It is easy to make a geopolitical statement. But nothing is more enduring than to make that statement in person by traveling to Israel and vowing at Ben Gurion airport that you will soon return.
Edwin Black..
Frontpagemag.com..
11 April '16..
Defying the Jewish State's enemies through the simple act of traveling.
For a hard-core segment of travelers to Jerusalem, when the sun sets at the Sabbath, the magic in the air is not just the serene image of a peaceful dusk in an enchanted land. It is the empowering knowledge that the sun still shines on a Jewish State surrounded by fiery military and diplomatic turmoil. Israel remains a nation determined to survive and preserve its sense of magnetic amazement. In the minds of many, a visit to Israel is more than just a vacation. It is a geopolitical destination. Traveling to and enjoying Israel makes a statement to the world and to history. It reflects the steeled determination to be happy and fulfilled in one of the most treasured places on earth, despite a virtual siege around every corner.
When in Israel, especially in Jerusalem, everything about your tourism choices is political—which hotel you select, which taxi driver you hire, which bagel you buy, which restaurant you dine at, what fascination you experience, what memories you return home with. Are you buying a half pound of za’atar in Jerusalem’s teeming Jewish market at Machena Yehuda or at the stone-ensconced spice kiosks that line the time-polished lanes of the Old City? Or do you try both?
Anti-Israel sentiment abounds at the café tables of the Ottoman-era American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem, while fierce loyalty to the Jewish State is detected in every corner of the modern David Citadel Hotel. Visitors book their rooms accordingly and create their own comfort zones in the respective lobbies.
Like everything else in the Jewish State, Israel’s tourism industry—that is, its hotels, restaurants, amusements, and visitor services—has achieved a modern miracle. Despite wars and pressures, the nation has honed its travel experience to rival the best in the world. Elegant, constantly upgrading, hotels combine with a robust service and physical infrastructure attractive to any visitor. Exciting restaurants, where both ethnic and modern cuisines operate at the culinary apex, cater to all tastes and budgets. Breathtaking vistas in close proximity offer magnificent desert mountains, frothing Mediterranean shores and beckoning hills. Everywhere, one feels the irresistible lure of ancient history and religious authenticity.
Year to year, more than three million tourists visit Israel. This excludes so-called day “day visitors,” that is, travelers who visit for the day but do not spend 24 hours in the country. Day Visitors include cruise passengers, sightseers crossing the Egyptian border, and airline employee stopovers.
The geo-political dynamic impacts Christian and as well as Jewish tourists. Tourism officials speculate that as of the end of 2015, approximately half its visitors were Christian. From some countries, such as Italy and Poland, the overwhelming majority are not Jewish.
Hard-core tourists to Israel—and indeed many others—are barely deterred from travel during times of high tension. Tourism trend watchers estimate that throughout most of this century, some 90 percent of first-time visitors came for sightseeing and leisure, pilgrimage, or family visits. In 2012, in the wake of Operation Pillar of Defense, with some 4,000 rockets hurtling daily from Gaza, Israeli hotels experienced an initial 10 to 20 percent cancellation rate, but the numbers quickly recovered. In 2014, after Operation Protective Edge and with the advent of the protective Iron Dome, tourism once again bounced back.
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