From the Ground: The Real Israel-Palestine

Day 17: Haifa

After days of dodging missiles and confronting Israeli soldiers, we settled down in Haifa for a relaxing Friday.

We rode a train to the city and then caught a bus to an inexpensive hotel. As we set out for an afternoon walk around the city, we thought everything was going our way.

We returned to the hotel two hours later to find our laptop computer stolen. We’ve spent the evening being interviewed by police and making awkward international calls to our friends and parents.

Despite the misfortune, we still have a pretty positive view of Haifa. It’s a beautiful city, and we’ve already met several nice people.

Tomorrow, we visit the supposedly stunning Bah’ai Temple (the center of the whole Bah’ai religion) and the city’s Arabic quarter before heading for Jerusalem and a return to excitement.