The West Bank is Not as Scary as It Seems
With just two short weeks in Israel for business, I only had two days to view everything in the country that I thought would inspire me. In all of my travels, I rarely returned to the same country within 4–5 years so if I wanted to see something, I had to grab the chance.
Because the Sabbath in Israel meant there was little public transportation between and within major cities, I needed to plan my travel with great detail. This came to me in the form of a 9-hour tour that would provide transportation from Tel Aviv, up to Jerusalem, then through the Judaea desert, and finally into the lowest point on Earth — the Dead Sea. It was a mega-packed itinerary that allowed me to see everything I had wanted to, whether it was inspired by passive scrolling of scenic photos on social media or stories from the Bible from my time in Catholic school.
My visit to the West Bank was very brief. I didn’t find it odd because there were many sites on the tour and very little time. Upon approaching the West Wall, I saw groups of people with their elbows and knees covered, despite the raging heat and harsh Middle Eastern sun. The groups were separated between men and women by long dividers about 6 feet tall. I recall a 20-something-year-old son…
