It has been my father's dream to visit Israel since he was a teen. He has put off traveling there both for financial reasons and perceived lack of safety. He is retiring in March 2009, and I would like to surprise him with an Israel tour as a gift.

1) There seems to be significant conflict in Israel right now. Is it better to wait for things to calm down... or do people feel the tourist areas are safe enough to visit despite the conflict? I feel if I wait for peace in the Middle East I'll wait forever, but I don't want to send my dad into an unsafe situation.

2) Can someone recommend a good tour company? My father would be interested in visiting from a Christian perspective. We live in Canada.

Thank you very kindly in advance for your help.

I would just wait. The military presence in Israel is so visible in peacetime, I really wouldn't like to visit during such a heavy conflict. It's not so much the safety, it's the hassle of roadblocks, security searches, military checkpoints that would be more likely to put me off. It is a constant reminder that it is a land in conflict.

You might google Galilee and see what comes up, or search through his church for tours.

Check on this other thread about traveling in Israel: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

We are in the same boat, but we have tickets and are making the normal payments on a trip planned for the middle of April. A bit unsure, but we're going ahead with it right now. It is a trip led by a friend of ours who teaches at a school of theology in Manila. He studied 3 years at the Institute of Holy Land Studies and is quite knowledgeable about Israel (and from a Christian perspective). So I am also interested in the responses to your question. Patty

Hi,
We did a day tour of Jerusalem on Christmas day after this all tours were cancelled, it is as the previous poster say's not so much with safety as the long long delays at checkpoints and security. We were told to expect anything up to three hours delay and that was relevant peacetime - if there is such a thing in Israel. We went through several checkpoints and roadblocks were they kept boardining the bus for passport checks,it seemed to us very timewasting we were an organised tour that they knew were coming as everything has to be passed in advance.
Having said, the tour was brilliant from a religous christian point of veiw and the knowledge superb - totally lost me I'm afraid - to indepth- from my Sunday school stories.

in toronto 'peerless travel' and 'aufgang' specialize in trips to israel. many of the private guides in israel are well trained to give the christian perspective. their knowledge of history and architecture and culture is remarkable. it is really easy to plan a trip to israel with one of these companies- just tell them what you want, they'll arrange it all.