Arrival

(written late at night in the Tiberias Sheraton)

Departure went without a hitch on the typically efficient TTC connection to the airport. I was nervous about the flight being too long, and my fears seemed realized when hour 6 rolled by and we were still somewhere over the Atlantic. At the rear of the plane a number of young Jews were traveling to Israel as part of the Birthright program. They were very excited and rowdy which made sleep nearly impossible. Movies were Eragon (awesomely bad), Bridget Jones (silly and bad), and Dreamgirls (not watched). No personal TV, sadly.

Somehow the flight eventually ended after a very quick and twisty approach. Later, watching the planes fly slowly over the beaches of Tel Aviv, I could see why they might want to get the approach over with. Customs was slow, perhaps because it was only 11am. Nonetheless, a Canadian with Pakistani-Saudi roots in our party was detained (in the end) for 6 hours. We left ahead of him -- little we could do -- and, after a quick stop at the hotel, headed for old Jerusalem with our guide, Tsvi Sperber.

Tzvi is a British-born Orthodox Jew who speaks English with a broad (midlands?) accent. He also speaks quick Hebrew. He came to Israel in his 20s and now works as a guide and historian, after spending a few years doing archaeology. Throughout the trip he was knowledgeable and efficient.

Due to the late arrival from the airport, our tour of Jerusalem was very fast, and we rushed through a variety of sites/sights. At one point we stopped at the supposed Tomb of David (King of the Jews), and conjointly room of the Last Supper. Tsvi pointed out these designations were highly improbable and that it was more likely the Crusaders, looking for tourist money, who named the sites.

We also saw the Western Wall, Armenian quarter, Temple Mount, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Fortunately Tzvi is very approachable and essentially a walking Wikipedia on Israel and religion, so I still learned a lot. My biggest impression was the intense, almost rapturous behaviour of Jews and Christians at their holy sites. We also rendez-voued with our lost sheep, who had successfully convinced the guards he was harmless.

Our hotel was the Mount Zion, which overlooks the Jericho Gate and the old city opposite. Before the 1967 war, the road beside the hotel was No Man's Land between the Jordanian and Israeli positions (after the 1948 war). The grounds of the hotel are splendid with blossoms.

After a quick freshening up we headed off to meet the hosts of the trip, Larry and Judy Tanenbaum. Dinner was at a replica Bedouin encampment overlooking the Judean desert and the Jordan valley. Larry Tanenbaum is a of average height with loose facial features but piercing and perceptive blue eyes. He is the part owner of Maple Leaf Sports, and until a few days before the trip was watching his team, the Raptors, in the playoffs. His wife, Judy, the principle organizer, is slightly shorter, dressed crisply and expensively, looking tastefully young. They were both genuinely happy to meet the recipients of their fellowship. Also at the dinner was Haim Divon, former Israeli ambassador to Canada, and his daughter Michelle.

The dinner was a fabulous introduction to Israel, and the Middle East in general. We sat on mattresses and dined on a variety of shared dishes like pickled vegetables, homous, breads, and kebabs and meatballs. To finish we joined a drumming circle.

We were asked, at the end of the night, to share our perspective on Israel to date. For me it was geographic -- the landscape is so much more mountainous than I expected. I also mentioned the deep faith and meaning the various locations have for people.

After our return to the hotel, four of us joined a friend of Jared's, Ran Goel, for drinks in the Ben Yehuda district. The atmosphere, despite security worries, was fantastic, young people enjoying themselves as they do the world over. I found I had adjusted readily to the security realities - armed guards are at every post, and an armed security guard escorted us everywhere.

By 2am, after a few GoldStars and hookah, we realized we hadn't slept in over 30 hours, and took a cab back to the hotel.