By Andrew Coen
The delegation, whose trip to Israel was sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, included six state senators, executive branch officials, religious leaders and others. The trip ran from Monday, Aug. 15, to Monday, Aug. 22.
Last August, Sen. Skelos was scheduled to visit Israel for the first time since 1987, but the trip was postponed because of security concerns. "The trip went very well," said Skelos in a phone interview on Monday afternoon. "[Israel] is a very vibrant country."
The mission to Israel included meetings with leading Israeli government officials, social service providers, intelligence experts, academics and members of the health care community, as well as visits to holy sites like the Western Wall, a hospital, the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum, Masada and the Knesset.
Sen. Skelos said that the trip featured two aspects, which included tours of historical and religious sites as well and a view of how military protection and security are situated in the region around Israel. The delegation got a first-hand look by taking trips around the newly built security fence in the West Bank, where many Palestinians live.
"We got a sense of how vulnerable Israel is," said Skelos. "It makes me fully understand why the United States should be fully supportive of the security of Israel."
The delegation's trip to the Middle East was in the midst of Israel's controversial pullout from Gaza, giving the land to the Palestinians. As a result, security in the country was bolstered with the increasing tensions of settlers who did not want to leave the land they have occupied since the end of the 1967 war against Egypt. "It's difficult for anybody not to be sad about people being uprooted from their homes," said Skelos. "There is a hope that this will lead to peace."
While Skelos may have been a half a world away in Israel, he ended up running into three people from his hometown of Rockville Centre. He also got a tour from Lawrence resident Jeff Katz, a Republican candidate running for Nassau County Legislature against incumbent Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) in the Seventh District. "It's amazing the people you see and run into," said Skelos.
Since September 2000, when the latest intifada, or Holy War, between the Israelis and Palestinians broke out, causing thousands of deaths on both sides, tourism in the Jewish State has been down and while Skelos said it has picked up a little of late, he would like to see it get back to where it was in the mid-1990s. "The tourism is not where it should be," said Skelos. "I would encourage people to go [to Israel] because you feel safe at all times. There is a tremendous amount of security."
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