting are the illegal Israeli settlements constructed on Palestinian land.  Israel has bulldozed and acquired Palestinian land without any consent from the Palestinian owners. Often times, Palestinian farm land, rich with olive trees, cannot even be accessed by its owners because of the settlements that have been constructed.  As I traveled through the West Bank, it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth toward the Israeli government.  I understand the plight of the Jewish people however their past history gives them no right for their current treatment of the Palestinians.  Apparently, Israel has not learned from history.  You would think a people with such a tragic history would have a little more respect for fellow human beings but Israel does not.  I was aware of these issues prior to my travels to the region because of reading I had done.  But to see this treatment first hand gave me more insight into this region of the world.  I would encourage everyone to read the book ” Fast Time in Palestine” by Pam Olson.  It is an excellent read for anybody looking for more information.  You quickly start to see why there is hatred toward Israel in the Muslim community and why U.S. support of Israel is so strongly condemned throughout much of the world.