Israel Trip 2008!   

        

  Click here for a PDF of the Israel flyer

     Will we be safe?

Will I be safe on this trip?
This is perhaps one of the most often asked questions asked by those considering going to Israel.  In one simple answer - yes - this is a safe trip.

That is the key question someone considering this trip must ask—and
answer—to his or her satisfaction. On this page we will detail what we are
doing to minimize risk and to ensure the safety of our group.

Now, no one can totally guarantee safety... not your church, your community, not your doctor or dentist. However, I can say that you will be safer on your journey to the Land of the Bible than during a similar length trip to New York City or Washington DC.

Here are some reasons to feel safe going to Israel

Statistics

• Security on planes bound for the Middle East is much more strict than security on flights within the USA (domestic).
• Security in Israel is much more strict than in the USA.
• The crime rate in Israel is much lower than the typical US city, including your home town! (In 1995, LA County had over 2000 violent deaths while Israel had less than 400.).
• There have been no terrorist incidents to those who touring Israel in the last 30+ years.   Think about this, literally thousands and thousands of tourists are visiting Israel daily.  Yet, the incidents that make news - have never happen to such a group. 
• Yet in the USA, one murder takes place every 24 minutes
• In the USA an average of 1500 bombs explod each year, killing an average of 193 and injuring 417 persons
• Your chance of being involved in an act of terrorism (within the USA or overseas) is just 1 in 4,775,210

Problems in Israel are often misrepresentative of the whole nation

For anyone who watches the news, Israel appears to be an extremely dangerous place. And, in some parts of the country, that might be true. However, the reports on television and in the newspapers focus so intensely on these isolated events that they make the problem seem more widespread than it really is. The vast majority of Israel is, statistically, safer than any urban area in the United States. The violence and  terrorism in Israel has been centered in very specific areas and often occurs at very specific times. These include:

• The public transportation system, especially the Egged Bus Line, bus stops, and some commuter trains.
• Discotheques, nightclubs, schools, malls, and other locations where Israeli teenagers and young adults congregate.
• Jewish residential areas, including Tel Aviv, Hadera, Netanya, and Haifa which are located on the coast near the West Bank.
• The Gaza Strip and the West Bank, especially where Jewish settlements are in close proximity to Arab population centers (such as Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Hebron, and Ramallah).
• Jewish markets just prior to the beginning of the Sabbath (Friday afternoon), Jewish night spots and pedestrian malls just after the end of the Sabbath (Saturday night), and during Jewish religious
  holidays (Passover, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, etc.).
  

The following steps have been taken on this tour to avoid places and times where violence has occurred:

• The tour agency we use has a full-time office in Jerusalem staffed by local people who know the area well because they live and work there.  They take this all very seriously and continually monitor the situation in and around Israel.  At the slighest concern - they will reroute our tour away from any and all danger. 
• We will use a private motorcoach, not public transportation, for the
  entire trip.These are Tourist Motorcoaches, not the public busses which locals use and which are occasionally targeted.Only our passengers & staff are allowed to board our busses.All of our busses stay in contact with our office and the bus company via a radio and/or a cell phone.
• We will not travel into the West Bank or Gaza Strip. (We will not
  visit Hebron, Samaria, or Shechem/Nablus because they are
  located in the West Bank.)
• We will not visit Tel Aviv, Haifa or the other modern Jewish cities
  located on the coast near the West Bank. (They have no biblical
  significance.)
• When in Jerusalem, we will avoid malls, schools, and other modern
  sites.We will remain in constant contact with the land operator
  throughout the trip. Should any potential problem arise, we will
  immediately change our itinerary to remain clear of any trouble
  spot.
• We take the safety of the group very seriously, and we expect all
  participants to follow these precautions. Any individual who violates the safety rules established for the group will be asked to return home early at his or her own expense.
  
  

What safety precautions does the airline take:
When boarding a plane for the Middle East, travelers are questioned about who packed their luggage and whether they actually own the bag. Sometimes they are asked about the purpose of the trip, who they are traveling with and who they know in the Middle East. The questioners are trained to look for tale-tell signs of nervousness and untrue statements. They are very good at their job and they take it very seriously! In addition, luggage is x-rayed before being placed onboard the plane and every bag must have a passenger onboard the plane or the plane will not depart.

What is the security situation in Israel?
Israel is one of the most security conscious societies you will ever encounter. Leave a bag, even a paper bag, unattended for a few moments and it will be swished away by security or surrounded by police.

Doesn't the State Department have a special advisory in affect for travelers to the Middle East?
Yes, and a similar advisory has been in affect for the last dozen years or so. Our office in the US monitors the State Department's advisories and, with the exception of the Gulf War period, it has changed little over the past decade.

The situation in the Middle East, especially Israel and Palestine, looks so worrisome on the TV.
What explanation can you give?
Yes, on TV it looks bad. Here's why:

TV is a microscope; true perspective is lost

• everything seems big
• everything seems close

Journalists must justify their jobs

• there are almost as many journalists in the Jerusalem area as in Washington DC
• each journalist must justify an expensive overseas assignment
• each journalist is trying to make a name by presenting the most dramatic version of a news story.

These two factors produce the "Sabra Syndrome"

• smallest story is reported by network news
• similar stories in US are never reported on the network news
• the media picks what will be big news. For example, when five people die in Jerusalem, the media makes it front page news; however, when 17,000 US citizens die in alcohol related accidents each year, the media hardly notices.

Risk in Perspective

Can you put the risk into a perspective I can understand?
Risk is something we live with every day.
Just because something is familiar does not mean there is no risk. Here are some examples:

Each Year...

• One out of every 4,300 American dies in auto accidents
• One out of every 20,000 American swimmers drowns
• One out of every 68,000 Americans chokes to death on food
• One out of every 75,000 American bicycle riders die in accidents
• One out of every 4.5 million Americans die in terrorist attacks (in US and Overseas)

There are risks everywhere in life; things we assume are safe -- because they are a part of our everyday life -- often carry the most risk. Your chances of being killed in a car accident are 1 in 4000 while your chances of being killed by terrorism are less than 1 in 4.5 million.