Why is Israel so controversial? Here’s what I learnt on my first visit
You shouldn’t believe everything you read
Wheels screech on sweltering tarmac as the thick rubber of a British Airways Boeing 747 touches down in Ben Guiron Airport.
The capsuled plane doors open with a hiss.
It’s quite a crowd; Israeli’s returning home, curious tourists with luggage, large and small families and the odd suspicious looking character; all pile out and follow the snaking corridor from plane to the arrival lounge.
The airport is modern, clean and extremely efficient, we whizz through a brief questioning at security, hop on to an assisted walkway, glide past duty-free, before being spat out onto the airport concourse.
It’s hot. It’s bloody, bloody hot.
I get my first taste of the Israeli sunshine on the unforgiving baroness of the forecourt, nowhere to hide, no shade, but boy is it glorious. My pale English complexion laps it up with unbridled eagerness (it’s horribly grey and overcast in London at this time of year).
My fiancee’s parents had moved to Israel nine years ago and this was to be my first visit of her home away from home.
I was excited and very curious to see what Israel had in store.
Since it’s birth as a state in 1948, Israel has always been followed and often riddled with media controversy, a quick Google search will do enough to heighten your suspicions. Our Western media has a consistently negative narrative.
That negative narrative may have some grounding but from the offset I was taken aback by the sheer kindness and warmth of the Israeli’s.
From the Kibbutz’s of Jerusalem, the beaches of Tel-Aviv, the artisan quarters of Jaffa, the rolling mountains of Masada; people were getting on with their lives, living and working side by side Palestinian and Jew and as visitors, we felt welcomed.
It seriously makes you question whether much of the tabloid is simply peddled for commercial gain, because after all, the stories about Israel sell.
Jerusalem is really something to behold. The crucible of the world’s religions (Dome of the Rock pictured above), the birthplace of modern society, the home to Jewish, Muslim and Christian hearts, a very contested strip of land.
There’s such a deep sense of faith and appreciation for life here, that you can’t help but immediately be captured by the beauty of the people and the landscape.
Unlike the Western world, where we’re always chasing progress and personal improvement these peoples are far more content, far more connected to the day to day beauty of regular life.
This is a functioning nation, a prospering economy, a thriving community and a melting pot of faith and ethnicity, but it’s working.
And Israel deserves no less or no more scrutiny than the rest of the world, it deserves to be judged to the same standards.
After my visit, after witnessing the place with my own eyes, I can’t help but feel that the Israeli’s are over-scrutinised, over analysed and it’s important not to wholly believe everything you read in the New York Times or similar.
I’d encourage the reader to visit Israel themselves, to forge your own opinion and build your own interpretation of the controversies that surround this fascinating nation.
If you’d like to read more about my trip to Israel, I’ve written a day-by-day series entry on Medium; picking out my favourite cafes, beach spots and much, much more. Check it out here
Peace. X
