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The idea that tourism in Israel is totally dead \u201cis completely wrong,\u201d says Israel\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Israel Katz, and Americans are leading the way in restoring the presence of the international community in the Bible Land.<\/p>\n
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BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Last week, there was an unremarkable municipal election in Israel. Almost four million Israelis went to the polls to cast their votes for ordinary, local politicians. Earlier in the month, the great success of Israel\u2019s annual Dead Sea Marathon<\/strong> had already proven that a return to normalcy regarding the country\u2019s time-honored events is imminent. Universities, museums, shopping centers and tourist attractions have resumed normal operations, and over two-thirds of the military reservists have been released and reunited with their families.<\/p>\n Most European airlines have already resumed service to Israel, but now U.S. airlines are following suit. United Airlines conducted a detailed safety analysis with security experts and government officials in the United States and Israel. CEO Scott Kirby said, \u201cLast year I indicated we\u2019d be the first U.S. airline to resume flying to Israel and that time has come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll legacy carriers have indicated an interest in resuming service… They seem aware that there is strong demand for nonstop flights despite the current situation<\/em>,\u201d said Chad Martin, the Israel Ministry of Tourism\u2019s director of the U.S. Northeast region. \u201cThese groups are sprouting out of the ground. It’s grassroots. Largely it’s from those bases of people that have been to Israel. And they are wanting to show support and volunteering.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the number of tourists in Israel has been rising steadily in the months since the attack by Hamas on October 7th<\/sup>, up to 2,500-3,000 tourists per day. President of Ya\u2019lla Tours, Ronen Paldi, says that his company has clients traveling to Israel as early as May, following Passover. Paldi himself lives in Tel Aviv and has remained there throughout the war.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best way to support Israel is to visit Israel. The safety of tourists is our top priority,\u201d said Haim Katz, Israel\u2019s Minister of Tourism.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n TRAVELING IN SOLIDARITY<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Traditionally, more than one-third of all tourists to Israel are American. Understandably, many American Jewish communities were among the first groups to travel to Israel in the aftermath of tragedy. \u201cThe Israelis were effusive in their appreciation. We heard this a lot, \u2018Without the United States and the American Jews, we\u2019re not sure where we\u2019d be today.\u2019 <\/em>I encourage every Jew in America to go to Israel and show your support because it means a lot to them,\u201d said Jordy Levy of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.<\/p>\n \u201cOne soldier I met, originally from Iran and dusty from his time in Gaza, was eager to know how American Jews were holding up in the face of rising antisemitism. In Israel, people feel they are in this fight together, so the idea of being a Jew with neighbors who have turned on you frightens them,\u201d recounted Alison Leigh Cowan, a former New York Times journalist, to the independent Jewish publication, Forward.<\/em><\/p>\n In addition to Jewish groups, the Jerusalem Post reported that the number of Evangelical tour groups on solidarity missions in Israel has surged since December. More than one-half of all tourists to Israel are Christian. Christians for Israel, a Dutch-based group, organized one of the first delegations to Israel following October 7th<\/sup>. One of the delegation\u2019s activities involved planting tulips, the Dutch\u2019s national flower, in Sderot.<\/p>\n \u201cThe massacre that was perpetrated on us on October 7th<\/sup> brought us back to dark days, days in which we rediscovered the resilience of the people living in Zion,\u201d said Minister of Tourism Haim Katz while visiting the United States. \u201cThe support and messages of solidarity from the Christian community were a great light for us in the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n Many Christian delegations visiting Israel already have established relationships with Israeli communities near Gaza, to which Christian organizations have been donating for years because Hamas has targeted those communities with rocket fire since 2001.<\/p>\n \u201c[The events of October 7th<\/sup>] have dwarfed the issues we had before, and really deepened the Christian world\u2019s attachment to Israel,\u201d said David Parsons, who was born in North Carolina but has been living in Israel for 30 years with his wife and son.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yallatours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/western-wall-boy-noam-chen.jpg\")
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