Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Palestinians—chafing at the loss of their land and freedom—lashed out with terrorist
attacks, and Israelis retaliated by turning Palestinian territories into a virtual police state.
Palestinians launched their First Intifada, an armed rebellion that employed violent riots
and suicide bombings (1987-1991). In 1993, the Oslo Accords (negotiated by Yitzhak
Rabin and Yasser Arafat) attempted to create peace by recognizing the Palestinian Territ-
ories. The treaty was designed as a transitional agreement, until it could be phased out (in
five years) to make way for a more permanent solution. But extremists both in Israel and
in Palestine worked hard to undermine the peace. From 2000 to 2005, the Second Intifada
brought a rash of bloody terrorist attacks in Israel, killing more than a thousand Israel-
is—more than three-quarters of them civilians. Israel retaliated, and Palestinians suffered
three times the casualties as Israel. During the Second Intifada, Israel began to build a
controversial barrier around the West Bank in the name of security from terrorism. From
about 2005 through my visit in 2013, terrorist attacks from the West Bank declined dra-
matically, and my impression was that most West Bank Palestinians had decided to pursue
a nonviolent approach to resolving the conflict.
In the late 2000s, the Jewish population of Israel (around 6 million) surpassed the
Jewish population in the United States for the first time. Four out of every five Israelis are
Jewish, but most are non-practicing. About 20 percent of Israel's population are Palestini-
ans—many internally displaced persons who were not pushed over the borders of Is-
rael in 1948, but are not allowed to return to their homes. The government calls them
“Arab Israelis,” but they generally call themselves “Palestinian citizens of Israel.” Most
are Muslim, while Christians make up a tiny minority. Palestinians living in Israel are, by
law, full citizens with nearly the same rights as Jewish Israelis. But many feel that they're
treated as second-class citizens; they compare their situation to the plight of Civil Rights-
era African Americans in the USA.
In the Holy Land, terminology is charged with symbolic meaning and controversy.
As a travel writer, I struggle with simply what to call the land of the Palestinians. Many
conservative Jews and Evangelical Christians, believing this is the land God promised to
the Jews, use the biblical name “Judea and Samaria.” The non-loaded “West Bank” or
“Occupied Territories” would be the cautious choices. But this area was historically called
“Palestine,” and in 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to grant Palestine (with that
name) “non-member observer state” status. I've decided to follow the example of the in-
ternational community. For the title of my TV show, I went with a proud and unapologet-
ic “Palestine: Yesterday and Today.” I realize—and accept—the fact that even using the
name “Palestine” will alienate many people. Sadly, these are the people who, I believe,
would benefit the most from actually traveling to both sides of the Holy Land.
