Travel to Israel: A Life-Altering and Safe Adventure

For many Jews around the world, a visit to Israel is an extraordinary way to explore their heritage. Some choose to travel to Israel to get a glimpse into the ancient past, visiting places that have become touchstones for Jewish culture. Others come to celebrate a bar/bat mitzvah, with the whole family experiencing this rite of passage in the Jewish homeland. Regardless of the reason for their visit, however, almost everyone who comes to Israel finds themselves transformed by the experience.

Despite today's headlines, travel to Israel is entirely safe?safer, perhaps, than most other destinations. Crime rates throughout the country are far lower than those found in big cities across the globe.

Still, there are those who are led to believe that Israel is a country that more resembles a war zone than a vastly beautiful destination. But the truth is that security in Israel is meant to both deter violence and maintain the serenity of the country's multitude of landscapes. That's why you'll see soldiers and police in most public places?not because there is a threat, but because they're remaining vigilant to ensure there is no threat.

From Eilat to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem to the Galilee, you'll quickly find yourself focusing on all there is to see and do during your visit, rather than thinking about security. Significant archaeological excavations in Caesarea, Acre and Masada. Natural wonders in the Hula Nature Reserve, and contemporary works in the artist colony at Safed. The riches of Jerusalem found in the Jewish Quarter, the Machaneh Yehuda market and the Western Wall, among others. In Tel Aviv, a stroll down Rothschild Boulevard reveals the city's famed Bauhaus architecture, which earned the Israeli capital the nickname ?The White City? and a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. These are the places that form the beauty of Israel?which is the true image of this remarkable country.

Safe travel to Israel is one of the reasons why more and more tourists visit the Jewish state year after year. So whether you're planning on exploring the country through any of the numerous Israel tours offered or doing it on your own, you can be sure that your visit to Israel will be extremely safe, extraordinarily memorable and completely transformative.

SECURITY STATEMENT

ITC travelers - one and all - return home to the United States reporting that they felt extremely safe and well cared for while in Israel. We thank you for choosing to travel with ITC and want you to feel confident that your experience will be exciting, meaningful, memorable, and safe. To that end, all of our Israel tours are conducted in keeping with the following policies:

•  All itineraries are designed with safety as the first consideration. Even so, throughout the trip, itineraries remain responsive to up-to-the-minute security updates that we receive from Israel's official 24-hour touring security supervision unit. Itineraries are re-checked and coordinated constantly by ITC's Israel office with this unit, with readiness to make on-the-spot changes if they should ever become necessary. (Such changes were indeed required and smoothly implemented during the 2006 Lebanon War; they had not been necessary throughout ITC's twenty-plus previous years running Israel tours.)

•  Bus drivers and guides carry cellular phones, so they can be updated regularly.

•  Bus travel is limited to the most secure routes.

•  Buses are checked in the morning prior to boarding and are never left unattended. The bus is rechecked throughout the day each time participants exit and re-board.

•  All transfers of luggage occur under the supervision of Israeli security.

•  In the case of youth trips, the young people are never unsupervised; even ?free? time is enjoyed in small, chaperoned groups.

•  While most of our groups do not find it necessary to use them, we can provide an armed security guard for your group at additional cost upon request.