WARNINGS A WAY OF LIFE ISRAELIS BRAVE DANGERS TO ENJOY THE WORLD AROUND THEM.Byline: Erik N. Nelson JERUSALEM - EVEN at the height of the Palestinian intifada The Palestinian Intifada may refer to:
Peninsula, northeastern Egypt. Located between the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea, it covers some 23,500 sq mi (61,000 sq km). to swim among its brilliant coral reefs coral reefs, limestone formations produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals, colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate (limestone). , windsurf or just relax on its quiet white beaches. And after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks - carried out by Saudis and Egyptians - scared American tourists from this ``Red Sea Riviera The Red Sea Riviera consists of the resort cities lying on the western shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and along the eastern shore of mainland Egypt south of the Gulf of Suez. This long stretch of coast line is referred to as the Red Sea Riviera. ,'' the Israelis kept coming in numbers in numbered parts; as, a book published in numbers. See also: Number so great that they were forced to wait hours behind thousands of their countrymen to get back into Israel after the sun set on Yom Kippur Yom Kippur [Heb.,=day of atonement], in Judaism, the most sacred holy day, falling on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishri (usually late September or early October). It is a day of fasting and prayer for forgiveness for sins committed during the year. . My wife, son and I found ourselves among them a year ago, crossing into Egypt between the barren Sinai mountains and the Hilton Hotel, where an explosion killed dozens of people Thursday night. Across the street from the Hilton complex, which hugs the coast and a fence enclosing the border crossing, we negotiated for a Bedouin van to take us two hours to Dahab, and then waited an additional 45 minutes for the van to load up with Israelis. Many of them young and fearless, arguing loudly in Hebrew with our driver over the fare, the wait and the handling of luggage on top of the cramped vehicle. I cringed to see that the former enemies weren't being extra kind to each other, and cringed again when some of the 13 passengers began singing Israeli folk songs as we bounced along the windy, unlit Egyptian road. Here were some brave travelers, I thought. On Thursday morning, I met two other courageous travelers as I crossed back into Israel from Jordan. Two Hebrew University Hebrew University of Jerusalem, at Mt. Scopus, Givat Ram, Ein Karem, and Rehovot, Israel; coeducational. First proposed in 1882, formally opened 1925. It is the world's largest Jewish university and is noted for its work on the Dead Sea Scrolls. students who had visited Petra - one who told me, ``It was scary,'' while the other one rolled his eyes and dismissed his companion's angst. Again, I could understand that fear, considering that more than half of Jordan's population is Palestinian. On the way to the border from Amman, my Palestinian driver, an otherwise amiable fellow, told me how Israeli women tourists would cross the border to infect Jordanians with AIDS by sucking on toothpicks and putting them back on restaurant tables. ``It's what I heard,'' he said. But Sinai is the land of friendly Bedouins, and seemingly not the same country that contains Cairo, where they still celebrate the Yom Kippur War Yom Kippur War: see Arab-Israeli Wars. as a great victory against the Israelis. Our first visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of that war, which was followed by peace overtures and, in 1979, the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty and return of the peninsula to Egypt. After our Bedouin driver finally got rolling, the van had to pass through several police checkpoints, giving the impression that the Egyptians were serious about protecting their tourists - in particular the Israelis who were so eager to pay for the generous hospitality of their recent foes. Before this year's high holidays, the Israeli government issued warnings to its citizens to avoid travel to Egypt because of the security situation. This year, the travel advisory included a specific threat to Israelis in Sinai for the Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year) weekend. After some particularly bloody fighting in the southern Gaza Strip Gaza Strip (gäz`ə), (2003 est. pop. 1,330,000) rectangular coastal area, c.140 sq mi (370 sq km), SW Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea adjoining Egypt and Israel, in what was formerly SW Palestine. , defense sources told Israeli media that the military's work in Gaza had thwarted the planned attack. Whether any particular attack was, in fact, thwarted, it didn't matter. I read an Israeli newspaper article in which travel agents reported that there had been no mass cancellations after the warning was issued. Little wonder. It seems every tourist getaway season brings new warnings, and the more daring Israelis continue to shrug it off with a ``Ma lasoht'' - what can be done? After all, if you're not safe in downtown Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, how bad can Taba be? In fact, resorts in Taba, Sharm-el-Sheikh and Nuweiba had, until Thursday, been quite safe, not to mention welcoming. Hotels in Sinai even serve kosher-for-Passover meals for when the Children of Israel The Children of Israel, or B'nei Yisrael (בני ישראל) in Hebrew (also B'nai Yisrael, B'nei Yisroel or Bene Israel) is a Biblical term for the Israelites. make their annual exodus from the Land of Milk and Honey land of milk and honey land of fertility and abundance. [O.T.: Exodus 3:8, 33:3; Jeremiah 11:5] See : Abundance land of milk and honey proverbial ideal of plenty and happiness. [Western Cult. back into the land of their bondage and suffering. Then on Yom Kippur, when every institution, save for emergency services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' and the military, shuts down, and most of Israel parks its cars, hordes more Israelis escape to the Hiltons and Hyatts and Holiday Inns of Sinai, some staying through the end of Sukkot. We asked one of the passengers in our van, ``Do you plan to fast?'' ``I'll fast between meals,'' he laughed as we lurched through the darkness. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) An Israeli tourist walks past the damaged Hilton Hotel in Taba, Egypt, on Friday, the day after a massive explosion. Amr Nabil/Associated Press (2) An Israeli rescue worker walks through the explosion site. |
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