Travel to Israel 2/ 22?

but I worry about: Travel in the time of Covid

As of today, Israel has FULLY vaccinated 55% of its population. By February, at the rate they are going, everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated.

concerns about security & the international situation

Israel is one country I feel extremely safe in. They take security seriously and you will see police, military and private security guards everywhere. Much of the reporting about the area is sensationalistic.

freefloating anxiety about travel after so long in the house

No one here can help you with that. Some here are virtually packed and ready to go while others will try to talk you of even thinking about travel throwing out every excuse they can think of. The decision is ultimately yours

Now, about your destinations....Krak (d'Chevaleire) is in Syria. There is no travel permitted between Israel and Syria so I'd like to know how they plan to pull this off.

Petraeus....did you mean Petra in Jordan?

Hi Roxane, before I book trips, I check travel.state.gov to learn if it’s a safe destination to visit, and right now Israel is at a level 4: do not travel: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/IsraeltheWestBankandGaza.html?wcmmode=disabled#/. Of course, all this could change by Feb. The same with Syria.

Hi Roxanne. Late February is generally a good time to be here - chances of rain are lower than earlier in the year, the temps are mild, mostly 60's though Jerusalem is cooler, especially evenings and early mornings. In the last 15 years, I haven't felt unsafe at all. 2-3 times a year, I spend a few days in the north, Sea of Galilee to Golan Heights, often very close to the Syrian border.

Are you planning to take an organized tour? I know there are tours that combine Israel and Jordan and it's easy enough to use any of the 3 land border crossings. As far as I know, Jordan is also safe from a security aspect. The weather is similar to Israel, a bit drier. Petra (if that's what you meant) is a bit cooler because of the altitude (like Jerusalem).

As for Covid, we are in a really good place now. The numbers are way down, no fatalities for the last 2 days, and only a few in the previous days. The positivity rate for testing yesterday was 0.3 % (yes, less than 1/2 of 1 per cent). We're at about 58% vaxed. That's pretty high since nearly 1/3 of the population are children under 16 who aren't eligible yet. As soon as the CDC approves it, most of them will be vaxed as well. Israel is slowly opening to tourists who have been vaxed. But if numbers start to increase again and can be traced (our tracing is very good) to incoming tourism, that could be shut down rather quickly.

We are looking at doing a tour with Gate 1 of Israel and Jordan in the Spring of 2022.

I have been to Israel before and it is wonderful. It is very safe.