Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Masada, near the Dead Sea, is the site of a fortress built by King Herod. There Jewish defenders resisted a
Roman siege in 73 CE, then committed suicide rather than surrender and be enslaved. (Getty Images / Image
Bank.)
from the eighth to the sixth centuries BCE, that is, from the First Temple period, including seal
impressions carrying Hebrew names — one of a family mentioned in the topic of Jeremiah.
Several controversies involve archaeology. The PA leadership and other Palestinian institu-
tions all continue to deny any connection between the Jewish people and the area. When Israel
made peace with Egypt, all the archaeological fi nds from the Sinai Peninsula were given to the
Egyptians. Within Israel, Haredim often oppose archaeological excavation, saying that digging
desecrates ancient Jewish graves, an act forbidden by Jewish law.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Israel does not have major transportation links with any of its neighbors, an unusual situation
for any country in the contemporary world. Although in many ways Israel has advanced trans-
portation systems, the country's internal infrastructure is underdeveloped in the peripheral
areas and has only recently built up even in densely populated ones. Still, the changes during
the past few decades have been dramatic.
In the 1980s, Israel's sole international airport, Ben-Gurion, resembled a facility that might
be serving a small Midwestern American city, with only a lunch counter providing meals. After
being repeatedly upgraded, the airport was largely replaced by a new, very modern building
comparable to those found in major Western capitals.
Despite heavy taxes that make the purchase of an automobile more expensive in Israel than
in virtually any other country in the world, the number of cars is high compared to the miles
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search