THE mere mention of Jerusalem conjures images of an ancient city that teems of religious piety. To some however, it also connotes of a place that is seemingly under continuous strife.
Despite the mixed notions, 7.2 million tourists made their trek there last year. Many followed Jesus Christ’s footsteps en route to his crucifixion, as well as visited the locations which bore witness to his triumphant entry, until his moments of great passion and glorious resurrection.
Appropriately enough, Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau was the guest of this newspaper’s Coffee Club session before the celebration of Holy Week. He passionately explained the nuances of why Jerusalem, and the entire State of Israel for that matter, still attracts throngs of devotees, though it may seem to be a powder keg of religious and sectarian violence for many.
The good ambassador lamented, however, that the place is beset with what he termed as “an image problem” when it comes to security. He noted that the news coming out of his beloved land is “mostly highlighted by [a] constant barrage of unflattering photographs.”
He said the actual events are disproportionate to the degree of negative publicity, as he spoke in the capacity of having been his country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“I was always amazed by the amount of news generated from Israel, even if it’s not [supposed to be that] much.”
‘Disproportionate’ news
MATITYAU disclosed that there seems to be some form of trouble brewing there, but denied their validity: “I’m not going to use the common term of today. The idea of fake news. [Rather,] it’s about ‘disproportionate news.’”
According to him, “Every [negative] event in Israel is multiplied 10 times than any other event in the world. [There is] a notion that one demonstration in Jerusalem can turn into a major war because it is repeated 24 hours—on loop—while international networks lap it up.”
As a result, he said there is a major discrepancy from what had actually happened on-ground to what is being seen and heard, thus generating so much fear factor.
“The biggest obstacle in Israeli tourism is the perception of security,” he pronounced.
But once that perception is overcome when visitors take a chance to have a good look on Israel’s spiritual contribution to the world, then opportunities lie open for a higher level of appreciation of the country and its people.
Matityau boasted that once the perception is overcome, potential visitors will have better chances to visit the Holy Land.
The burly envoy with the booming voice of a rabbi and the aggressiveness of a car salesman believes that Filipinos who have come and gone to visit Israel “have learned to discern between the ‘noise’ and the ‘voice.’”
Religious center
THE city west of the Dead Sea has been a place of pilgrimage and worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims since biblical times. Its Old City has significant religious sites around the Temple Mount compound, including the Western Wall (sacred to Judaism), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (a Christian pilgrimage site) and the Dome of the Rock (a seventh-century Islamic shrine with a gold dome).
Travel guide PlanetWare.com tells of Jerusalem: “The most contested city on Earth is also one of the most beautiful. The scope of its history is staggering, and its vital place in the traditions of all three monotheistic faiths has led to it being fought over continually through the centuries. [That] is the heart of the Holy Land where the Jews raised the First Temple to keep the Ark of the Covenant safe, where Jesus was crucified and rose again, and where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven to receive God’s word.”
“For believers, a visit…is a pilgrimage to one of the most sacred sites in the world. The number of religious tourist attractions [there] can be baffling for first-time visitors, but luckily most of the top sightseeing landmarks and things to do are secreted within the lanes of the compact Old City district. It would take a lifetime to see everything that Jerusalem offers.”
Progressive country
WHICH is actually true: Israel is also a country of notable achievements propped by its technical and scientific advances.
Matityau revealed Israel is one of the few countries in the world where the level of education is almost 100 percent, where science, innovation and inventions have marked its lot.
“There are about a dozen Israeli Nobel Peace Prize winners,” he disclosed.
Aside from the religious imprint of its place and the people, the country has an enviable amount of inventions and accomplishments. Military-wise, think of the submachine gun Uzi, the Negev light machine gun, Galil assault rifle, the DAN .338 sniper rifle and the Iron Dome that protects their skies from missiles lobbed by enemies across the desert.
They are also a leader in start-ups and before that, the once-dispossessed people triumphantly converted sand dunes that now yield copious amounts of fruits and vegetables being supplied to the world, as well as farm animals for milk and meat.
“They made the dessert bloom,” is how Israelis are often described. No wonder, their feats never cease to amaze visitors.
Tourist bucket list
SPEAKING of which, many Filipinos join pilgrimages to Israel to observe the two most-celebrated holidays: Christmas and Lent.
He warned, though, that crowds around Israel can be extremely thick during those times, advising those with discomfort in multitudes to come during the off-season instead:
“Jerusalem is a big name, but a small place; you have to remember the [geographical] proportions.”
Matityau relayed it is now easier to fly to Israel, either through its national airline El Al via Hong Kong, or the latter’s international carrier.
“And I can tell you: the airplanes are loaded with Filipinos.”
In 2015 there were about 8,000 Filipino tourists who made their way to the Holy Land; two years later that number tripled to 24,000. He expects the numbers to increase some more.
However, the envoy cautioned that tourism is not simply about going around in another country.
“It’s about [building] bridges between the people you get to know [and] get to touch. It’s also a bridge of friendship for Filipinos, [as Israel is always in their bucket list of countries to visit].”
Matityau said his country has worked hard in the last couple of years to make their inclusion in the said list “a reality.”
He feels “very strongly” that 2018 would be another banner year for his country’s tourism, with high hopes that legacy carrier and now four-star Philippine Airlines will soon land in Israel.
As an example, the Israeli ambassador cited that China’s Hainan Airlines took only one year of connecting China to Israel before it tripled the number passengers going to his country.
“The moment you have flights, it makes [travel] easier. Everybody hates layovers, especially when there’s a language or cultural barrier. Nobody likes to stay in airports,” he declared.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano, Alysa Salen