I went on a study tour of Israel in June this year, my first but hopefully not my last. During the preceding months, friends and acquaintances expressed concerns absorbed from the grapevine and the media. They warned: It’s a war zone! They prophesied: Once the Israelis stamp your passport, you’ll never travel anywhere else in the Middle East again! They lamented: What about the poor Palestinians! The raid on the flotilla heading for Gaza happened two days before I left, which created a certain frisson, which increased on the day I left, as I was travelling to Israel alone via…