War voyeurs: Israeli tourists watch Syria battles from safe distance (PHOTOS)

[claud3]

War voyeurs: Israeli tourists watch Syria battles from safe distance (PHOTOS)

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Published: [COLOR=#999999 !important]25 July, 2012, 19:00
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[COLOR=#999999 !important]Israelis look from an Israeli army post near the village of Buqaata in the Golan Heights at the nearby Syrian village of Jebata al-Khashab (AFP Photo / Menahem Kahana)
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TRENDS:Syria unrest
TAGS: Conflict, Military, Israel, Syria
Armed with binoculars and cameras, tourists in Israel are flocking to the Golan Heights in the hope of seeing the bloody conflict in neighboring Syria, sparking a trend among tour operators.
In this day and age, whale watching apparently just doesn’t cut it any longer.

It’s far more entertaining to watch your neighbors bomb and shoot the living daylights out of each other – from the safe distance of, say, the Golan Heights.

This is, apparently, the latest craze among Israelis, who flock to vantage points near the country’s border with Syria to observe the ongoing clashes, according to the Times of Israel.

Armed with binoculars and cameras, throngs of Israeli and other tourists have been seen heading to Golan Heights. Live action enthusiasts were hoping to catch a glimpse of the savage fighting, which have been steadily increasing in the 17-month Syrian conflict.


Families use binoculars as they watch from the hill village of Buqaata in the Golan Heights the smoke rising from the nearby Syrian village of Jebata al-Khashab (AFP Photo/Jalaa Marey)
But the distance, apparently, is far too great to get a full scope of the carnage, so the spectators have to be content with the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

The trend was unwittingly started by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who visited the Golan Heights to assess the level of danger to Israel’s IDF from the conflict in Syria. Images of the minister broadcast on TV seem to have triggered an unexpected reaction among both Israelis and visitors to the country.

In fact, the draw of the conflict is so great that tour operators are reportedly thinking about putting Syrian conflict-watching on the list of available itineraries.

Those most concerned about the situation appear to be Israeli security forces, who say they’re doing their best to keep the war-watchers away from sensitive army installations along the Israeli-Syrian border.

Seen from the hill village of Buqaata in the Golan Heights, smoke ascends from the Syrian village of Jebata al-Khashab (AFP Photo/Menahe Kahana)

A road sign shows the different distances to Jerusalem, Baghdad, Damascus and other locations at an army post in Mount Bental near Kibutz Merom Golan in the Golan Heights (AFP Photo/Menahe Kahana)

A Druze man uses binoculars as he looks towards Syria from part of an abandoned military outpost near the Druze village of Buqaata in the Golan Heights (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

REUTERS / Ronen Zvulun

REUTERS / Ronen Zvulun



People are seen through a camouflage net as they look towards Syria from part of an abandoned military outpost near the Druze village of Buqaata (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

Link: http://www.rt.com/news/tourists-golan-syria-israel-037/

THIS IS SICK IN MY MIND

[Cyklops]

Are you kidding me? This is seriously messed up. One man's bloody war is another man's evening entertainment.

This is sickening.

[Mael Duin]

In what sense is this sick? How is this different from watching war from TV?

[Vulgotha]

In what sense is this sick? How is this different from watching war from TV?

Point.


Humans gonna human. Related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum

[DeviousOne]

WOW...Its like the trainwreck theory...

[claud3]

In what sense is this sick? How is this different from watching war from TV?

so you are advocating people to go and watch war in person and then post it on youboob so they can boost about being in the thick of it come on mate. Another mans war is another mans like button on youboob

Watching on t.v is one thing. But you can turn it over... When you are there you could walk away, but you hear shooting or an explosion, you are going to turn around and pay attention

[keefy]

Someone has to take the photos and videos, this stuff doesn't just appear on our screens when we watch the news. News networks send reporters to these areas to report on it.
Clart.

[claud3]

i know that. But cashing in on the death of innocent people is sick

[Xelios]

Meh. War is a spectacle for the nonparticipants. This is nothing unordinary.

[claud3]

Maybe so. But still keep it to yourself and not tell everyone

[TRF]

All our entertainment is glorified violence. It's in movies, video games, television, and music. Seeing it live does seem kinda wrong, but is scripting it with actors that much worse?


Tapatalking from my bed. Ya mutha says hi.

[Xelios]

Maybe so. But still keep it to yourself and not tell everyone

There's no need to keep it to yourself. You feel so enraged by it, but that's merely your opinion on it. People express their thoughts, beliefs, and interests all the time. This is just a more extreme example.

[claud3]

True. I never feel the urge to tell anyone about it

[MATRIX 2]

Isn't Syria one of the countries that doesn't recognize Israel's existence?

[podsaurus]

Next we will hear about how a bunch of tourists were captured and 'We have to save them!' Except I won't feel bad for them.

[DINAMO788]

Wow, what an wonderfully vilifying article. I'm surprised they didnt lay claim to the bloodlust rising in the eyes of these savage Israelis.

People watch images of war in TV all the time. Many wish to see mass atrocities like this first hand, see it for their own eyes. There is nothing sick about this. They're not having a BBQ and shooting off fireworks every time they see an explosion. Claud, youre seeing this through the wrong lense. They're not 'cashing in on civilian deaths'. This isnt an underground fighting circle. There are horrific atrocities going on in syria right now, we all watch it on the news. Media companies arent cashing in when they show images of war. But seeing it on TV is one thing and seeing it in person is different. No one is having a field day with it like you seem to believe.