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Treasure Trove recalls the challenges of travelling to the Holy Land
We were spoiled when both Air Canada and El Al flew directly from Canada to Israel and hope they will resume these flights soon. Now, if you are travelling to Israel, you must fly through the United States, Europe or even Dubai. As much as a hassle as that is, it is nothing compared to what people did to get to the Land of Israel before air travel.
This postcard from the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis promotes the services of Thos. Cook & Son to Palestine and to Egypt. Thomas Cook (1808-1892) was an English businessman who was one of the initial developers of the “package tour” which included travel and accommodations, starting with an excursion train from Leicester to Loughborough in 1841.
Thos. Cook & Son started tours to Palestine in the 1870s. By 1904, the company had its own offices in Jaffa, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beirut –Tel Aviv did not exist yet: it was founded only in 1909—and prided itself in employing no outside contractors. Tours to Palestine ranged from 32 to 100 days, with an optional add on of a Nile voyage.
The company made all the arrangements for German Kaiser Wilhelm II’s trip to Palestine in 1898 which included 1,430 riding horses, mules and pack camels; 116 carriages and baggage carts; special trains; 300 tents and 290 servants, excluding the Kaiser’s own valet and cook who accompanied him.
After 178 years in business, Thos. Cook went bankrupt in 2019 stranding 140,000 customers who were outside the UK when the collapse occurred.
The figure in the postcard is “One of Cook’s Palestine Dragomans”. A dragoman is an interpreter and guide. The term comes from the same root as the Hebrewword metargem, translator.
The conditions applying to a Thos. Cook camping trip in Palestine included that each passenger will be provided with a good horse and English saddle. Any passenger objection to the horse must be made before leaving Jerusalem or Beirut “in which case the dragoman will do his best to meet the views of the passenger; but it must be distinctly understood that horses cannot be changed after the passengers have left Jerusalem or Beyrout for the long tour.”
On our next flight to Israel, we should remember that even if we are stuck in a middle seat beside a crying baby, that’s much better than being on an objectionable horse for a long tour.
The post Treasure Trove recalls the challenges of travelling to the Holy Land appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.