My mom wants to visit Israel for a holiday, and wants me to go with her. Is it safe?

Question

Please excuse my total ignorance here. I realise we are subjected to generally negative images in the media, and that as a tourist destination Israel may be safe, but I'm not taking chances.

If we avoid the areas where there are outbreaks of violence, will it be ok?

Answer 1

I live in Jerusalem. It is not that violence.



It is not raining with rockets, and boming buses are not a matter of everyday life.



I don't reckon that visiting here take much more risks than driving a highway across teh USA does, or living in a somewhat poluted city. I think that the publicity of the events is what make people scare than real danger.



There was only one case of violence in Jerusalem in the past year, and indeed it was an Italian tourist who went to a remote an muslim area in the old citybut still.

In 2005 the only violence is two Orthodox Jews being stubed.



It doesn't sound good, but again - it has much better statistic than any highway.

If you avoid the occupied territories there is no reason to be afraid.



https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20061015223718AA6TPTn



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_in_the_Israeli-Palestinian_conflict_2006

Answer 2

There are many negative answers to your question that simply do not have it right.

I went to Israel in 2003 during the intifada and it is completely safe.



It is a trip of a life time. We rented a car and drove the length of Israel from the far south to the far north with its great vineyards.

Jerusalem with its Old City, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Galilee, Eilat , the Golan and many stops inbetween.



The contrast of history with the modern is just amazing. The people including the many Israeli Arabs were just wonderful.

Great night life, awesome food, accomadations and tons of museums.



From deserts to tropical--Israel has it all and being such a tiny country everything is in reach.

Swim with doplhins, float on the dead sea, fish in the Jordan river, shop at the old city bizzares, stand on top of mazada, see the ruins which are everywhere and if you have a spiritual connection--visit the wall and take a tour of the awesome 2000 yr old tunnels underneath in the Old City.



I could go on forever as there is so much to see and do. The media does not tell you this--they only focus on troubled areas which you will not go anyway.



The only thing I avoided was the bus system which isnt needed as you either walk, take a cab or rent a car.

Israel is safer than any major city in the US.



As we all know--no where is 100% safe these days.

So take your mom and have the experience of a lifetime.



If I can be of any help--e-mail me and I will share pictures and anything else you might want to know.



By the way--Palestine has never been nor will it ever be the name of this country. It is a tag that the British used during their occupation.

Answer 3

i am an israeli traveling abroad in south america now, and i can only tell you that i miss the safety of israel and walking around without any worries

to see the replies of thrustrated people that tell you not to go makes me laugh, just enter their profile and see that all they talk about is how bad israel is.

in israel the level of crime is so low, if you just dont use buses in jerusalem you will be fine, now that the entire world is a target of terror, atleast in israel there is such a good security force, that the horrible things that happened in madrid and london cant happen here

go there, have fun, and say hi for me to everyone, you are going to love it, so much to do.

Answer 4

First of all let me assure you is safe to go. I read most of the answers you got and did not know if to cry or laugh. So much ignorance, hatred and politics involved in a simple answer it always amazes me. Even the guy who wrote its not Israel its Palestine did not know how to spell Palestine. Ha. Anyway go

to Israel enjoy the sights and sounds and come back and tell me if you liked it.

Answer 5

You know what, since the beginning of Israel it has been said that this is a dangerous place to visit by every generation that has been.



I have been there and yes, there is always a risk, but it is worth the risk to be there.



Go, be sensible and have the most life changing wonderful time and as mentioned before - don't forget to go and float in the dead sea!

Answer 6

I was in Israel this past Spring--------never felt safer. I was with a tour, and they are constantly kept updated on if a place is not safe.



My best day was the day I got away -alone-and shopped in the old city of Jerusalem. It was great, and I did feel very safe.



Really, Israel is as safe as anywhere, and some say, maybe safer, as it is well monitored by the military. Just stay out of some areas where there is constant trouble.



I honestly felt safer there than I do downtown in my own American city.

Answer 7

Yes. I lived there for a couple of years.

It has it's dangers, that's for sure-- you just have to be as safe as possible. Stay away from areas of conflict, and you should be ok.



Try to stick with a tour group, perhaps. They'll take you "safe" places and you'll get a professional guide to tourist destinations. Israel is really a beautiful country, with tons of things to do and places to see. Don't let the media scare you away.

Answer 8

Most of Israel is safe, although there are areas you do need to stay out of. Visit the UK Foreign Office website http://www.fco.gov.uk/ as they give travel advice on each country. It is generally good and reliable advice, albeit, at times, erring on the side of caution.

Answer 9

Honey - Go !!!

It is 20 times safer the all major cities in America, and some of Europe.

Try to go only to Israeli places - Jerusalem, TLV, Eilat, Dead Sea, Golan Hights, Sea of Galilee, Haifa (all the north is completely safe right now, guarantied, I was there a week ago, Israeli friends of mine took me everywhere, they are going to work, hang out, do everything !

It's beautiful... enjoy!

:)

Answer 10

There are outbreaks of violence even within our own cities.



There are always places that will pose more danger.



This trip is a trip of a lifetime and will change your life. I think you should go. When you know exactly where you will be going research local customs/traditions etc and ways to stay safe.

Answer 11

yes go israel is magic and so are the people. just be care full as you would anywhere

Answer 12

You will be taking a chance. How about Chichen Itza or Machu Pichu?

Answer 13

If you're going to go just accept the fact that it isn't safe rather than try to give yourself a false sense of security.

Answer 14

Of course it isn't. Although Israel had a ceasefire with hezbollah, it is still at war with Palestinian factions. Qassam and Al-Quds rockets are still raining in Israeli skies. If you go there you may be alive but have to stay in shelter or bunker

Answer 15

visit some place else,israel is a dangerous place to go to,the danger comes from within its people,they are no good at all

Answer 16

To be honest, i don't know. But i wouldn't even think about going there just now. That's just my personal opinion.

Answer 17

hahaha, Israel is save????? !!!!!!!!, 100 000 dirty jewish runaway from israel during last war with Hizbullah and you still telling save???

Answer 18

i agree with above - life is too short



plus the dead sea is so good for you!

Answer 19

i would love to visit Israel...so much history...i would go...lifes too short...

Answer 20

ofcourse its not safe at all

Answer 21

if u want to go and get blowen up sure go

Answer 22

good question. we are planning to go in feb!! thanks

Answer 23

Before you decide You have to know some information about Israel ( Real name Palestaine)...



1. Did you know that non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in Israel? A Jew from any country in the world is guaranteed citizenship in Israel, while the Palestinians who have been there for centuries are oppressed and persecuted.



2. Did you know that instead of sewing an insignia on clothing to distinguish race (like the Germans did to the Jews before WW2), Palestinian license plates in Israel are color coded to distinguish Jews from non-Jews?



3. Did you know that East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights are all considered by the entire world community, including the United States and the United Nations, to be occupied territory and NOT part of the State of Israel?



4. Did you know that Israel allots 85% of the water resources for Jews, and the remaining 15% is divided among all Palestinians in the territories? For example in Hebron, 85% of the water is set aside for about 400 Jewish settlers, while the remaining 15% is distributed among Hebron's 120, 000 Palestinians?



5. Did you know that the United States awards Israel $5 billion in aid each year from American tax dollars?



6. Did you know that US aid to Israel ($3.0 billion annually) exceeds the aid the US grants to the entire African continent? This aid is used both to buy American weaponry and to buy arms made in Israel.



7. Did you know that Israel is awaiting an additional $4 billion worth of American military hardware, including new F-16s and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. As Israel's main ally and supporter internationally, the United States is committed to maintaining the Jewish state's "qualitative edge" in weapons over its neighbors.



8. Did you know that the U.S. administration has notified Congress on numerous occasions that Israel has violated the rules on how US-supplied weapons are used? (In 1978, 1979 and 1982 during fighting in Lebanon, and once after Israel's bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981.)



9. Did you know that Israel is the only country in the Middle East that refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections from its sites?



10. Did you know that high-ranking military officers in the Israeli Defense Forces have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war have been summarily executed by the Israeli forces?



11. Did you know that Israel blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a US warship in international waters (the USS Liberty), killing 33 and wounding 177 American sailors and the US did nothing about it?



12. Did you know that Israel stands in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council Resolutions?



13. Did you know that Israel is explicitly dedicated to the policy of maintaining a distinct Jewish character?



14. Did you know that Israel's current Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, was found by an Israeli court to be "personally and directly responsible" for the Sabra and Shatilla massacre in Lebanon where more than a thousand innocent Palestinian men, women, and children were axed to death or lined up and shot in cold blood?



15. Did you know that on May 20, 1990, a group of unarmed Palestinian laborers were lined up and murdered by an Israeli solider as they sat waiting for transportation back to Gaza? The terrified laborers who gathered in an area of southern Israel known as Rishon Lezion (known to Palestinians by its Arabic name Oyon Qara) handed their ID cards to the Israeli soldier. The soldiers ordered the distressed laborers to kneel down and face the ground and unexpectedly showered them with a barrage of bullets, killing seven and wounding many others. Needless to say, the soldier was not charged with any crime.



16. Did you know that until as recently as 1988, Israelis were permitted to run "Jews Only" job ads?



17. Did you know that the Israeli Foreign Ministry pays six US public relations firms to promote a "positive image" of Israel to the American public?



18. Did you know that Sharon's coalition government includes a party--Molodet--which advocates ethnic cleansing by openly calling for the forced expulsion of all Palestinians from the occupied territories?



19. Did you know that recently-declassified documents indicate that David Ben-Gurion approved of the forced expulsion of Arabs from all Palestininan territory in 1948?



20. Did you know that the former chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, who is also a founder and spiritual leader of the religious Shas party (Israel's third largest political party) openly advocates a 'Final Solution' to annihilate the Palestinians? Speaking at the widely broadcast sermon marking the last Passover, he declared of the Palestinians: "The Lord shall return their deeds on their own heads, waste their seed and exterminate them, devastate them and vanish them from this world. It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable."



21. Did you know that Palestinian refugees make up the largest portion of the refugee population in the world?



22. Did you know that Palestinian Christians are considered the "living stones" of Christianity because they are the direct descendants of the disciples of Jesus Christ? And the Palestinian Christians stand united with their Muslim brethren in the struggle against the Israeli occupation.



23. Did you know that despite a ban on torture by Israel's High Court of Justice, torture has continued unabated by Shin Bet interrogators on Palestinian prisoners?



24. Did you know that despite every Israeli attempt to disrupt Palestinian education, Palestinians have the highest ratio of PhDs per capita in the world?



25. Did you know that the right of self-determination is guaranteed to every human being under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [December, 1948], yet Palestinians were/are expected to negotiate for this right under the Oslo Accords?



26. Did you know that despite what is widely perpetuated and written in the history books that the Arabs attacked Israel in the 1967 war, it was Israel who attacked the Arab countries first, capturing Jerusalem and the West Bank, and called the attack a pre-emptive strike?



27. Did you know that, as an occupying power, Israel has a particular responsibility under the Geneva Conventions to protect Palestinian civilians?



28. Did you know that, despite Ariel Sharon's public call for a unilateral ceasefire, Israeli soldiers have not stopped shooting, killing or bulldozing Palestinian homes? The most recent example of this is the murder of three innocent women who were shot by an Israeli tank as they sat in their tent!



29. Did you know that the Zionists have been trying to destroy Masjid al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock for the last 50 years by digging underground tunnels beneath the sites to weaken its foundation causing it to collapse?



30) Nelson Mandela called the Israeli government an apartheid regime, just like South Africa used to be

Answer 24

it's not safe