My son and I are in Israel together for the first time, and what a wonderful experience so far. 

I am writing this from Christ Church Guesthouse, just inside Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the oldest Protestant church in the Middle East, constructed in the 1840s. 

Jaffa Gate of course is famous, not least for serving as the backdrop to British General Allenby’s triumphant entry in 1917, after defeating the Ottoman Turks. The victory paved the way for the establishment of the Jewish state.

We began our trip with a night in Tel Aviv; so far, if Israelis are afraid of their situation and fearful of the future, I haven’t seen it. Only smiling, and full of vitality. Oh, and after dinner at Whitehall in Tel Aviv, we walked through the city and heard the mournful cry of Hank Williams Sr. coming from a club. It made us think of home. 

We visited the Garden Tomb yesterday, then entered Damascus Gate and the Arab shops. I’ve never seen this many tourists in Jerusalem, either. The streets are teeming with pilgrims. 

Before leaving Tel Aviv, we also visited the ancient port city of Jaffa, then Independence Hall in Tel Aviv. I was struck by how many people could not tell us where Independence Hall was, even when we were a block away. 

In any event, Jaffa is fascinating to me, in particular because it is the scene of Jonah’s struggle with obedience. While standing on the dock and watching Israeli boaters motor about, I lamented the fact that so many liberal scholars and pastors in America are embracing the idea that people like Jonah never existed. We believe passionately in aliens from other plants, without a shred of evidence for them, but Jonah stretches our belief system. 

I will have much more to report next week and in coming weeks, but we are at least planning on me doing the RaptureReady Radio Tuesday night program from here. We’ll see if I can operate the technology. 

Today we are off to Masada and the Dead Sea, where not even I can sink.

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Originally published in Rapture Ready, Israel Watch. June 6, 2011

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