I didn't mean to tell this story, but I feel I have to. Two days before I went to Wikimania 2008 I heard on the news about a warning on behalf of the Israeli authorities for Israeli citizens not to visit Egypt due to risk of kidnapping and attacks. I looked up the number of this government office and told them there was an important international conference in Alexandria and urged them to publish more details about how Israelis can get there safely. It was obvious that this government office didn't know about Wikimania. They told me that there were specific alerts, but going by plane, rather than by land, would be safe. I also called the Israeli embassy in Cairo. They told me things were not as bad as they might have sounded in the news, but recommended going by plane from Tel Aviv to Cairo. I spread the news among local Wikimedians. Those who planned to go, told me they would go by land anyway and so we crossed the border two days later. All went perfectly fine and we felt safe. While in Alexandria I received a phone call from the Israeli radio asking to interview me about my experience. I was interviewed twice - to the Hebrew and Arabic departments.
I honestly don't expect anyone to do things which might involve risk of any kind - if someone think that visiting Israel might be harmful for him/her due to political, social or any other reason - I respect that. If someone think s/he should avoid visiting Israel due to his political views - I can't help that. It is his/her right to choose his political views and act accordingly, whether I like it or not. All I am asking is to be fair, respect the effort done by fellow Wikimedians, and especially not to spread false information. Dror K
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