The opportunity to join a guided tour of the Holy Land came in early 1980. For about 10 days we whipped round the sites related to the stories in the Bible. My faith was at a low-ish ebb and the experience left me bemused. We started from Heathrow where the strict security for an El Al flight took a while to navigate. Whilst we boarded the plane we saw Concorde take off with an enormous roar.
There were armed guards on the plane too. We started in Jerusalem, visiting Galilee and finally Tel Aviv. It was interesting to see the places and to try to imagine what took place there. At the time there were places we visited that have subsequently become less secure. I had a float in the Dead Sea, and ventured a walk around the walls of Jerusalem. The presence of armed soldiers at many places was depressing; being searched at places like Bethlehem before visiting the sites was illustrative of the security concerns. Even so we got to see more than seems possible today.
There was evidence that Israeli politicians were not content to let Palestinians have space and help. We were told how lazy they were. It felt uncomfortable, remaining a lasting example of what one group of people can say about another; by not varying the conversation they remain stuck in a struggle that wastes time, energy and lives.
By by Ester Inbar, available from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ST., Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1637899
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