Touchdown...Tel Aviv!

After an overnight flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt, and then on to Tel Aviv, we were finally on Israel's soil. We were met at the airport by our teacher, Willis Britt, and boarded a bus for Bethlehem. As I looked back from the bus, I could see the Ben Gurion Airport where we had landed. Who was Ben Gurion?

My research tells me that David Ben-Gurion was the first prime minister of Israel. He is also credited with founding the State of Israel. He was an important Zionist leader, and headed the World Zionist Organization in 1946. On May 14, 1948, he formally proclaimed the founding of the State of Israel, and was the first to sign it's Declaration of Independence. He is considered by many to be Israel's founding father. Before our trip, we had been encouraged to read Blood Brothers, by Elias Chacour, and Memories of a Palestinian Mother, by Alex Awad. I knew that there were several sides to the issues currently facing Israel. The name of the airport brought these thoughts to the forefront. I wanted to leave preconceived notions behind and experience Israel directly - not through the filter of someone else's prejudices. I knew I wouldn't find answers, but I was on a quest to fully understand the question!