Last tour day

Today was the final tour day here in Israel.  I wish it would never end.  We visited Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran and finished the day floating in the Dead Sea.  Masada was the last stronghold of the Zealot Jews in about 70 AD when the Romans crushed the Jewish revolt in Israel.  At Masada every man, woman, and child were put to death because they realized they were defeated.  It is a sad story but it helped to shed some light on the mindset of the Israeli people in this current crisis in Gaza.  In Masada the Jews were surrounded on all sides with absolutely no other options.  Many feel the same oppression on all sides now:  Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.  Not to mention the threats to them as a nation that exist from Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terror groups.  They have always it seems had this sense of fear about them and the fact that if they did not fight for themselves, in fact, no one would.

I'm not condoning the hundreds of people dead in Gaza right now, but I think things are a lot more complex than many of us in the United States would like to admit.  On one side we only see Israel not being wanted to exist and that they need to fight for everything.  On the other side is the fact that the Israeli army is reportedly responsible for almost 1,000 deaths in the Gaza strip right now.  As I said before our primary concern should be to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem and not taking sides and viewing one side as better and more moral than the other.  Because the fact is that neither side has been completely in the right and you can't give one the moral high position over the other.

Just thought that would be something to think about as you process the plethora of news headlines that are thrown out there today from every single direction.

Peace to You,

-AM

Safe Travels in Israel?

Because of the increased activity in Israel over this past weekend I thought I would write and give everyone a heads up on my situation for travels in that region.  I received and email from my professor in charge of the trip yesterday informing us more about the current conflict occurring right now.

Just for anyone that may be concerned we have all been assured that we are completely safe to be traveling in Israel right now.  Here is what Professor Notley said in regards to this recent incident:  

The main question for us as travelers to Israel is, "Is it dangerous to travel to Israel at this time?"  With complete honesty we have to answer "No, it is not too dangerous to travel to Israel at this time."

He also commented that:

With firsthand knowledge of the land, scores of contacts to keep us well informed, an understanding of the political conflicts, and with a history of teaching, traveling and living in the midst of the present Israeli-Palestinian conflict we are confident that our January 2009 program to Israel will be a success and a blessing to all.

I do ask that in light of this that you still be praying that God would have his hand on our group over there and that we would be kept safe in the midst of troubles and that it would indeed but a successful and blessed time for everyone participating.

Stay classy,

-AM