On Sun, Apr 3, 2011 at 8:16 PM, Craig Franklin
<cfranklin@wikimedia.org.au> wrote:
I won't be attending Wikimania 2011, but it's not because of any objections to the policies of the Israeli government, more because I simply won't be able to get the time off work! In any case, the conference is not being set up by the Israeli government, it's being set up by a crew of fantastic Wikimedians who have done a wonderful job of setting up the conference and making it as accessible as possible for everybody. They deserve to be congratulated for that, rather than sniped at by anonymous cowards and newcomers who have never been seen around these parts before.
Cheers,
Craig
That's beyond the scope of Wikimania, but Ray, if you do plan to see the region before or after the conference, you may consider visiting the West Bank, because the Palestinian economy needs tourism as part as the effort to make it independent. Just make sure that your insurance covers this region and all other technical issues. Jordan is also easily accessible from Israel and worth a visit. Despite the ongoing political conflict, there is economic cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians (and also Jordanians to some extent) for the benefit of all sides. Unfortunately this cooperation is overshadowed by political issues, which are important, but make up only part of the story. Anyway, don't make hasty decisions about your itinerary, things are often not as they are seen from a distance.
Dror K