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Some tourists who would like to visit Israel are hesitant because of concerns about their safety. It turns out that those concerns are unfounded, the “Jerusalem Post” reports.
In fact, Israel is the fifth-safest travel destination in the world, making it safer than visiting the United States (ranked 30th), Canada (21st), Australia (18th), France (15th) and the United Kingdom (10th).
Residents line the streets in Jerusalem.
Presumptive national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir may have done so well in the last elections because he ran on a law-and-order ticket that resonated among a population feeling increasingly insecure and unsafe. But according to the Swiftest study, Israel — at least in comparison with other countries — is safer than most.
“It’s a testament not only to how Israel values tourists, but also the high level of civility in Israeli culture,” says Anita Widaman, publisher of Metrovoicenews.com. Widaman organizes and leads Heartland to Holyland tours to Israel for readers. “The numbers contradict a false media narrative about Israel.”
Exiting the tram with other tourists and Israeli students. Visitors can also hike up the mountainside though, in the summer, the temps may hit 114 in the shade.
Widaman says that on the tour she organizes to Israel her guests always feel safe. “You can walk down the street in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv in the late evening and feel safe. It’s just that kind of atmosphere. I would never feel that way in an American big city.”
The study, based on data culled from reports put out by numerous organizations such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, Our World in Data and the WorldRiskReport, came up with a “travel safety index” based on several per capita criteria: The number of homicide deaths, road traffic deaths, unintentional poisoning deaths, deaths from poor hygiene conditions, life years lost because of communicable disease, life years lost due to injury and a country’s likelihood to be hit by a natural disaster. Death or injury as a result of acts of terror, it is assumed, fall under either the homicide or life years lost to injury categories.
Tourists cue up to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on a busy day in Jerusalem.
Israel’s overall safety index was -60.22, giving it a grade of A. Only Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Singapore were considered safer, with the last two countries earning an A+ grade. Singapore, the study said, is “the least deadly country for tourists. With a very low homicide rate, road death rate and natural disaster risk, Singapore is an excellent choice for travelers regarding safety. What makes Singapore so safe? Well, crime does not pay in Singapore. The consequences for committing crimes in Singapore are incredibly high, even for “smaller crimes.” This, combined with high surveillance and police presence, makes Singapore the world’s safest country for travel.”
And the least safe countries to visit? South Africa by a wide margin, mainly because of its homicide rate of 36.4 murdered for every 100,000 people. According to the report, about 68 people are murdered every day in this country of 60 million.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
