Honestly, I’m a “one-movie-per-year” kinda girl! But, after seeing Golda, the docu-drama about Israel’s first and only female Prime Minister who guided Israel through the Yom Kippur War in 1973, I’m headed back to the theater for another Israel-centric movie next week.

Former US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman (who I very much admire), has teamed up with former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to document the Biblical significance of Israel’s Highway 60, which runs north-south through the middle of the country.

Known today as the West Bank, Biblical Judea and Samaria truly are the heartland of Bible history. Abraham roamed there after God called him to the land. Shiloh was home to the tabernacle, including the Ark of the Covenant, before the Temple was built. Samaria is the land no kosher Jew would enter, yet Jesus purposefully went there to encounter a woman at the well. So many Bible characters and events graced the lands of Judea and Samaria.

In ages past, the hills of Judea and Samaria were alive with vineyards and the area was known to produce the best wine in the known world. But after the Romans seized and destroyed the land in 70 AD, Jews were scattered around the world and fertile wine country turned to desolate sand dunes and harsh wilderness. But God brought His people back to the land and those same hills again yield some of the finest wine in the world.

We should not be surprised, as Jeremiah predicted it in Jeremiah 31:5, when he said, “You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria.” Another prophet, Isaiah, said, “Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.” (Isaiah 61:5) Indeed, at this time of year when harvest is underway, those Judean and Samaritan terraced hills are teeming with Gentiles from around the globe, harvesting Jewish vineyards in the Bible’s heartland.

Today, when we hear of the West Bank, many associate it with terrorism and conflict between Jews and Palestinians. Yet, that is just not fully accurate. The majority of Jews and Palestinians living and working in Judea and Samaria do so peacefully. However, only seldom do Christian tour groups go into the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). Oh what history and significance they miss in ignoring the mid-section of Israel!

BTW – That’s why EXPERIENCE ISRAEL Tours go there intentionally! We see the beautiful land and the amazing cooperation between Christians and Jews (in the fields harvesting), and between Jews and Palestinians in every day life. We go into workplaces, hear their amazing stories of friendship and respect, and observe them joyfully work as a team.

So, I encourage you to go see the Friedman-Pompeo documentary, Route 60: The Biblical Highway. They will share insight into some of the places our tours go, and some we’ve never been! If you love Israel and long to understand more about the people and the culture, this documentary will fill you with encouragement. Here’s the trailer: