As the state of Israel celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it is working through a series of difficult questions about its domestic, regional and international future. As its visitors brush off their passports and embark on a variety of 50th-anniversary trips and tours, they, too, are forced to ask questions that could puzzle even a political science professor. Visitors to Israel in the state's early history explored a completely different country than tourists today. Geographically, demographically and culturally, Israel has morphed into a land its founders would hardly recognize. Changes in geographical boundaries are the most obvious, because in 50 years there have been nearly a half-dozen wars.
Tour guides are fond of saying that the state of Israel is the size of New Jersey.
But when the United Nations partitioned Palestine in 1947 to create Israel, it was closer to the size of a slightly bulging Newark. Both are now in the process of being transferred to the Palestinian Authority under the terms of the peace process. Few sojourners, whether toting canvas backpacks or the latest Louis Vuitton, are accidental tourists to Israel. From the first spies sent by Moses into the land of Canaan until today, tourists have craned their necks, scribbled notes and even engaged in a little creative dissembling to experience the land that promises nothing less than an adventure of biblical proportions. Matthew Simon, senior rabbi at B'nai Israel Congregation in Rockville, has been to Israel more than 100 times since 1956, when he lived in Jerusalem as a one-year student at Hebrew University.