Out with the new, and in with the old...

The new terminal at Ben Gurion airport has finally opened (4 years late), but better late than never, right? Wrong. While the new terminal is state of the art, and few terminals anywhere in the world can rival it, there is something thatthis new terminal will not have, and without it, all the shops and electric walkways are for naught. One the highlights of any trip either to or from Israel has always been the opportunity, before stepping foot onto the plane, or the moment after I would get off the plane - to be standing outside and have the opportunity to kiss the holy ground of Eretz Yisrael and to take in a deep breath of fresh holy air. In the new terminal, this will no longer be possible, as one will now board and disembark from the plane directly into the kind of tubes that will connect the plane directly with the terminal - as can be found in most airports in the US. As far as I am concerned, you can keep the shops, they don't measure up to those special, intimate moments with the Land that I love.