Israeli Tourists Flock to Sinai Despite Warning.

By Debbie Berman (Courtesy of IsraelInsider.com) [copyright] 2001-2002 Koret Communications Ltd. All rights reserved

Despite a travel advisory issued by the Foreign Ministry urging Israelis not travel to the Egyptian Sinai peninsula, more than 4,500 Israelis spent Yom Kippur there

Foreign Ministry representatives say they are worried by the mass return of Israelis to Sinai; the Israeli travelers are undeterred by security warnings and look forward to the quiet beaches and colorful coral reefs of the Sinai.

"In light of the integration of extremists on Egyptian and Jordanian streets, and despite the status of peace with them, we strongly emphasize the potential threat to Israelis in Jordan and Egypt (especially Sinai) and intensify our travel advisory against travel to these countries," a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said. The Ministry has issued travel advisories warning Israelis not to travel to Muslim countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

When the border crossing at Taba, south of Eilat, was opened in 1982, following the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace accords, Israelis streamed into Sinai at an average rate of 3,000 per day. But after the outbreak of the violence of the Palestinian Intifada two years ago, Israeli tourism to the peninsula all but stopped.

Officials say that there have been increased occurrences of Israelis getting into trouble with Egyptian authorities for infractions like illegal drug use and that the Ministry has a hard time providing assistance, Yediot Aharonot reported. "We have no Israeli contact people there, there is no tourist center, and there are no channels like we have in other places in the world, where it is easier for us to work, like in the Far East or South America," officials said.

Isham Nissim, proprietor of Sinai's "Aqua Sun Hotel," where all 100 rooms were filled with Israeli citizens this past weekend, is encouraged. "I don't even want to remember the past two years. The whole area was dead, and it hurt everyone. Now everything is suddenly coming back to life. Since Passover, Israelis started to come back gradually, but last weekend was the peak. For the first time even families with children came," he said.

As pleased as he is about the return, Nissim wasn't quite sure why Israelis had decided to come back. "Either people have gotten used to the situation, or they just want to return to live normal lives. Israelis have told us they don't know why they didn't come back from the beginning, that in Sinai they feel safest," he said.

A young Israeli from the center of the country, traveling to Nuweiba with two other young couples, said, "The truth is, at the beginning there were fears; this is not America. Our parents made some noise. But, between us, after what happened in America, and what is happening to us, what's there to be afraid of in Sinai?"

Yigal Tzur, who tries to make a trip to Sinai every three to four months said, "I think the panic is unwarranted. The Egyptians are great, the Bedouins are great? I am not afraid; I go down with my kids. It's part of the Israeli soul and no one should dare try to take it away from us."