"Interviewed By A Bible College Student"

A Bible college student living and attending school in Jerusalem was conducting an interview for a class assignment. He asked me five questions and I thought you might be interested in my answers.

  1. What was your first impression of Israel?
    I began picturing Israel right after I decided that I was going to visit her, which was a last minute decision on my part. I tried to picture Israel as the land of milk and honey, the Holy Land, sacred ground, etc. I pictured it a place where everyone either attended a synagogue or a mosque. That this was a land full of religious extremism, which was a prerequisite or requirement to reside here. It was the place to go if you were seeking profound closeness with G-d, an extreme religious experience, or a pilgrimage type of thing. But, before G-d allowed me to enter into the promise land, he gently opened my eyes. He gave me a gentle wakeup call instead of a rude awakening. He wanted me to view the promise land prior to entering it.

    My 'Delta' flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Newark, New Jersey was uneventful. At Newark I switched from Delta to El-Al Airlines for a direct flight to Tel Aviv; it was during this leg of my trip the scales were removed from my eyes.

    Due to the ongoing terrorist threats, El-Al is noted for its tight security system. In fact, their metal detector was so sensitive that I had to remove my sneakers before it would stop beeping. Another thing was that a group of Afro-Americans from Chicago, calling themselves Black Hebrews, have entered Israel, settled in Arad, and refused to leave. With me happening to be an Afro-American and heading for Arad, I was interrogated and detained at every checkpoint (I'm glad I wasn't from Chicago too). Perhaps a black man traveling alone, visiting Israel looks or seems somewhat suspicious? I can only speculate. The fact is, people before me simply flipped their credentials and were allowed to pass. But I was always detained or escorted by security to a backroom where a specialist interrogated me further. Also, before my luggage could be transferred from Delta to El-Al they had to be x-rayed and opened by Israeli security.

    Every security person I encountered seemed to snap commands at me and seemed extremely rude. I was beginning to feel unwelcome, and I haven't even got on the plane yet. Where was the milk and honey?

    Little did I know at the time, that I happen to have prominent Palestinian facial features and a similar skin complexion. In other words, I look like the enemy, which was another factor.

    While waiting on a line, a rabbi cut in front of me with a Torah (Bible) in his hand. While standing in another line, two rabbis in my rear (one on each side) kept crowding and pressing against me. Note! I tend to call all orthodox Jews rabbis. You know, the guys with black beards, black suits, black shoes, white shirts, and black hats.

    When I finally got seated on the plane, I asked the lady next to me (who rested her arm against mine like she knew me) if she was Jewish. She replied that she was Jewish but not religious. The lady next to her (who wore a see-through type blouse) also claimed to be Jewish, but only celebrated the High Holy days. I figured that that was similar to those Christians who only go to church on Easter.

    Well, during the rest of the flight I pondered these things. I was beginning to realize that the land of milk and honey had some major issues! I started preparing and bracing myself for whatever. Some first impression!

    As for my first impression of the land, the scenery, the landscape…well, I viewed this with my spiritual eyes! Carnally, the land can appear barren and sprawled with pebbles, stones and rocks. But when I look at what appears to be desolate and know that this is where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob roamed. And that this is where Yeshua once walked; I see the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey!

  2. What was your reaction to hearing the language and seeing the people?
    If I listen to spoken Hebrew with my carnal ears, the language is far from romantic with all its guttural sounds. But, just knowing that it's the holy language of G-d, the language that Yeshua spoke, the language that the Bible was written in causes me to listen with my spiritual ears and it is like the songs of turtledoves.

    I will answer the second part of this question "What was your reaction to…seeing the people?" along with my response to question 3.

  3. Try to give a few examples of situations or customs, which strike you as being completely foreign to American culture. (Dress, greeting by kissing cheeks or anything else you noticed). Try to think of Israeli customs, but if you have found any Russian or Arab customs strange write that as well.
    • People in Israel seem to have no concept of personal space. Which explains why the lady next to me on the plane thought nothing of resting her arm against mine. Yes, people bump into you, walk right towards you, sit close next to you, and even hit you with shopping carts. I also found out that cutting in lines is a common practice here as well.
    • No toilet paper in public restrooms! (Something I took for granted just was.)
    • Bomb shelters in houses, neighborhoods, hotels, schools, office buildings, etc. All Israel citizens having government issued gas mask. Armed soldiers and armed citizen watch. Roadblocks/checkpoints leading to and from Israeli city at night.
    • No free refills of coffee and soda. Buffets few and far between.
    • Unwrapped breads with flies on them in grocery stores.
    • Car horns blowing and impatient motorists in Tel Aviv, Beer Sheva, Jerusalem, and I assume in other large cities.
    • Women wearing hip hugging pants, leaving nothing for the imagination.
    • Six days work week.
    • Seen lots of birth defects, most likely cause from inbred marriages.
    • Large families and husbands present.
    • Orthodox Jews having an air of arrogance as if better than the rest of the world.
    • Hebrew and Russian conversations often sound like an argument is taking place, when they're just talking.
    • Bedouin women who play with their toddlers by biting them so hard as to leave teeth marks and making them cry.

  4. What frustrates you the most?
    Not being able to communicate and express myself in Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian.

  5. What do you like?
    • I love the closeness of the Messianic Jewish community. How they will put you up for the night, even going so far as to give you a house key. I like how brilliant their lights shine. They do not cut lines, they do not blow their horns, and they dress decent and respectfully.
    • I like to play chess with the Russian Jews.
    • I love the hospitality of the Bedouins.
    • And I love learning about Israel.