While preparing for our presentation today I learned things that were scary and interesting all the same time. I knew some of the basic facts of Israel and what their religion entails. What I never realized was just how much Israel has gone through in history. Israel is one of the earliest countries and areas that anyone populated which makes the history just amazing. I also did not realize just what the Israeli's were fighting for and why the fighting had gone on for so long. It was also very interesting when I started looking through pictures of Israel and specifically Jerusalem. I have seen pictures of things such as the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock but never really delved into what they stood for or even what group of people used them. I knew that the Western Wall was for the Jews to pray, but I didn't realize just how long it's been there and all of the history that is behind it. I also did not realize that the Dome of the Rock was based for Muslims, I know don't laugh! It was very hard to find a picture of Jerusalem with the picture of the Dome in it which I thought was very interesting.

The part that shocked me the most was when I searched Google Images for pictures of the military. I found some good pictures of the soldiers and what they wore and carried with them. What was interesting was when I typed in "Israeli military and civilians". Honestly, I was slightly taken aback at first. I didn't realize that pictures of children in body bags and people shot on the roads would come up. I always thought, and what we have talked about in class, was how we seem to be so sheltered in America from any of the real problems that are going on anywhere else. This seemed to show me though that we may not be as far off as we think. Pictures of the gruesome truths and what these people go through is a second away on the computer, and if people want to find this it is so easy. It shocked me that this was what came up and I guess it's a good thing because people do have access to learning about the real problems and what these people must go through on a daily basis.