Day One

We’d hardly been in Israel for two minutes before some realities became blatantly evident to us.

Before passing through Tel Aviv Airport we’d already been ‘randomly’ selected for additional security screening, unsurprisingly the focus was on Hala, our Muslim colleague. She was detained for questioning three times by passport control, with the rest of us passing swiftly through.

Of course, it's scenarios like these that will confront us daily here; there is little in Israel that lacks political charge. The question of security vs. liberty is certainly just as prominent here, if not far more, than at home. Palestinians would argue that 'security' is used as a pretext for oppression. Israelis point to a list of hostile neighbour states and militia groups, each dedicated to Israel's destruction, to argue that their fears are not just paranoia. That debate will inevitably go on, but for now back to our arrival...

After a half hour wait, we’re pleased to say that our 12 hour journey in the air, through Glasgow, Heathrow and Tel Aviv airports, and finally escaping the overly eager grasp of a dodgy taxi driver, we, the merry few, had arrived in Israel.

-Gary