Bob Jacobs took his rented Israeli jeep for a ride to the south but got a flat tire in the middle of the desert road. Israeli soldiers stopped along the road to help him change the tire. Here, Bob proudly holds the Israeli soldier’s gun during the tire change.
August 27, 1957 Tuesday late at night
Dear Mom, Dad and Alan,
As I mentioned I would, I was down in the Negev today & saw our boundary with Egypt also the new towns & farms all the way south. I went to the new oil field but couldn’t get in, but you could see the new well from afar & how they are still trying to cap it.
It was a real pleasure with the jeep stopping wherever you wanted & staying wherever something looked interesting. I saw mines etc. It is a good reason why the Negev is called Israel’s future.
It’s pretty late & I’m ready for bed. So happy everyone is well & happy
(till tomorrow).
Love,
Bob
August 27, 1957 Tuesday late at night
“I was down in the Negev today & saw our boundary with Egypt also the new towns & farms all the way south.”
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“It was a real pleasure with the jeep stopping wherever you wanted & staying wherever something looked interesting.”
When the official tour ended on August 23, my father knew there was a lot more to see in Israel. He rented a jeep a few days later and went out on his own. Going off the beaten track, he explored the southern region of Israel. The jeep gained him access to places he never would have been able to travel to in a tour bus.
(His visit to Masada is not recorded in his letters, but he told me about it many years later and how he walked up the “Snake Path.”)
This is good advice for anyone who is planning on touring Israel or any other place: Why rely exclusively on an organized tour? If you have the time, experience the new country you are in independently. Embarking on a tour with a planned itinerary is great, but traveling on your own schedule is a surefire route to adventure.
Traveling on your own is also a great way to meet the locals, and get your finger on the pulse of the culture. Indeed, some of my father’s most memorable experiences were during his last week, when he toured independently. For example, my father writes how his jeep got stuck and Israeli soldiers helped him change his tire.
“I saw mines etc. It is a good reason why the Negev is called Israel’s future.”
In 1957, Israel had great hopes for the Negev Desert. Already by the 50’s, Israel had found oil and all sorts of minerals, and brought modern irrigation to the area, making the desert bloom. I strongly suggest that tourists and even Israelis take a jeep tour of the Negev.
