FEATURED JOBS
JT editor Phil Jacobs (Aug. 31) must have been eavesdropping on my comments to some of my neighbors upon our return from our first trip to Israel on Aug. 30 with 16 other family members to attend our nephew Josh’s bar mitzvah at the Western Wall. While we were apprehensive at first, we had such a wonderful experience during our all-encompassing 10-day trip. We visited almost all of Israel, and we couldn’t wait to tell many of our neighbors about our trip, especially those who had previously expressed danger fears to us. It was the “impossible dream” come true. We visited the borders of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, we dined with Bedouins, Arabs and many Jewish groups from Jewish organizations, synagogues, families such as ours and Birthright groups from all over the world. All we saw was history, history and more history, along with amazing technological advances in infrastructure that turned desert into spiraling modern cities. Not once did we fear for our lives. Israelites reminded us, however, about the escalating murders in our major U.S. cities and the tragedies that recently occurred in Colorado and other places in the States. Yes, Israel is on guard, but we felt well protected. There is still so much more for us to see! A second trip to Israel in the near future is on our bucket list.
Lance Berkowitz
Boynton Beach, Fla.
