Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Half of Israel's population is first-generation immigrants. Those who are 18 years old go
into the military—providing them with a crash course on how to be an Israeli.
While the “Law of Return” sounds wonderful, it's a policy that angers many Palestini-
ans I met. They recall how their parents were evicted from their villages—now plowed
under and providing foundations for forests and parks—and wonder why a Russian Jew
who has no connection with Israel is welcomed as if royalty, while a person whose family
had lived there for two thousand years is not allowed to go home.
High in the mountains at the far-north end of Israel, the Gadot Lookout in the Golan
Heights overlooks the upper Jordan River Valley. After Israel was created in 1948, its
neighbors generally held the high ground around its borders. For a generation, Arabs could
lob shells into the towns, kibbutzes, and farms of Israel below. Then, with their victory in
the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel surprised all of its enemies (essentially destroying Egypt's
air force on the ground in minutes) and substantially increased its size. To the north, they
could have waltzed right into Damascus. But Israel just wanted buffer territory. Today, Is-
