Today Israel will welcome 31 of the 33 Chilean miners as they arrive in Jerusalem to begin an 8-day pilgrimage of thanksgiving.
The men are accompanied by their wives or girlfriends.
Our Ministry of Tourism is paying for their air fare and expenses.
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More about it here:
Jerusalem Post and Israelity.
Photos are from the opal exposition in Sydney, Australia.
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UPDATE: Now the papers are saying that 23 (and not 31) of the miners arrived. They are having a wonderful and moving time at the holy places.
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Great idea by the Ministry of Tourism. I hope it gives spiritual comfort to the miners and their families, and helps in the fight against virulent anti-semitism in much of the world.
ReplyDeleteNice idea. I like it that there is some comfort and even hope one can take away from this.
ReplyDeleteGreat and generous idea! I bet these guys (and families) have not travelled much abroad before.
ReplyDeleteGood publicity for Israeli tourism! And a blessing to the miners...
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great thing! I'll bet the miners will have a wonderful time sharing this trip with their loved ones. That opal mine looks like a fun place to explore.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea, I imagine they would be quite happy to be there!
ReplyDeleteOh good! Where I work, there is a Chilean-owned cafe. They recently changed the name of their place to' the shelter of the 33'.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know they were 'on tour'. It was an amazing rescue.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with Hels. I couldn't have said it better. I wish the miners and their families a great time in Israel.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful treat for those hardy souls. Amazing story!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thing to do. A role model of government.
ReplyDeletePlease have you all a good Thursday.
daily athens
What an amazing trip of a lifetime for those miners to travel together to the Holyland! Me too, someday...
ReplyDeleteReally a nice idea: I'm glad the miners and their families will enjoy their trip.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful experience for these me and their families! Kudos for the Ministry of Tourism.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, and certainly nice for the miners, but why did the MoT do that?
ReplyDeleteShalom everyone, glad you like the idea.
ReplyDeleteFrancisca, like everyone else, we Israelis were glued to the TV watching the rescue in real time. And of course following the miners' awful situation for the months before. In the moments of elation and inspiration when they were "resurrected" I think the Tourism Ministry just wanted to do something nice for them. And what could be better that a pilgrimage in the Holy Land?
But of course there is the PR value too.
Now, as one South American country after another (prematurely) recognizes Palestine as a state, we'd like to bring some of their people here and show them that we are not monsters.