Shalom

In the last week or so, I can't seem to avoid Israel tourism adverts.  It’s bizarre, they're always on – it doesn’t matter what I’m watching; it could be sports, it could be a gritty drama, it could be a repeat of the Big Bang Theory, it could be local news, whatever, the advert inevitably appears.  And frankly, I just don’t see the appeal of Israel and it’s certainly not somewhere I’ve thought of or am particularly interested in going to.  I’m not going to go all Jeremy Corbyn, but I’m no fan of the country and its actions in the Middle East.  And I’m not religious – which has to be the main reason why you might want to go – so it just doesn’t have any specific appeal to me.  I’m sure it’s safe – probably a lot safer than you think.  And it probably has a lot of great things to see and do.  But I’m not sure of the reason why the sudden and rapid increase in number of adverts, especially in the Seattle area which is a long way away from Israel and with a likely small target demographic for the ad.  Tourism adverts for San Diego, Oregon, even Idaho (even though there is absolutely no reason to go to Idaho – there is very little to see and do there, it is the US equivalent of Lincolnshire!) I understand, but not Israel.