ML/NJ
When I was there with a Catholic pilgrimage group two years ago, our priest’s Bible was confiscated (he got it back later) and those of us who wore Crucifixes were told to hide them inside our shirts.
The time I was there, I saw what appeared to be groups of school children (about normal class size) holding Pali flags and reciting (chanting) slogans which didn’t sound all that friendly. Under adult direction, of course.
As a teen in the late 1970’s I spent the summer in Israel. Our tour group (43 Jewish teens from the US and Canada) visited the entire Temple Mount. We were even allowed to tour the INSIDE of the dome of the rock.
Back then we even were able to visit Nazareth, Hebron, Bethlehem etc....back when they were beautiful little towns (before the Pals took over) and not slums. Back then for the most part, they lived side by side. I remember our tour guide telling us that Arab Israelis had a higher standard of living then their counterparts in the surrounding countries.
Not that there wasn’t some terrorist violence but it was before the Pals decided that homicide bombers were a good idea).
After my son visited Israel three years ago, we compared pictures from 1977 with his pictures. What a shame - it was like two different places.