Israeli Civil Defense Use of M1 Carbines

[Ovidio]

Working with countries of the area since the mid-nineties I must say that I really like Israel and the way they can live and cope with the horrible situation they are in.
What I can not understand is the hatred against them in the western world, but that would draw us into politics, which shall stay out in order to stay all friends.
Armed citizens are not so common if you stay in cities or at least far away from settlements, from the borders to the Palestinian territories and from the most exposed Kibbutzes. There are actually very few armed people, military personnel, armoured vehicles and so on. You really don't recognise the place if you only know it from the TV news.
I actually have always felt quite safe there.
Once I even crossed the land border between Jordan and Israel for a little "mistake" made by my Jordanian customer and had a striking experience. It was like passing from a place in shambles into Switzerland.
If you also consider that I had just been kept under a "soft" form of arrest in Jordan because of a wrong stamp on my passport (put by a donkey at the airport at 3AM who was reading a magazine, as shown from the cameras of the immigration booth). 6 hours without anybody speaking any understandable language (and I speak quite a few) and with a very discreet armed guard always in sight and my passport just being taken from a place to another and then back and forth again.......
Once through the border, the Israelis were very curious to understand why an Italian businessman was entering Israel from a land passage and not by air.
I have been very skilfully questioned by 4 different people for at least one hour, my luggage dissected and, at the end of the ordeal, welcomed to Israel.
Never learned so much in a single business trip, but the most important lesson has been: never listen to your local customers in countries around Israel when you need to go to Israel. Do the things the simple and safe way. Take a damned plane!