I have only been in this port in 1994 during my 2nd tour
aboard USNS OBERVATION ISLAND. We came into the port for fuel , stores and a
small repair period. Here I was in the Holy Land and my wife was on the other
side of the planet in Hong Kong with my daughter. Hey I found Pizza but just
like the Arab states the pepperoni had to be made from beef. No pork here. After
we finished with the fuel detail I went ashore and found a rental car agency and
headed down to Jerusalem. Being a Christian and a general history buff I felt
kind of a peace being in the land of Abraham and David. It was a nice drive.
Haifa is just north of Tel Aviv. It is a multi lane highway running south but
there are stop lights to contend with all the way to Tel Aviv . The highway is
more like a freeway running the rest of the way to Jerusalem, much like Alaska 1
from Eagle River through Anchorage. I did not get out of my car except in Tel
Aviv at a gas station to get a soft drink and some snacks. I did drive around in
Jerusalem and tried to go to Bethlehem. I drove through a check point and after
what I saw I decided it would be safer for me to go back the way I came. So I
never did see the city of David. The next day after I returned the car I took a
van taxi to a grocery and found that many of the items in the store had been
imported from Canada vice the US. During my road trip returning to Haifa I had
the fortune of giving a ride to a couple of weekend warriors. They dispelled
some myths that had been reported in the American press about women in combat
roles. Truth was all women in the Israeli military worked in support roles at
that time.
