| Frequently Asked Questions
There are many questions that you may want to ask
about traveling in the Middle East. Click on a question to view
the answer, or scroll down the page to read them all. If you do
not see your question listed, email
us and we will try to get you the information you need. The
answers presented here are provided by our associates in Israel
who have lived and worked in Israel in the travel industry for nearly
30 years
Will I be safe on
this trip?
No one can totally guarantee safety... not your church, your
community, nor your doctor or dentist. However, we 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, D.C.
There are risks everywhere in life, things we assume are safe --
because they are part of our everyday life -- often carry the most
risk.[back to list]
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:
- One out of every 4,300 Americans die 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
dies in accidents
- One out of every 4.5 million Americans dies in
terrorist attacks - in U.S. and
overseas.[back to list]
What are my chances of
being involved in as act of terrorism?
In 1996, the State Department estimated your chance of being
involved in an act of terrorism (in the U.S. and overseas) is very
low: Just 1 in 4,775,210.
Meanwhile, the FBI reports there were over 1,500
bomb explosions within the USA in 1995, which resulted in the death
of 193 persons and injury to over 400. The U.S. Department of Vital
Statistics estimated that there was one murder every 24 minutes
in the USA during 1995 for a total of 21,597 deaths.
How can we make this claim that you are safer in
Israel than in the USA?
Here are the reasons we can make this claim:
- 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 U.S. city, including your home town! (In 1995, L.A. County
had over 2,000 violent deaths while Israel had less than 400).
- It is a relatively small area... just 50 miles
wide and 150 miles long. It is easy for our office to keep a watchful
eye on situations in various regions of he country.
- Since our first Holyland trip we have not had
even a minor incident.
- To our knowledge, no Christian Pilgrim from the
U.S.A. has been killed in Israel during the last 30 years.[back
to list]
What safety precautions
do we take?
- We have a full-time office in Jerusalem staffed
by local people who know the area well because they live and work
there.
- We use a private bus company:
These are Tourist Motor coaches, not the public
buses which locals use and which are occasionally targeted.
Only our passengers and staff are allowed to board
our buses.
All of our buses stay in contact with our office
and bus company via radio and/or cell phone. [back
to list]
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
interviewers are trained to look for telltale signs of nervousness
and untrue statements. They are very good at their job, and they
take it very seriously! In addition, all luggage is x-rayed before
being placed on board the aircraft or the plane will not take off.[back to list]
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.[back to list]
The "West Bank" is often
talked about in the news (now known as the Palestinian Authority
or Judea and Samaria). Is it really that different from the rest
of Israel?
You often may not even realize when you enter the West Bank,
which is now known as Judea and Samaria by many Israelis. Parts
of the West Bank are now under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
Security exists, but those who are visiting may be too busy looking
at the amazing sites to even spot it.
At other times, you will know when you enter or
leave the Palestinian Authority. For example: when you enter into
Bethlehem or Jericho, you will pass road blocks manned by soldiers.
Because we will be riding a "tourist bus" and we all look like tourists,
we will be waved through. (The bus company and our organization
are held responsible for the people on board.) [back
to list]
Will we be going into
the Palestinian Authority?
Yes, but only certain areas. Just like most towns, there are
places where you would never go and other places you would avoid
after dark. The Palestinian Authority is the same. Most areas are
just fine, and, as the economic basis of the Palestinian Authority
is tourism, they welcome tourists with open arms as do the Israelis.[back
to list]
Where exactly will we be
going when we are in the Palestinian Authority?
The hotels we use in the Western "Israeli" part of Jerusalem,
Bethlehem, and Jericho are both in the Palestine Authority. Both
areas have remained on tourist itineraries and welcome visitors.[back
to list]
I've heard they often
"close" the West Bank. What happens if we are in the West Bank when
the officials close it down?
Even when the West Bank is closed, tourists are usually still
allowed access to the sites. Tourists and their guides can still
enter and return. Although we have not needed to recently, we always
reserve the right to change the itinerary if we feel we need to
do so. We will never take a group to any area where there is even
the slightest tension, and we have never missed even one site from
an itinerary. There may be some stone throwing in Bethlehem on a
certain Monday -- in this case our group will visit Bethlehem the
next day. [back to list]
Doesn't the State
Department have a special advisory in effect for travelers to the
Middle East?
Yes, but nearly always for countries other than Israel.
A similar advisory has been in effect for the last dozen years or
so. Our office in the U.S. monitors the State Department's advisories,
and, with the exception of the Gulf War period, it has changed little
over the past decade. During the last 10 years, millions of Americans
have greatly enjoyed their visit to the Holyland. More terrorist
bombs explode in London and Paris than in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
And, of course, more terrorist bombings occur in the U.S.A. every
year than in Europe and Israel combined.[back
to list]
The situation in the Middle
East, especially in Israel and Palestine, looks so worrisome on
the TV. What explanations 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, D.C.
* 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 facts produce the "Sabra Syndrome"
* The smallest story is reported by network news -- sometimes
"news" is invented
* Similar stories in the U.S.A. are never reported on the network
news -- can you imagine a CNN report of youth throwing stones
in Fresno or New York?
* The media picks what will be big news. For example: when
stones are thrown in Bethlehem, it will usually be shown on TV
even when nobody is hurt. But when tens of thousands of Americans
each year die from car accidents, drugs, or alcohol, it is virtually
unnoticed by the press. A little more perspective is called for!
[back to list]
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 4,000 while your chances of being killed by
terrorism are less that 1 in 4.5 million.
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