Pardes participant Rebecca Zimmerman shares her experience on being in the eye of the international storm surrounding President Bush's latest visit to Israel, as well as her feelings concerning the level of involvement international players insist upon having in Israeli affairs. 

 

This past January, President Bush came into down. Boy was it nuts. Downtown streets were closed and most of the hotels in town were booked. I constantly heard the sound of helicopters humming throughout the day and a surveillance blimp hovered over the city. While our neck of the woods didn't feel Bush's presence as much, we went out of our way to avoid the center of town. We were planning to leave Jerusalem for the weekend, but decided that with all of the road closings taking place, we would stay put. You would think I would be used to...