THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 6, 1995 TAG: 9511020018
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
I just returned from Israel, having visited there with a Christian tour group for the Feast of Tabernacles (my second visit).
I was very encouraged by what we found in Israel - we were made to feel welcome everywhere we went; the people, Arab and Jew alike, were cordial, and communication was fine. (Even a camel ``smiled' for my 16-year-old son to get a good snapshot.)
There were several thousand visitors from around the world, 800 of us from America, yet making the rounds of the little tour stops never seemed cramped or too crowded. Jerusalem, with lots of building and developing going on, nevertheless was very gracious in hospitality, and we were allowed to take part in its 3,000th-anniversary parade, where 100,000 Israelis came to watch about 8,000 people parade from the new stadium to the Knesset building.
We were delighted to have one-on-one contact with the people; holiday wishes in Hebrew, candy passed to the kids (and the cops); smiles and flags of various countries were traded back and forth. About 4,000 of the throng were members of the International Christian Embassy - from almost 100 countries.
My group enjoyed excellent food and service at our Jerusalem hotel, and the tour companies were wonderful at shepherding so many visitors around so many places of interest. I would whole-heartedly encourage anyone who's interested in visiting Israel to make it a high priority.
PEGGY LYNCH
Virginia Beach, Oct. 26, 1995 by CNB