BootsnAll Travel Community

This April my wife and I will be hosting our 10th trip to Israel and Jordan. We have never had any problems except for pick pockets in the old city of Jerusalem. If you are thinking of traveling to these countries do not let the media make you afraid of going. I am not suicidal or have any death wishes and I feel prefectly safe in Israel and Jordan Do the same as you do in your own town find and stay away from problem areas. You will find the people of both countries warm and friendly.

I have to agree with you...i am from Tel Aviv, and there is nothing dangerous about israel! it is actually safer than the streets of NY at night....

I am planning a trip to Israel, Jordan, Egypt and possibly Lebanon. Everyone I talk to at home swears it is incredibly dangerous over there (despite the fact that they have never been), so reading posts like yours helps allay those concerns. I still have a few reservations about Lebanon however, it seems to be a little unstable at the moment.

If you do go to Lebanon, make sure you go there before Israel, cause you won't be able to enter with an Israeli stamp in your passport.

always excellent to hear these things.
We recently returned from several months in the area, and agree that it is generally as safe, if not safer, than many parts of the 'Western' World that many of us are familiar with. Keeping in mind that random bombings happen in the US and Europe as much as they do anywhere else, and that even petty crime, at least in the Arab world (can't speak for Isreal as I've never been), is a very serious offence and is therefore not common.

If you want to read more about the 'is it safe or not' controversy, see here.

WOW - it's great to read from VISITORS how safe it is here in Israel! I'm so used to hearing from people who have never been (including some family members!) how dangerous it is though I've lived here for the most part since 1981 and have never felt safer than when I return home to Jerusalem.

So - all of you who are thinking of coming to Israel, please don't let the slanted reports in the media deter you... it's SAFE and beautiful (the kalaniot are filling up the fields, so we know that Spring has arrived) and, IMHO and even with our ever-present political and economic problems, the most wonderful country in the world!

suzanne

As a fellow Sabra...i have to agree...i have been to other places in the world, but there is something special about Israel....safer than those asses at fox or Cnn say it is...but what the hell do they know? and the people are among the friendliest i have ever met...so if you have doubts, DONT!! i promise you wont regret it...i cant wait to get back! august is comin fast!

It is surprising to hear that things are safe in Israel.

Conti - why "surprising"? Would it be surprising for someone to say it's safe in New York or other large American cities (or large cities anywhere in the world, like, for instance, Melbourne) where the crime rate per capita is much, much higher than here?

Israel IS safe - not surprising - because we pay attention to our security needs like no one else does. While we hate, for instance, the security fence, it has been proven to allow for better and closer security checks and has stopped numerous (about 90 in the first quarter of 2005) potential suicide bombers before they were even able to approach their destinations.

In all the years I've lived in Israel, I have never felt safer than when I'm here. When visiting in the States, I'm forever fearful of being mugged, raped, robbed, run over, car-jacked, shot on the street, etc. etc. etc. That seems to be more the rule there while here, it's the extreme exception.

suzanne

Amongst other things, Israel makes a large portion of the news because there are bombs that explode there.
Guys, not that the US is a model when it comes to violence, but I have a hard time adding Israel to the list of safe places to vist.

My theory is that is a game of probabilities. I travel to the US all the time and I have a great time, but I use common sense. It is impossille to use common sense in such a small teritory like Israel, in order to anticipate where the next bomb will go off, or where the next missile will land.

Neverthelss I will still keep Israel on the list of places to visit in the future. Considering the conflict between them and the neighbours, that lasts for couple of thousand of years, I will not wait till things get really safe.