Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At Masada in
A.D.
70, Jewish rebels—facing imminent defeat by Roman sol-
diers—committed mass suicide. The hilltop ruins remain an important symbol for
defense-minded Israelis.
Today, Masada reminds us that Israel's staunch “they'll never take us alive” com-
mitment to independence started 2,000 years ago. This patriotic site is popular for Israeli
schoolchildren, for the ceremony swearing in Israeli soldiers, and for tourists.
Imagine a people maintaining their culture and traditions for nearly two millennia
without a homeland. Imagine them remembering the holy temple destroyed and that epic
last stand ending in mass suicide on a fortified hilltop. Imagine a generation of people
whose parents were killed in the Holocaust and who, with a love of their heritage, found
themselves in the position to retake what they believed to be their homeland. A rallying
cry among these Zionists is “Masada shall never fall again.”
More and more Israeli Jews, along with people around the world who care about
peace in the Middle East and believe in the survival of a strong and secure Jewish state,
think Israel would be wise to lighten up a bit on the Palestinian issues. But when you travel
here and interact with the older generation, you appreciate why most of them take every
threat to their nation extremely seriously—and make their own rules for security without
