North Dakota Legislators Visit Israel
A group of ten legislators were able to tour Israel in August as part of good-will visit sponsored by the State of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. District 2 Representative Don Longmuir of Stanley was one of those chosen to be part of the four day tour of the country. They offer tours to legislators throughout the United States to allow them to see what is really happening in Israel.
Things got off to a rocky start for the group of North Dakota legislators as their flight from Fargo departed four hours late on Saturday, Aug. 8. As a result, they missed their connecting flight to Tel Aviv. That left them scrambling to find another way from Chicago. The best choice ended up taking the group through Warsaw, Poland. With a nine hour layover, they made the most of their time touring part of the city.
The change in flights also put them in Tel Aviv at 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning with their first meeting set for 11 a.m. It also ended up meaning they did not have their luggage. It was stuck in Chicago and did not join the group until the last day of their trip.
Monday started with a lunch meeting with Ambassador Dor Shapira. That meeting included discussions about Israel’s security concerns, as well as the common security concerns they share. Israel appreciates the impact of working together with the United States. They are the only democracy in the area. The conversations also stressed that the Israeli people just want to live in peace.
That was followed by a trip to Yad Va Shem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center Museum. Longmuir says this museum has five million videos and historical records. The tour guide explains the steps of the Holocaust and the inhumanity, starting in the early 30s.
Their day concluded with a tour of Old Jerusalem. Longmuir was amazed to see the excavations of the old city revealing the areas from the time of Christ. They have excavated the market areas and found coins. They continue to excavate tunnels that give guests a chance to see what the city looked like.
Longmuir’s nephew Rob had sent a prayer to post at the wall. To visit the wall, legislators needed to wear the traditional head coverings of the Jewish people.
For Longmuir, visiting Jerusalem and walking the streets where Christ walked was a powerful moment. Being able to see the things that he has read about since he was a child was a powerful experience.
Day two took the legislators to the Kibbutz Nir Oz. There, they were met by a woman who had been there and shared the stories of October 7, 2023, when the first terrorists crossed the Gaza border. The stories of that day include not only the first wave of terrorists, but those waves that followed behind.
In this kibbutz, 78 residents from babies to adults were killed in the attacks. Others were captured, most never to come back alive. Memorials to those families fill the kibbutz, including homes that still look the same way they did that day with pictures of those lost now adorning the walls.
They visited a military base that is manned by unarmed women. They monitor the border and radio in if something happens. 17 of them were killed and raped during the October 2023 attacks.
They also visited Save a Child’s Heart. This program was founded by an American Jew who fought in Desert Storm. When he retired, he moved to Israel. The program takes children from African countries with heart conditions and brings them to Tel Aviv. Doctors donate their services and keep them through their recovery process before they return home.
Wednesday saw them visiting Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, a 1100 bed hospital. Part of what makes this facility so unique to visitors is their preparation in the event of an attack. Terrorists always target hospitals. This facility has an underground bunker that is used as a parking garage but can be converted to a fully functioning hospital in ten hours.
Their day also included a tour of Haifa including the Baha’I Gardens, and a German colony that dates back to the time of Napoleon.
They ended their day at a Druze Village where they had a local supper served to them including lamb, boiled cabbage stuffed with rice and dessert.
Their final day included a stop at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. This regional center focuses on technology. One of Israel’s top exports is technology. Longmuir says it was interesting to consider how what they are doing could also be incorporated in the emergent technology in North Dakota.
They met with author Amir Tibon, a journalist who lives along the Gaza Strip with his wife and two children. He wrote a book about the October attacks. Told from a young family’s point of view, it also discusses life in a kibbutz and a country’s search for peace.
Their last stops of the trip included the Institute for National Security Studies. Here they again learned more about Israel’s security concerns and how working together with the US can make a stronger world. They also toured a museum of the Jewish people before the tour wrapped up.
Longmuir says that his biggest takeaway from the trip is seeing firsthand what the people of Israel are going through because of inaction against the people attacking them. He says they are all just looking to have a normal life. When they toured the hospital, they showed a video of missile attacks that require that type of preparation. He also said that when they toured the kibbutz, they also found out that everyone has a bomb shelter or safe house in those locations.
Looking at the trip, he says it was very enlightening. You see the stories on the news, but to be there and feel it gives a sense of what the general public feels. He says that Israel is not a country looking to expand, but rather just to protect themselves and live a normal life. They are a proud people fighting their own fight, but they need help.