Tourists regaining confidence in Israel

Tourists regaining confidence in Israel

In the millennium year 2000, Israel was flooded with 2.7 million tourists. Two years later, that number had declined by 68 percent to 860,000. The reason? The second Palestinian intifada.
Instead of the peace for which people prayed as the new millennium dawned, Israel was plunged into a running battle of violence, injury and death, and Christian pilgrims stayed away in droves.
Now the intifada is history as Israelis and Palestinians grapple together to make peace. But the question lingers in the minds of many — is it safe to travel in Israel?
Part of the answer may be found in statistics. No tourist to Israel has been killed or injured by terrorist activities in the last three years. 
Israeli officials point to the 700-kilometer barrier (about 430 miles) that separates mainly Jewish Israel from the mainly Palestinian West Bank. Since its construction, there has been a drop in terrorist activities of 97 percent, according to David Baker, a spokesman for the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
“We see the barrier as a lock on Israel’s front door,” Baker told a group of Baptist state paper editors during a briefing in Jerusalem. “We call it a wall to prevent wailing.” 
Yona Yahav, mayor of Haifa in the northern part of Israel, agreed. “It (the barrier) is a signal that I can allow my family in public places without fear of them getting blown up,” he told the editors.
Yahav recalled that Haifa experienced four bus bombings during the intifada and each was aimed at a cooperative work of Jews and Arabs. “The bombers deliberately tried to drive us apart,” he said. “But they failed. … [W]e honor our fellow citizen — Jew, Muslim or Christian.”
Part of the answer to whether travel is safe may be the ever-present security forces. Americans are shocked to see soldiers with weapons slung over their shoulders as they lounge on the steps of a building or wait for a bus. But in Israel, soldiers in uniform are expected to carry their weapons at all times.
Soldiers on duty
Walking along a trail in the national park around Caesarea Philippi, climbing Masada or walking the ancient streets of Jerusalem, there is the ever-present soldier complete with automatic weapon.
Part of the answer may be the economy. Tourism is the largest industry in Israel, and tourism and terrorism do not mix. The West Bank is equally impacted by terrorism as Bethlehem has experienced a precipitous decline in the number of tourists who visit annually.
Bethlehem is a historic Christian city. An evangelical church in the area averages more than 1,000 in attendance each week. Yet the Christian community is dwindling because of Muslim pressures and a failing economy. Without tourism, it is almost impossible to earn a living there.
Palestinians and Jews both need tourist dollars, and that reality may be part of the answer as to why tourists are safe once again.
The presence of U.N. observers may also be part of the answer. Whatever the reason, it is now safe to travel in Israel and tourists are responding. In 2007, tourism almost equaled its 2000 level. Officials are hoping to reach the 3-million mark soon.