Despite how the media can present the situation, it is completely safe in traveling to Israel! Despite the "sensationalized" media coverage of the Middle East, we travel without any fear or anxiety. This is what everyone who travels with me to Israel discovers.
While we do not travel to places like Gaza or the heart of the West Bank that are more prone to "tension" than other places in Israel, what you will find as you travel are friendly smiles from both Palestinians and Israelis alike. You will feel entirely safe the entire trip!
As I tell people who inquire about the "safety issue, " being a husband and father of 3, I would not go myself nor would I lead others if I felt that my safety and the group's safety was ever in jeopardy. Statistically, it is safer to travel to Israel than it is to drive a car anywhere here in the states. This applies to travel to Jordan and Egypt as well.
| Below are testimonies about "safety concerns" from my past tours:
"We did not have any safety concerns as there was
a great deal of security present. The border of Israel and Syria was
guarded well. We had three excellent guides and two leaders, John
DeLancey and John Peterson who added spiritual leadership with
scripture readings. This was a spiritual, awesome adventure." "I wanted to take a few moments to thank you for the wonderful tour in Fall of 2007 – it has truly changed my life. Not only has my Bible come alive because I have stood where the stories have taken place, but I had an interesting experience yesterday (Christmas day). One of the questions that has frequently been asked, is whether or not I felt safe. In fact, on this news program yesterday there was a story about how tourism in Bethlehem has fallen off – in part due to the border crossing. I have assured everyone that I did feel safe on the tour." Karen (Indiana) "We have had many people ask us about our trip since we have returned and question if we ever felt "unsafe". We truly felt very safe and confident in the excellent leadership and the preparations that had been made for us. We also enjoyed great fellowship in our tour group and some special times of worship and sharing together. The whole trip was a great experience of learning, reflecting, and then personalizing many things that we saw--we would recommend it very highly!" Lin & Pat (Illinois) "Since returning from our trip people have asked us about the food and our personal safety. We have to say the food was excellent. In response to the safety issue we actually felt safer in Israel/Jordan than we would have in most larger American cities. We thank God for this wonderful travel opportunity and you for all the planning and effort that went into making the journey successful." Bill & Debbie (Pennsylvania) "I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed our tour of Israel and Jordan. The most asked question about our trip was did we feel safe. Absolutely. There was never a cause for any concern whatsoever. I wouldn't hesitate to go back again or recommend it to any of my friends. Also, the hotels we stayed at were first rate and the food was awesome. The service was excellent everywhere we went. The Israeli and Jordanian guides were super, extremely knowledgeable, and patient with all our questions. I am extremely interested in history and archaeology and this trip was right up my alley. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was sad to leave. I would love to return to the Holy Land again, some day, and if I do, I hope to be able to do it with Pastor John. We weren’t disappointed with any aspect of our trip. And once again, we never felt 'unsafe' throughout the entire trip!" Thanks so much, Jim
(Missouri)
"We just arrived home today from the Israel trip. We had a WONDERFUL time and couldn't have had better conditions while there. It was quiet and we never once felt any concern for our safety. Pastor John and our guides took such good care of us and work long hours to see that we get to do many things that most groups don't do. They go above the "call to duty", and we are very thankful. We would like to recommend that you use them as a team with those who go and don't have a person that they usually work with. We hope more tourist will begin to go there. We just must not let the terrorist win by not traveling. We are as safe in most places around the world as we are here." Jean (Texas)
"When Pastor John said he feels safer in Israel than driving a car here in the states, he was right. While my family worried for my safety the whole time, I had to call every night to tell them not to worry about anything. They finally believed me by the 3rd time I called. We found everyone so very friendly. We also went on all the optional walks Pastor John offers at night while in Jeruasalem without any concern whatsoever. It's too bad that our media gives a very different perspective of Israel than what really goes on. I would go again in a heartbeat. Fran (Ohio)
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