Introduction to Israel

After a year of planning, and with sheckels and euros in hand, our grand adventure is about to begin.  After a brief overnight stay in Chicago with Doug and a quick stop for a pedicure (hey a girl's toes need to look good), we are departing Chicago for Tel Aviv, with a connection in Vienna, Austria.  Our first tour is a16-day land tour with Overseas Adventure Travel -- Israel:  The Holy Land and Timeless Cultures.  This tour will take us to Tel Aviv, the modern, cosmopolitan city in Israel, Jerusalem, the capital and perhaps the most religious area in the world, Nazareth, Bethlehem, the Sea of Galilee, Masada, and the Dead Sea.

For a country the size of New Jersey, Israel has seen its share of conflict and wars.  According to the Jewish people, the Bible tells the story of their history.  Abraham and Sarah were the first Jews, and Jewish tradition teaches that Abraham left Ur (in modern Iraq) and settled in Canaan because he was asked by God to do so.  They also believe that God promised the Land of Israel to Abraham as a homeland to his descendants. Abraham had two sons -- Ishmael with his wife's handmaiden and first born and Isaac with his wife Sarah.  Unfortunately for the Jewish state, the Muslims believe that this is their land as a result of Ishmael being the firstborn of Abraham.   Muslims believe they are the inheritors of Ishmael’s legacy – that they, along with Jews and Christians, are the “children of Abraham”. Ismael is recognized as the ancestor of several prominent Arab tribes and Muslims also believe that  Muhammad  was the descendant of Ismael, who would establish a great nation as promised by God in the Old Testament.

After centuries of wanderings, exile, Diaspora (settling of Jews outside of Israel), discrimination, and death at the hand of Hitler, Israel gained its homeland on 14 May 1948 when the United Nations established the modern state of Israel.  The following day the first of several wars (War of Independence) with neighboring Islamic nations broke out.  These wars included the Suez (Sinai) Campaign (1956), Six Day War (1967), War of Attrition (1969-1970), Yom Kippur War (1975), War in Lebanon (1982-1985), and the Intifada (1987-1993).  As a result of these wars, parts of the land in this area has changed hands several times.  Following several peace agreements, one with Egypt, one with Jordan, and another with Yasir Arafat, the Sinai was returned to Egypt, the border between Israel and Jordan was agreed upon, and partial independence was given by Israel to the residents of the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.  And today, the Old City of Jerusalem best exhibits the different cultures and events that have molded the Holy Land into its present form. It is revered by members of the Jewish, Islamic and Christian faiths, and they all seemingly get along together in the small area that contains the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (believed to be the site of Christ's burial and resurrection; Dome of the Rock, the site where Abraham almost sacrificed his son (Ishmael for Muslims, Isaac for Jews and Christians) and the site were Muhammed began the Night Journey before ascending to heaven; and the Western Wall, one of the few remaining remnants of the Second Temple and considered the holiest site in all of Judaism.

With this backdrop of differing cultures, religious history, and constant conflict that is the Middle East and Israel, we are ready to begin our trip.