Your Turn
Israel is still a safe place

The title of this article might at first glance raise some thoughts for you, the reader, and to say, "Is this a misprint or is it some sort of oxymoron, or is this April Fool in June? I know what I see 24/7 on Fox, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC and all the rest of the news services: terror bombers killing people all over Israel. Is the author of the article blind? You won’t catch me in Israel until there is peace and it’s safe for me to visit."

Well, I can’t blame you for those thoughts, but if you can hold your seat, let me explain.

I have recently returned from Israel; in fact, I travel to Israel about every 10 to 12 weeks, business permitting, The reason for the frequency of my visits is to see my 11-year-old daughter, Amit, who lives with her mother near the town of Ora Kiva in central Israel.

Amit spent her first five years growing up in Marlboro and then moved to Israel. I can assure you that if I didn’t rationally believe that it was safe, I wouldn’t travel with Amit in Israel or leave her in a country where her life was in danger.

About five months ago, Tracy, a Christian colleague of mine, asked me about going to Israel. He and four members of his church wanted to go on a mission. They, frankly, had concerns about safety, based on the constant news that flowed from the region. I spoke to Tracy about my thoughts concerning this issue, and in the end they decided to go to Israel for 10 days.

When Tracy returned to work, he described his experience as one of the most inspirational ones of his life, vowing to return in the future. He and his friends stayed at the Ramada Continental on the beach in Tel Aviv for a great rate. They traveled in Israel from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

Naturally, I asked him about the safety issue. Tracy’s response was interesting; he and his friends felt safe at all times; in fact, if they didn’t know that the constant flow of news from CNN was coming from the region, they would have thought the news stories were about another part of the world.

The fact is that Israel, a country about the size of New Jersey, is a western-type democracy where everyday life does go on for the 5-plus million citizens, and it is a civilized country with an extremely low crime rate. Most people who still travel to Israel remark about how comfortable they feel and the friendliness of the people.

So why has travel dropped off so dramatically, especially among American Jews?

I surmise that the constant news that is coming out of Israel has a strong negative effect on many people, and this is understandable from an emotional standpoint. Who wants to go to a place where they can be blown up? And one can understand the negative forces at work from the constant news stories.

My friends have said they would go on some type of mission of support for Israel, but would never send their children at this time. I politely shake my head and don’t mention to them that I am raising my daughter in Israel and that she is running around like any kid in the United States.

The fact is that from a statistical standpoint the chances that as a tourist I am going to be in the spot that a terrorist might commit a destructive act is almost as remote as being struck by lighting. But still it is very hard to debate against the emotional feelings of an individual who is struck by what they see on the news. And so one must respect the state of mind of this person.

But now more than ever there is a need to support Israel. It is interesting that as the events have occurred in the territories and the claims against Israel about its defensive actions in the territories by certain United Nations members have proven to be untrue, support for Israel during this period has come from the Christian United States community and key elected officials.

When I was on my last trip and was at the ticket line, returning to the states, there were about 20 Christians in a circle praying in a low voice, but still to be heard were their words about their inspirational trip to the Holy Land and their prayers for the Lord Jesus Christ to bless this land and its people.

I believe it is now time for those who claim to support Israel and who can view the perceptual safety issue from a statistical objective standpoint to consider a mission to Israel. There are many programs that one can participate in. One program that will celebrate its 20th anniversary is Volunteers for Israel (VFI).

VFI offers a travel and living experience in Israel for Americans to spend 10 days and more, helping as volunteers on an army base or at a hospital with the opportunity to also see sites and participate in educational lectures. VFI will have a special flight mission in August for 400 volunteers. More information is available by calling (212) 643-4848.

I hope to see you in Israel.

Saul G. Hornik is a former mayor of Marlboro and president of the Friends for Volunteers for Israel. He holds dual United States and Israeli citizenship.