Sitting in the El Al lounge

Some thoughts before landing in Tel Aviv. Four years ago, I traveled with a group of Catholic journalists to Jordan to gain an appreciation of that country's portion of what we generally know as the Holy Land. What especially comes to mind is the beautiful facility the Jordanian Tourism Ministry had built along the River Jordan to celebrate the ministry of John the Baptist. Across the river from the Jordanian "historical" site (there is some doubt as to exactly where John baptized Jesus), Israel had built its own facility. There was some open animosity expressed by the folks from Jordan, and I think our group took that in stride. But during our travels in Jordan, what struck me was the complete lack of any kind of foreign presence in the country's major public places. This was, you will recall, just a month before the United States and its "coalition of the willing" conquered Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein. I recall that everywhere we went, waiters or workers, everyone, really, would ask us hopefully, "are you British?" No, American, was the reply. Then we received what I remember as a tight-lipped litany of something that bordered on contempt. "You are welcome" was the greeting, then. We were in Amman, Jordan, when then-Secretary of State Colin Powell made his ill-fated weapons of mass destruction speech to the United Nations. I think everyone from our entourage was not just a little worried that we might get stuck in the Middle East just as Shock and Awe commenced. But we were able to get away. So, I frame this current trip -- understanding that circumstances are indeed much different now than they were four years ago -- with an eye towards presenting something of a "wholistic" view of the Holy Land based on an understand I already have, benefiting from visiting the region before. My next entry will be from Israel.