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The Jesus Trail in Israel is a 65km hiking and pilgrimage trail in Israel that traces the route Jesus is meant to have walked.

I'm not that knowledgable about the different areas of Israel / Palestine / West Bank etc and am wondering if it's all open/accessible and relatively safe - ie no blockades or clear and present dangers.

The route apparently runs from Nazareth to Cana via Sepphoris, Cana to Kibbutz Lavi, Kibbutz Lavi to Moshav Arbel and finally from Moshav Arbel to Capernaum via Mount of Beatitudes.

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The Galilee region of Israel is considered quite safe, and is not near any of the hot spots you are concerned about. You're more likely to be bitten by a scorpion.

The Jesus Trail FAQ goes into some more detail, and says in part:

The Galilee region is quite stable. There is always some risk associated with hiking and camping alone in any part of the world, but the risk in the Galilee region is very minimal. . . .

While the media often portrays Israel and Palestine as perpetual hotspots of violence, the tourist areas of the region are generally very safe with a high level of security. Tourists have not ordinarily been targets of violence in the region, and politically motivated violence in Israel has been low for the past two years.

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    Scorpions sting. They also pinch, and ultimately I suppose they have a mouth so they can bite, but it’s the sting you should concern yourself with.
    – KRyan
    Jun 29, 2015 at 14:45
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The short answer is YES.

When I first told my father that 'harlem' is actually in Manhattan - he thought I was joking. He always perceived Harlem as a very violent place. When I took him to Harlem (it took me a while to convince him) he couldn't believe that this area is actually...normal.

I think the biggest confusion most people have about Israel is that they mixed the image of Gaza (not part of Israel) with Israel and then they translate it to fear.

Can you please return to this question after your vacation to answer it? I can tell you, from my experience, that my visits to Israel are always a first-class trip.

Enjoy (I envy you)

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  • Oh I don't mix them, I just accept my geographical and political knowledge of the area is lacking on many levels. And I thought it'd be good for here :) It's early planning still, I've got a lot on this year, but it is in the plans...thanks!
    – Mark Mayo
    Jan 18, 2015 at 10:04
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    I took a bus through Harlem, thought it looked ok enough, until it turned down some side streets. It changed quite quickly :/
    – Mark Mayo
    Jan 18, 2015 at 10:05
  • Most people don't confuse Gaza (which is part of Israel) with the rest of Israel. But they do have the idea that there are Hamas terrorists on every street corner all over the country, a fear grounded in near daily news reports of schools, busses, and stores being attacked by Hamas, PLO, and others in the period from the 1980s to today (most of which attacks happen however in a relatively small part of the country bordering on Hamas and PLO controlled territory, making it easy for the terrorists to get to safety where Israeli security forces can't easily get to them).
    – jwenting
    Jun 7, 2017 at 5:53

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