“Saith the Lord GOD who gathereth the dispersed of Israel: Yet I will gather others to him, beside those of him that are gathered” (Isaiah 56:8).
Dave Barry speaks about his visit to Israel, bringing his unique sense of humor with him to the holy land.
His response to his visit was overwhelmingly positive, but not everything was perfect. Of the camels, he observed: “They go up very high in the air. You don’t realize it from the ground but our camel was at least 18 to 20 feet high,” and stated he’d prefer to go into combat next time. Tel Aviv, he said, is “a lot like Miami, right down to the fact that nobody is speaking English.”
Barry also kept fans in the loop via the Miami Herald website, providing quips about his experiences rappelling at the Ramon Crater (is it a “ major sin to urinate on your rabbi”?) and swimming in the Dead Sea (it “makes your butt sting.”)
In a serious moment, he acknowledged that his trip has been wonderful, and that Israelis were more welcoming and less brusque than he had expected. He also expressed his concern for the chances of peace in the Middle East after being briefed on the political situation. He joked, “There will never be peace in this hotel in Jerusalem, let alone the Middle East. Since we’ve been here, [our group has run into] a group here from up the coast, like Boca, and there is already tension. It’s building; there could be fighting. There could be rioting in the Inbal.” However, he also said, “However complicated I thought it was, however many issues I thought Israel faced, it’s like exponentially more than that.” Barry expressed his admiration for Israelis leading ordinary lives.
This is Barry’s first visit to Israel.
