Visiting Masada and the Dead Sea

Today I visited the Dead Sea and Masada on a tour bus blessed by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. What struck me the most about the tour was the total absence of any reference to the Palestinians. On the way out from Jerusalem, the bus passed a half-finished portion of the Separation Wall that is cutting off large portions of the Palestinian population. The only reference to non-Jewish inhabitants was in relation to the nomadic Bedouin, whom we were assured had a tradition of living in primitive, 'patriarchal' conditions which are 'now turning into shanty towns... although they traditionally live in tents'.

The first stop was Masada, the site of a mountain top fortress created by the paranoid Jewish King Herod. Herod created the fortress so that, in the event that he was ousted (he was not very popular, and was installed by the Romans who could've removed him if they wanted to), he could escape to Masada with his entourage. In later years, a group of zealous Jews who refused to accept Roman control, literally walled themselves up at Masada. Over three years, the Romans built a giant ramp with which to send up a siege engine to break Masada open. This they eventually did. As the apocryphl story goes, the Jews in Masada decided to kill themselves rather than surrender to the Romans, lest they be sold as slaves and forced to convert to Roman paganism. In the modern Jewish state, young Israeli soldiers go up to Masada to swear an oath that 'Masada shall never fall again.' Hearing that made me think about the hundreds of nuclear weapons Israel has. I wonder if someone like Sharon ever whispers that oath to himself as he contemplates Israel's future. Would he and the other, more fanatical elements of Israel's power structure invoke Masada in the event of a major military crisis?

Marianne, our tour guide, explained that the story of Masada was an inspiration 'not just to Jewish people, but to all oppressed people.' I doubt she realised how ironic that statement was. She continued to explain that when the Jews left the settlements in Gaza (with most of the infrastructure in those settlements, all developed thanks to billions of dollars in American tax payer dollars - no, Marianne didn't say that bit), they compared their situation to the Jews at Masada facing the Romans. Marianne tended to agree with this interepretation, although I personally found it difficult to see how the occupied Palestinians could be compared to the Roman Empire, the United States of their era. Especially since the settlers are not of that region.

Our next stop was the Dead Sea, perhaps one of the most remarkable places I have ever visited. The water is so salty, you literally float in it. It's easier to sit in the water than to stand. The water stings your eyes horribly, which is why you dare not duck your head underwater, and the taste is overpoweringly salty. Oh, and yes, it truly is dead. Nothing lives in the water, other than tourists from time to time.

The view from Masada - overlooking the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea.

The blogger from the blue lagoon (aka emersing myself in Dead Sea mud)