Israel is a great place to raise families? The American mom of the two children on the left made this statement to me. It may sound surprising, but I can see why she says it. As I blogged earlier, statistically, it’s safer here than living in California. But here’s the proof: children as young as five years old walk themselves home from school. They are from good families and have responsible parents–but there’s no need to fear for their safety the way I would as a mom in the US. That was one of the strangest sights in downtown Jerusalem and other parts of the country. I love America and have no plans to move to Jerusalem, but I do have to acknowledge the startling contrast in other cultures.The photo on the right is me at Mt. Carmel, where Elijah battled the prophets of Ba’al and God allowed him to win the victory. The guide reminded us that according to the story, Queen Jezebel got so angry that she swore she’d take his life. Then he ran and got so discouraged that he sat by a Juniper tree and wanted to die. This is a good lesson to remember that when we battle our own “Jezebels” we don’t have to live a defeated life.
We’ve also seen the western wall, garden of Gethsemane, Via Delarosa, the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, Golgotha, the (empty) tomb, and dozens of other sites. The tour was put on for us by the Ministry of Tourism and they kept us (a group of journalists) busy 10 to 14 hours a day–we got the most out of our time away from home.
This whirlwind trip is about at an end and our small group was able to do twice as much in 1/2 the time. But after vising 50 sites, the photo on the left was the highlight of my trip, getting to see a precocious pilot and a pretty princess having fun in a restaurant. Their dad runs a great tour group site that will work with larger groups as well as families to help make this dream trip affordable.
I'm also an American mom living in Israel with children. Everyday life is great here, but living through the 2006 war was frightening. Three rockets hit within 15 minutes of our house. Plus, there is the ever present threat of Iran. Having said all that though, it is a great place — full of history and very friendly people.