Safety concerns
We are scheduled to leave in 2 weeks for Israel and Jordan. Reading all the news of the turmoil in Israel, we are nervous and wonder if anyone else traveling there shares our concern.
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We are scheduled to leave in 2 weeks for Israel and Jordan. Reading all the news of the turmoil in Israel, we are nervous and wonder if anyone else traveling there shares our concern.
Comments
Yea, a little concerned but we will let Tauck do the canceling. *
Same here. My tour starts 3/4, but I leave home 3/1. I trust that Tauck will cancel if they feel that it is not safe (as they cancelled my trip to Turkey in 2016). I had booked a full day tour to the West Bank on Viator for 3/2, but cancelled that once the unrest started..
Not to make light of recent events, but Israel has always been an area of unrest of some sort. One of our very first overseas trips was in 1981 to Israel & Egypt. ( not Tauck) It was a month before Anwar Sadat was assassinated, and just a few weeks before the Lebanese missile crisis. Israeli security is excellent, and Tauck would not go if it was not safe. It is a fascinating place, and I’m sure you will come away with appreciation of the centuries of struggles and triumphs in that part of the world. Enjoy the trip.
I felt totally safe in Israel. I travel solo and walked the streets of Tel Aviv at night and felt safer there than in most U.S. cities. I’d go again in a heartbeat. Enjoy.
I agree with franlovestravel. Imagine if you were coming to the US from Europe and read about daily shootings in the US. How safe would you feel?
We know people wh have just come back from family and business visits to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and things appeared fine despite all the killing around the West Bank area over the last few weeks.
There is always constant turmoil in the Middle East since the beginning of time. There is also shootings in every major big city in this country. Just go and travel and enjoy.
Oh yes, we are going, as I said unless Tauck cancels Tauck have had our full payment for this for so long…..
ark2016 - my husband and I took this tour in May of last year. My concerns about personal safety were alleviated by closely watching the new reports, particularly the Times of Israel website. I could see that most of the issues at that time were in West Bank areas that we would not visit. It is also a good way to monitor protests and activity in Old Jerusalem that could impact sightseeing. It is a wonderful trip.
The protests are definitely one of our concerns. I know Tauck won’t put us in an obvious dangerous situation. But the demonstrations are getting larger and not sure how this will impact our touring.
BKMD -- I've been thinking along the lines of your post. My daughter lives in NYC. I visit several times a year, always wander around alone (including taking the subway) and feel perfectly safe. Still -- I'll stay out of the West Bank on my upcoming trip, unless Tauck is there to hold my hand, as they will do in Bethlehem.
ark2016 - I understand your concerns, but I encourage you to watch the news and to be flexible. Prior to departing for Israel, and upon arrival, I had accepted the fact that a visit to Temple Mount was highly unlikely. The Temple site had been, and continued to be, closed to tourists because of protests at the site. When I first asked our TD about it, he agreed that it was not looking good, but that they were working on alternative sightseeing (there is a lot to see). Then the site opened up, and the day before our group left for Jerusalem our TD advised me that a Tauck group had visited it that day. Our visit to Temple Mount occurred without issues.
Here is a useful article. I read the BBC World news every day, it’s far better than any other covering world events. There are also links to other stores or more in depth facts such as in this piece.
Why is Israel-Palestinian violence surging? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-64757995