I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Israel, mainly on work related trips. I have several friends in Jerusalem, and many, many happy memories. Israel itself is a truly bizarre country. Jerusalem is very intense (with lots of very vocal religious groups), but Tel Aviv is much more secular, and there are some great beaches. In fact, there are some great places to visit in Israel (Masada, the Dead Sea, etc). Weirdly, I always feel at home there (possibly due to my Jewish heritage).