European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 4, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Israel the Mountaintop fortress of Masada he site of the last stand of the jews before defeat by Rome nearly 2,000 years ago. Troubled history tiny country remembers the milestones of horror from Masada to holocaust by Bob Kose staff writer few visitors to Israel no matter How seasoned a traveler or Learned a historian leave without experiencing some degree of Surprise maybe Shock at the extent to which the Small jewish state is an armed Camp. A file of soldiers carrying weapons is As common a sight on a red sea Beach As a child with a pail and shovel. Motorists Don t hesitate to pull Over in the desert to pick up hitchhiking military personnel heading Home for the weekend with a Duffel bag of dirty clothes and a 1 loaded m-16. A Young woman embraces her Boyfriend on a Jerusalem Street her Arm resting comfortably on the Stock of the Rifle Slung barrel end Down across her Young Man s Back. An unassuming gatekeeper dressed in to shirt jeans and Tennis shoes smiles and Waves guests through to the dead sea Kibbutz hotel lobby. No questions asked. Only when he walks Back to his Small sentry Post is the Bottom line Mission of his Job revealed by the handle of the automatic pistol poking out of his hip pocket. Clearly the High profile no nonsense Security Israel maintains is a product of the state of War under which the country has lived since it was declared an Independent nation in 1948. But two places tourists to Israel should consider adding to their itinerary help to provide historical perspective on continued on Page 4 one of the Many memorials dotting the landscape at the mount of remembrance where the deaths of 6 million jews during the holocaust Are remembered. March 4, 1993 stripes Magazine 3
