This article is from the public number:Nine Lines (ID: jiuxing_neweekly), author: old artist, title figure from: Oriental IC
Before going to Israel, the people who talked to me most about it were “pay attention to safety.”
mentionIsrael, the words we can quickly associate with are probably the high-frequency words that appear in the history books and TV news, such as the “Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” “Middle East war,” and “the Gaza Strip.”
△Old City of Jerusalem, Israeli police use tear gas to expel Palestinian demonstrators/Reuters
Or the “Promised Land” and “The Holy City” of the “Religious Land” brought by the heavy religious culture. These fragments have also combined to become my initial impression of this country.
△Wishing Wall/Unsplash
To really go deep into this country where there is no Beijing City, it is only a one-sided definition of the world.
There is no arrogance that has been rendered by war and history, nor is it excessively weighted by religion. It is actually a misunderstood, real world.
△图/Unsplash
War and Peace: Misunderstood Conflicts
Not long ago, the US Embassy in Israel moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the country once again appeared in the world’s vision in a controversial and conflicting way, a dispute between the Jewish nation and the Arab nation for more than a hundred years.
In the current alternating of war and peace, the Israelites have to stretch a defensive nerve.
△图/Pexels
From the domestic flight to Israel, you can also see the dispute from the flight line of the flight.
First fly north to Russia all the way west, then from the Black Sea south, into Turkey, across the Mediterranean to Tel Aviv, perfectly avoiding the airspace of all Arab countries.
The Jewish character of the fateful journey is also more sensitive and suspicious than other ethnic groups. The people who do business in Israel tell me that it is very difficult to deal with Israelis because they have difficulty in giving trust and it is necessary to repeatedly confirm all the details.
But more often, visitors who come here are also very easy to forget about smoke, and Israel is indeed one of the safest, most developed and most suitable countries in the Middle East.
△△Haifa Baha’i Hanging Garden / Photo courtesy of Israel
There is no crisis, no fire and rumbling, in the warm sunshine of the Mediterranean, the small towns with shops, the children who go home, the intercity trains that shuttle.
The tourists from the old town and the new town come together to form a developed coastal country that seems to have never had a dispute.
In the streets of Israel, the cars that come and go are mainly small displacements. The locals don’t mind buying and using used cars. They are very low-key, and even if they are in good condition, they don’t like publicity.
△图/Unplash
On the trains commuting between cities, the Jews, who have the highest per capita reading rate in the world, are quietly holding books to read.
And in a few neighboring countries around, even if it is a step away from Palestine, it is another style to shake the window in the night to drive the music to the biggest Arabs.
△图/Unsplash
But under the peace of sight, there are still large and small conflicts that are surging and may be intensified at any time.
The checkpoints between Jerusalem and the Palestinian-controlled city of Bethlehem have Israeli soldiers armed with ammunition. They strictly check the vehicles entering Israel, mainly for the Palestinians. They saw the Chinese sitting in the car, and the border inspection was soon released. .
The wall erected at the junction of Pakistan and Israel was once controversial.
Since 2002, Israel has begun to build a height of eight meters on the Palestinian-Israeli border, with a high-voltage grid and an electronically monitored wall to counter the armed threat of Palestinian militant groups.
△巴对隔墙. Figure / Global Research
The wall was opposed by the international community. Later, in order to avoid the separation of Palestinian land, Israel adjusted the direction of the wall.
The Israelis are not good at fighting. On the contrary, they have a very persistent pursuit of peace.
They did not go through the war easily, despite being forced to suffer the wounds of big and small wars.
Evenly, the Jews were kind and very grateful. Schindler’s tombstone was erected on Mount Zion to commemorate the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin’s square, where every day a dove of peace flies.
The Dove of Peace in Rabin Square. Figure /Pinterest
The Jews were persecuted by the Nazis during World War II, and Shanghai accepted the Jewish refugees who fled across the sea, which made the Israelis always grateful to China.
In the United Nations resolution on the restoration of the legitimate seat of the United Nations in the 1970s, as an important ally of the United States, the Israeli delegation still voted in favor.
Before coming here, I thought that the relationship between Arabs and Jews was incompatible.
In fact, apart from special events, in the cities of Israel, the relationship between Jews and Arabs is not as arrogant as we imagined.
Most of them are doing their own things and don’t interfere with each other. Even in the small shops in the Palestinian-controlled area, you can even see the “I love Israel” refrigerator stickers and postcards.
△图/YouTube
When I arrived in Jerusalem, local vendors told me with pride that Jerusalem is the most inclusive city.
A few centuries have passed, she is still a holy place for three religions, and there is no such second city in the world.
△图/Unsplash
Science, culture, culture and health can play, it is a small country myth
From the hard conditions of all aspects, Israel’s living environment is not really good.
From the perspective of national security, there is a circle of Arab hostile countries in the surrounding area. A ceasefire line is separated from Palestine, the arch-rival that has not yet established a country.
In terms of land resources, nearly half of Israel’s territory is desert, and fresh water resources and land available for growing crops are scarce.
△The desert of Judah in Israel. Figure / YouTube
From the perspective of land area, this country is very narrow and the area is not as large as Beijing.
When I first arrived in the capital Tel Aviv, the taxi driver teased me. He said that Israel would not have a high-speed rail like China because it is too small. If the intercity traffic uses high-speed rail, it will not be accelerated. It is.
The miraculous thing is that Israel has made this country a sloppy environment in such a harsh and dangerous environment, and has a cutting-edge technology.
In a small country with a population of less than 10 million, a group of outstanding scientists have been born. Israel leads the world in space technology, communications, chips, engines and computers.
When you arrived in Tel Aviv, you looked at the city. It was called “White City”, but it was not the pure blue white of the traditional Mediterranean city, but the white sand of a typical Middle Eastern city.
△ Tel Aviv. Source / Tourist Israel
Tel Aviv’s vision is desolate, and when you get into the city, you will find that its urban greening is very good, the street is lush, and there are large farms and orchards between the city and the city.
In this country where water resources are scarce, the world’s most advanced drip irrigation technology has been born.
Whether many countries in the Middle East are unable to achieve food self-sufficiency due to poor natural conditions, the founding president of Israel said: “As long as we give us a bowl of water and a seed, this nation can survive.”
△ Israel drip irrigation technology. Figure / Financial Times
Today’s Israel, with its developed agriculture, exports a large amount of grain, cocoa and meat every year. In addition, Israel’s tap water has reached the standard of direct drinking.
Because of the success of the Israelites, there is solid education as the foundation. “Teach the teacher to respect God.” So many elites who can be born in the Jews benefit from it.
In 1949, Israel, which had just founded the country, passed the Compulsory Education Law in the war. At the time, the Israeli Ministry of Education had only two staff members: the minister and the secretary.
1983,After the Israeli politician Navon stepped down from the presidency, he was willing to be the Minister of Education and vigorously publicized the importance of education to a country.
△ As part of the Jerusalem City Government and Ministry of Education research program, Israeli second-year students are using computers. Figure / The Times of Israel
I met a Jewish professor while I was studying. He told me that most people in the world study and work hard to make more money.
But for a long time, Jews have worked so hard and hard to learn that their next generation can receive a better education to build their homeland.
In Bethlehem in the Palestinian-controlled area, I had a bad stomach. I had a high fever for a few days. The medicines in the local clinic had no effect. I could only return to Jerusalem to see a doctor. It was a coincidence that I had “examined” the medical level of Israel.
The appearance and facilities of the hospital in Jerusalem are very modern, and the procedures and procedures for visiting a doctor are very simple. There is no delay and you can see a doctor soon.
Doctors and hospital nurses are in many languages, Hebrew, English, Spanish, and the doctor first asked me about the language.
△ InSightec ExAbLate OR uses MRI-guided focused ultrasound to destroy tumors and uterine fibroids without surgery. Figure / Flickr
The price of foreigners visiting Israel is beyond my imagination, facing four bottles of drip and a “high price” bill.
I was surprised to ask the locals on the opposite side. The price of their medical treatment was so high, but he told me that their medical insurance covers almost all medical expenses. He does not need to spend money to see a doctor.
The development of Israel is like a confrontation against all kinds of harsh conditions. This kind of development sounds a bit “sandwich survival” and seems dull.
In fact, Israel is very energetic. It carries a lot of history and strife, and it is also full of vitality.
△图/Unplash
In Haifa, Israel’s second largest city, emerging technology startups can be seen everywhere. The state’s support for technology entrepreneurship is very strong, and technological innovation contributes 90% to the country’s GDP.
In June this year, Nintendo, one of the top three players in the video game industry, opened its second flagship store in Tel Aviv, Israel, the first in New York.
Not only the hard power of technology agriculture, Israel is also very developed in the video game industry.
△Nintendo’s store in Tel Aviv. Figure / Nintendo Soup
The national anthem of Israel sings: “As long as the soul is deep, there is still the desire of the Jews, looking at the eyes of the East, watching the hills of Zion, we have not lost, hope for two thousand years.”
In a desert in the Middle East, some countries are still devastated by war, and some countries have become upstarts because of their rich oil and gas resources.
Only the development of Israel is solid, gathering sand into towers, and their construction is full of love. The Jews truly regard this small country as the most precious home.
City of the city and mountains and seas
The beauty of Israel comes from a heavy history. Religion also comes from a collection of hodgepods. Although it is small, it has a variety of different landscapes, like a museum of miniature rivers and lakes and sea villages.
Most tourists see Israel on the first side in Tel Aviv, because the entire country has only the capital Tel Aviv has an international airport.
All overseas flights will land at Ben Gurion Airport, and the airport’s parking lot will be far from the city’s vision.
△Tevlav Ben Gurion Airport. Figure / The Times of Israel
It combines two shades of Mediterranean countries and the Middle East. The city’s architecture is like a desert, it is white sand and the city is very modern.
When driving to the old town of Jaffa not far away, European-style bricks and blue iron gates along the Mediterranean coast have many similarities with the Greek islands.
Jaffa Old Town. Source/Unplash
The second largest city, Haifa, is full of vigor, and many technology companies are born here. Most of the tourists come to the city for the Bahá’í Sky Garden.
It faces the ocean, backed by Mount Carmel, and the imaginary Babylonian Hanging Garden is no more beautiful than it.
△图/author for illustration
Whether it is a religious believer, Jerusalem is always the place that attracts the most tourists from all over the world.
It’s so mysterious, so heavy, it’s different from the vibrancy of other cities, and seems to accommodate everything that is completely opposite. In the Jewish classic “Talmud”, “If the world is very beautiful, nine points are in Jerusalem.”
△图/Unsplash
Now, serious female soldiers wear guns at their waists, but smile and take a group photo with tourists in the sunny Old Town Square in Jerusalem;
The Damascus Gate, which leads to the glory of the past, is now crowded with stalls selling fruits and vegetables;
△图/unusualtraveler
The Arabs and the Jews were separated from each other by the streets. The pilgrimage group took the big cross and walked on the 14th road of Jesus’ walking.
The Jewish men wore high hats and bowed their heads to the Wailing Wall, and the Dome of the Rock still radiated soft light in the panorama of the city.
△图/Unplash
This country has given me a lot of deviations between imagination and reality on this road.
When studying the history of the Middle East, the Golan Heights always carries more wars and disputes, bearing the tragic and glory of the entire region.
It should be magnificent in our imagination, but it’s just a boat from the Sea of Galilee. It’s just oneA short hill that stretches.
△Golan Heights. Figure / author for the map
In the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized, he received pilgrimages of more than half a million people each year.
The believers are baptized in rivers in white robes, but the baptism around the trees is only a narrow, light green river. There seems to be no sacredness and sublimity given by religion.
The separation of the two peoples by the Palestinian-Israeli wall is full of controversy and represents a sharp conflict.
But the wall of the wall is full of cartoon characters. If you don’t look at the content, they are like an ordinary funny graffiti wall. The dispute seems never to happen.
△图/Pinterest
The Mediterranean Sea, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, the narrow railways, the cities that look very different, the orchards on both sides of the highway, Israel has such a multifaceted landscape.
Abandoning the historical disputes and abandoning the religious endowment, it waits for visitors to explore and waits for a fair evaluation.
In the Old Testament, God said to Abraham, Give Canaan, who is milking and honey, to the Israelites.
Clamped in the groundThe small country between the sea and the Middle East should not be solidified into a few words. It is neither a paradise nor a hell. It is just an ordinary human being. Like many countries, it has world-famous places of interest and mountains.
Israel’s thick, tolerant, energetic, is the milk and honey flowing in the promised land.
△Photos of the cat/author of the Old Town of Jaffa
This article is from the public number:Nine line (ID: jiuxing_neweekly) , author: old artists