Walking where Jesus walked A CLN Special Report on Israel
	By Peter Fleck It’s 4:30 am and the racket outside my open hotel room window in Tiberias rouses me from my sleep. The birds are announcing with great fanfare that a new day has begun. Peeking through the curtains out towards the still darkened Sea of Galilee, I can hear the crowing of a rooster off in the distance and I’m instantly reminded of my namesake in the Bible. Before long, I find myself standing by the lake watching an inordinate variety of water fowl and songbirds fill the air with a symphony of sound. Then out from between the clouds, the morning sun bursts onto the horizon sending a red ribbon of light rippling over the waters. Just the night before, our small tour group was walking along the waterfront promenade when we came across a pair of boys fishing. Although they weren’t even using any bait, it seemed that every time they cast their line into the water, they would reel in another catch. Beside them was a basket with well over a dozen fish. Through our tour guide, we asked how long they had been fishing and were amazed to discover it had only been 20 minutes. More than 2000 years since Jesus ministered in towns and villages along the shoreline, it was evident the Sea of Galilee was as vibrant as ever. Israel’s largest lake was teeming with life.
The signs of vitality were equally abundant in the ancient capital city of Jerusalem, except here the frenetic activity was marked by people and not wildlife. As early as 4:40 in the morning, the minaret loudspeakers could be heard bellowing out the prolonged Muslim call to prayer. By 6 am, the church bells were tolling and the Jewish faithful enjoyed 24-hour access to the Western or Wailing Wall.

Clearly sleep and rest were not high on the agenda. You need not travel close to halfway around the world for that. Here was a country that beckoned to be discovered.

From February 22 to March 2, representing CLN, I was privileged to be one of four Christian journalists from Canada able to partake in a whirlwind tour of Israel as a guest of the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Joined by Jerry Adler, marketing manager for the Israel Government Tourist Office in Toronto, along with our guide and chauffeur, we travelled the country in an eight-seater Volkswagen minivan.

Our tour took us down the Western Wall tunnels where we reached what was street level during the reign of King Herod. It’s highly plausible that the very stones we stood on had been graced by Jesus two millennia earlier during one of His many excursions to the Temple.

The grandeur of Herod’s workmanship could also be seen from the palatial ruins at Masada, Israel’s most extensive archeological dig. This enormous mountain fortress towering over the Dead Sea also served as the last Jewish outpost to survive the siege of the Romans from 66 to 73 AD. For months, the community of Zealots numbering less than a thousand men, women and children used Masada’s natural defenses to hold off the advances of up to 15,000 Roman soldiers.

Down below, the Dead Sea provided a welcome respite from our busy schedule. The 30 per cent salt and mineral content make floating an effortless exercise. We were also able to let loose and play like kids in the waters, collecting volcanic rock and chipping away at the hardened salt formations on the bottom. The lowest place on earth at more than 400 metres below sea level, the extra filtration provided by the denser atmosphere renders sun screen redundant.

Definite high points of the trip were the visits to Nazareth Village and Neot Kedumim, a Biblical landscape reserve near Tel Aviv. Both attractions succeeded in bringing the Bible to life. Far more than offering a shrine to commemorate a significant site, Biblical times are recreated through authentic architecture, landscaping and costume. The Scriptures take on greater meaning when you can pick a twig of hyssop and learn of its significance in the Old and New Testament or see an ancient carpenter shop in operation. Visitors can even partake in genuine Biblical meals.

But for all the intrigue and adventure Israel afforded, it would be a mistake to rank it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. That’s because once you’ve tasted the land of the Bible, there is this irresistible urge to go back.

I yearn to spend more time at the sobering Yad Vashem memorial of the Holocaust. I want to see more than just the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Israel museum. The ancient seaport of Caesarea with its high-tech exhibits and extensive park deserves to be viewed at a more relaxed pace. And there are all the missed photo and shopping opportunities.

As Ari Marom, director of marketing operations for North America, aptly pointed out, "That’s never been Israel’s problem to get people to come a second time."

It’s popular among pilgrims to bid farewell with the saying, "Next year in Jerusalem." For me, I am hoping that it will be more than just a whimsical expression.