Oh No! In eager anticipation of my forthcoming trip to
Israel (I'm a 32 year old woman, planning to travel alone) I
rushed out and bought my copy of the Rough Guide to Israel.
One of the first pages I looked at was the woman travellers
section, to be told that "unfortunately, it's difficult for
a single woman to have a coffee, a stroll or a sunbathe" Oh
well, I told myself, everybody knows the Middle East isn't
the most relaxing place for women. But then, down the page,
I read all this stuff about the danger of rape and serious
sexual assault, referring readers to rape crisis centres in
the big cities! And not even the usual calmers like "you
may get hassled but serious sexual assault is not really a
problem" or "you're no more at risk from rape than you would
be at home" and so on.
So, I'd REALLY like to hear from women who've been to
Israel: should I pack that chador and/or personal alarm, or
are Rough Guide being alarmist?
Thank you!
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I am actually on a personal vendetta against the rough
guide books. I am a male but as far as the rough guide
Israel version is concerned you can throw it away. I have
not picked up the recent version but the last one out
caused a stir and several thousand letters were sent in
complaint. It was an anti- Israeli document, the research
was all done by either arabs or jews so far left of the
political spectrum they were falling off. I am sorry to
bring politics into it but i NEED IT TO MAKE A POINT. The
guides bsic purpose was to put people off travelling to
Israel, it talked about violence prone border police , rape
, violent cities and the like. Israel is not perfect were
treatment to women are concerned , it is after all a middle
east country, but the crime rate is LOWER than any western
state as are the rape figures. I am in a hostel in tel
aviv writing this in ben yehuda street at the heart of what
can be called Israels only ' red light district' inside
this hostel are 160 backpackers , about 50 girls and about
25 of the girls are working dishwashing or cleaning in
resaraunts etc. The hours they work are varied but many of
them RETURN ALONE EVERY NIGHT in the wee hours. I compare
this to my sister in london who worries every night when
she goes out and my mother who worries if my sister is
coming home. TAKE NO NOTICE OF THE ROUGH GUIDE come to
Israel have a good time and buy a decent guide book that
will help you.
I must agree with Dave. The Rough Guide greatly exaggerates
the dangers & hassles to women, though naturally, there are
creeps out there. You might be as welcome in an all male
cafe where everybody is smoking a shisha as I would be in a
women's breastfeeding party, but otherwise, these people
have seen it all. bob
I was solo in Israel in November and I spent most of my time
in and around Jerusalem. I never never had a problem eating
alone or sitting having a coffee alone. I did all of my
touring, bussing, etc solo - no problems at all. I have no
idea what the Rough Guide is talking about!
.
The only problem I did have was in the Old City at night. It
is kind of creepy and tons of Arabic men hanging about who
do hassle you. I just kept my eyes straight ahead, walked
confidently & pretended I knew exactly where I was going
.
I must say that I kept myself dressed modestly all the time
no shorts, just long pants or a dress. I did not wear any
form fitting clothes regardless of the fact that I saw a
million young Israeli girls (early 20's) wearing lycra pants
& low cut tops. I figured that even though they were very
safe, they knew the local 'rules' and I didn't want to
presume that I did know the rules! Many westerners think
that because most Israelis live a very 'western' style life,
the same behaviour goes along with it. I don't think that is
true everywhere - particularly given the ultra-orthodox
Jewish impact.
.
Also, you mention a chador - are you going to be hanging out
in largely Arabic areas? If so, I found it more
disconcerting in the Arabic parts of Jerusalem. The men are
more 'confrontational' about their interest than I have
found most men in the west. They will stare & stare & stare
which can be hard to handle. Just ignore them & keep on
going...
.
You mention an alarm - where will you be staying? I stayed
in the Old & New Cities - I felt 100% safe at all times in
the places I stayed at. To ease your mind, why not spend a
few extra bucks and stay at a hotel with a good reputation?
I agree with the above. As long as you take the usual
precautions you will be okay. The place to be most careful
is Jerusalem's Old City. Some girls I met complained about
harassment (such as getting their butt pinched) and
unwelcome advances, but just handle it the way you would
handle jerks in a bar back home. I found the Palestinians to
be really easy to embarrass, and you can make them feel
guilty.
In the Jewish areas you might get hit on by Israeli
studmuffins, but it's pretty obvious what they're trying to
do and you can handle it the way you handle it in your home
country. Most women are street-wise enough to deal with
this stuff. So just take the usual precautions and you will
be as safe as you are at home. All the women I met while
travelling in Israel had a great time in the country, and
I'm sure you will too.
Israel is a western first world country. They have total
democratic systems including proper policing, courts of law
and a lawful ethic. People in cities and even towns are
normal western people. The only places where people might
pose a problem to you would be in arab towns inside Israel
or in the West Bank. Other places, from Eilat to Jerusalem
to Tel Aviv to Haifa to Rosh Ha'ayin to Sfat to Tiberias to
Netanya to Ein Gedi are used to bikinis, cappucinos, rock
music and young people on drugs at nightclubs. They know
what happens in your own country. Many people manage to
combine this kind of lifestyle with a certain amount of
Jewishness without letting it impede their way of life or
yours. You can feel free to do everything you can do at
home. When I was in Israel I did so much stuff alone (even
though I was there on a study program with lots of friends.
I would taxi home by myself, walk around cities doing
grocery shopping by myself, get my camera fixed, go to the
doctor, buy a stereo, deal with the police, go to the
beach, all kinds of things.
absolutely right. the rough guide is pants and none of the
others are that much better really. the "jewish" bits of
israel are pretty much as safe as anywhere in the west and
provided you stay well covered (headscarves are great) in
the west bank and are sensible then it's great there too -
you're more likely to be hassled by the idf in hebron than
by the palestinians for instance. and regardless of what the
guidebooks say the west bank is well worth a visit,
especially if you can befriend any palestinians who are on
the whole very friendly.
Hi, I'm thinking of going to Israel in the next 2 months. I
would like to visit all of the Christian Holy places and I'm
planning on going to Israel alone. Does anyone have any
tips for me? I would like to keep it cheap. Thanks.
Rough guide might not be all that off. I'm an Italian girl
who got raped by a couple of Isreal's soldiers last year
because I look Palastinian. They stuck a barrel of an M-16
riffle in my vigina and threatened shoot me if I didn't
perform oral sex on them. I don't know if I was shocked more
from being raped or from the extraordinarily small size of
their genetalia.
mary j
i don't know why but your lying.
I would like to say that if someone was in the situation
you say you were in they would find some way of bringing
themselves out of the nightmare, and I do not want to
cause offense to anybody, but she is lying. This did not
happen and whatever hatred has caused her to spout this
trash here is eating her up.
you have absolutely no way of saying whether mary is genuine
or not and have no right to abuse her comment like that.
while i don't know of anything so horrific i have met arab
looking people (who've no particular interest in the
politics and therefore no axe to grind) who have been abused
by idf soldiers - one had his german passport ripped up and
stamped on and was hit with the soldier's gun, the other was
"merely" given loads of hassle. you shouldn't let your
personal prejudices get in the way of fact. - if you give
guns (and therefore power) to 17 year olds indiscriminately
and encourage hatred then inevitably some of them are going
to abuse it.
vic she is lying
look I really like the way you draw parallels, there is no
comparison between the examples you draw and the one she
has given. I know she is lying because of the way she
describes herself, how does she know why she was raped "
because I looked palestinian" , I did not read about it in
the press which means she did not report it, that an
italian tourist generally does not know what an M16 is or
how did she know exactly what kind of gun it was and she
seems by her last comment to be making light of what would
have been an incredibly traumatic experience, its too gory
and made up vic, I can sympathise with victims and in this
case it is the israelis who are being victimised. Is your
motto always be on the side against Israel or somewhere
have you once been fair.
Mary tells the truth Dave .Don't you see on tv that israeli
soldiers broke the arms of Palestenian people.On the other
hand one israeli soldier put the bomb in the AL Khalil
mosque and killed a lot of prayer.The world doesn't forget
all these crimes candy.
Yes and I suppose it happened to you too, and you know her
of course and you were there at the time. Well vic there
you go someone else agrees with you, bedfellows, make you
feel better?
I must admit I found Mary J's last comment a bit strange,
but your reasons for not believing her are totally without
base. You say you didn't read about it in the press
therefore she can't have reported it. Do you read every
newspaper in isreal? Every day? Maybe she requested the
police not to report it to the press. Maybe the police were
carrying out investigations and decided not to release
details to the press. Maybe, like the vast majority of rape
victims, she didn't report it - after all who'd report
something to the same people who committed the crime (ie
Israeli state security). 'Italian tourists don't know what
an M16 is'. The M16 is, after the AK-47, the most
recognisable weapon in the world, and I think most
Westerners would know exactly what an M16 is. 'How would
she know what kind of weapon they were using?' you ask. If
someone were sticking it up her vagina, I think she'd
bloody notice what it was.
I am not posting again here, because people don't seem to
recognise propogandist hatred when it smacks them in the
face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
don't mean to be rude but, why are you going to a country
that you appear to not be looking forward to - the truth
is, Isreali men are up there on a plateau with the best of
them - young egyptians, maronite lebanese (the really best
of middle-eastern men) expect to be treated as fair game.
If you want to get hit on but feel safe - come to Egypt
instead. Welcome to the Dahab Hotel.
Having lived in Isreal for three years (Lena) you are going
to be pretty much safe but thre are a couple of do's and
don'ts----
don't hitch alone - especially through the Negev or
pack a 45 instead of a chador, last year 2 Eng.(Jewish)
students were shot (one dead) by an Isreali reservist while
hitching down to Elat.All beaches are fine for bikini
bathing, with the exception of Ein Gedi, Arab section,
where arm-length clothes are suggested.
i am an israeli woman. as such, i am shocked that this
question is even comming up! of all countries in the middle
east israel is probably the safest for women alone. israeli
people are travellers themselves, our women travel alone in
other countries too, you should have no problem at all! the
soldeirs rape story is a complete lie!! any "beep" here
goes straight to the media, i can't believe something like
this could even happen, an israeli soldier know that he'll
spend life in jail if he even touches a palestinean person
for no reason. every case of mistake shooting is going into
huge trials here, so a rape??? it just can't be true, i'll
vouch for it.
you can walk around with mini skirts, all israeli girlz do,
you won't stand out. jerusalem however has religious areas
i try to dress more properly for and so should you, but
that's it. there's not much crime in israel so really,
enjoy your trip, don't worry about these things!! totally
irrelevant. stupid guyz might pick you up on the beach, you
could tell them safely to buzz off, they bark, they don't
bite.
carmel.
i am an israeli guy and i can tell u that israel is a safe country like any other westren country ,dont be afraid what the media and c.n.n and this rough guide wrote its really bulshitttttttttttt !!!!!!!!
go and travel and i wish u a beautiful journy to my country ,i am travelling 7 month ,now china and what the guide books says isnt holly !!!!
i had lonely planet of:india,nepal,srilanka,thailand,laos,china and i think that they write it only for cover their butt.
all the best in my country
Carmel, no offense, but it seems that you have been a little
brainwashed by all the propoganda in the Israeli media. Do
you really believe that an IDF soldier will get a life
sentence for "touching" a Palestinian? Hah! They are
raping, beating, abusing, and harassing Palestinians of all
ages from both sexes on a daily basis. And journalists
working for foreign media organizations, who attempt to
record on video such abuses, are also commenly victims to
such abuse. At most, if the case goes to court, an Israeli
soldier will get 1-2 years and most probably get out in a
few months. For the most serious crimes (killing one or
more civilians), they usually get off on "insanity"
arguments.
I have visited Israel and can only say that in the major
cities, women can go around as normally as anywhere else in
the world. Normal precautions apply, like anywhere else. I
found Israel to be as westernized as Lebanon and found women
travelling around as freely in Israel as I found there.