The military guys shown in the op's pictures are actually Border Police. In Israel there is national service where everybody must serve, men and women alike, so there is a good cross section of book worms and computer nerds up to testosterone driven "bad asses," you get the whole gamut.

 

Very cool. Thank you for sharing your trip and pics!

 

Great pics! How was the riding?, did you put on many miles and did you feel safe.

Thanks,
Loopy

 

Oh, man, your pics gave me goosebumps - we were just there last month and I know exactly what you mean about some of the sites. You could almost say it's a life-changing experience. I've been to the Vatican many times, and a lot of the major cathedrals in Europe, and although they're spectacular to see, none of them have the spirituality of the sites in Israel and Turkey.


We didn't make it to Tel Aviv except to go to Ben Gurion on our way home. We stayed in Haifa and did day trips to Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Magdala, Rosh HaNikra, Acre...it was amazing, all of it. And of course, the only H-D dealer in the country is in Tel Aviv, so no t-shirt for this guy. I've picked up shirts from Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Istanbul and a few other places but none from Israel.


Thanks for sharing your pics - brought back some great memories!!

 

I asked and was told they don't. According to my research, they are the only HD dealer in the entire country.

 

Didn't get a chance to ride. I wouldn't want to anyway, that traffic was the most insane I've ever been in and I've driven in every major city on the east coast. I rented an Opel, which is about the size of a Prius and it was still a tight fit everywhere I went. Overall I never felt like I was in any great danger. We stayed away from areas of potential danger, but it's still the Middle East so you never feel 100% safe.

 

Initially they were a little standoffish, but my girlfriend is from there and we were with one of her brothers who is high ranking in the IDF. Once he told them who he was and that I was an American police officer they became very friendly. One of the female officers begged me to bring her home with me and didn't seem to care about my girlfriend being there.

 

So do you have 2 girlfriends , new girlfriend or same girlfriend now? Lol.... What does MOT mean?

 

MOT means Member Of the Tribe (in other words Jewish).

Last time I was in Israel I didn't get to the HD store, next time for sure. My mom wants to be buried there so I guess at some point I will be going again.

If anybody gets a chance to visit Israel I say do it. It's an amazing country, very small but very beautiful, so much history not just biblical history. I've never felt unsafe there.

 

Thats a great story. Mazel!