Honeymooning in the Holy Land

You don’t often see long stories in the Israeli press about couples traveling the Holy Land on their honeymoon. Then again, you don’t often hear of couples like Matthew Lusia and his bride Zalga Kass Hanna.

He is a Dutch Jew; she is a Syrian-born Muslim. They met a few years after Hanna’s family immigrated to Holland and, not surprisingly, their relationship was disapproved of.

From YNet:

Earlier in the month, the two tied to knot and became husband and wife. Immediately after their wedding, they came to Israel, their second visit in the country within a year. “What’s particularly great for me here is that I look like Israelis and fit right in.

“It’s a free country with human rights, equality for women—a Western culture within the Middle East. To me it’s like a dream. I wish the women in Syria could walk down the street uninterrupted the way they do here, but sadly I’m afraid this will never happen. This is all topped by the great food you have here, tons of falafels, hummus and pizzas.”

The couple is scheduled to visit Haifa and Jerusalem during their visit in Israel, as well as a less obvious site—Sderot. “We plan on visiting Sderot to see how the people live there in the shadow of terror attacks and rockets,” Zalga said.

It’s definitely worth the trip.