Rand Paul Just Spent A Week In Israel, And There's A Reason He Nicknamed His Trip 'THE PLAGUE TOUR'
Paul starts his trip with a rainy late-night visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall.
Israeli reporters crowd around Paul as he meets with Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch.
Despite the rain and late hour, pilgrims gather to pray at the Wall, one of the most sacred sites of the Jewish faith.
Paul and his youngest son Robert, 13, take a moment at the Wall.
Paul spent his first full day in Jerusalem meeting with dignitaries. Here, he talks with rising Israeli political star Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Jewish Home party.
And here he is with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Paul wouldn't characterize their conversation, but he did say that Netanyahu drew one of his famous Iranian nuclear bomb diagrams.
Another stormy day in Jerusalem. A wet view of the city from the Mount of Olives.
Paul's bus arrives at the Allenby, or King Hussein Bridge, to cross from the West Bank into Jordan.
Paul meets with the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan and members of the Jordanian Senate.
Storm clouds gather over the border crossing.
Ominous signs of future flooding in the West Bank.
The group stops for camel rides at a gas station in the West Bank.
Paul's wife Kelley is game for a camel ride.
The Senator is not.
The Jordan River starts to overflow as Paul's bus heads north to the Sea of Galilee.
The group finally makes it to the Sea of Galilee.
Paul bundles up for a tour of the ruins at Capernaum. The town, on the northern shore of Galilee, is thought to have been the center of Jesus' public ministry and the home of the Apostle Peter.
The ruins of Capernaum after the storm.
A nun from South Korea arrives at Capernaum well-prepared.
Taking cover from the rain at Capernaum, Pastor Robert McCoy, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., delivers an impromptu spiritual message.
Kim Bengard, a prominent social conservative activist, shields herself from the cold.
But David Lane doesn't seem bothered.
Paul and his group set sail on the Sea of Galilee.
Paul and South Carolina GOP Chair Chad Connelly brave the cold on the boat deck.
"We sailed on the Sea of Galilee, and we saw what we think Jesus talked about with these storms that just popped up," Paul told reporters after the trip.
A double rainbow over the Sea of Galilee. Paul said he hopes it was an "omen that my trip here will bring fruit."
Waves crash along the ruins of a Roman aqueduct in Caesarea, an ancient Mediterranean town where Jesus' Apostles first preached to the Gentiles.
The view of the Valley of Armageddon. According to the Book of Revelation, the valley will be the site of a bloody battle during end times.
The Rand Paul tour bus winds its way up to the Golan Heights, the disputed territory along Israel's Syrian border.
The view into Syria from the Golan Heights.
The Pauls cozy up to take in the view.
Temperatures finally start to heat up as Paul's tour heads into the Judaean Desert to visit Masada, an ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea.
Paul and his security guard look out from the top of Masada.
Iowa GOP Chair A.J. Spiker smiles for the camera.
Paul takes a moment to bask in the desert heat.
Paul's tour heads down to the Dead Sea.
Washington Times political reporter Ralph Hallow gets in the spirit in a Dead Sea gift shop.
Paul waits for his wife Kelley to take a float in the Dead Sea.
Paul covers himself in the mineral-rich Dead Sea mud before floating in the salty waters.
Paul poses for a more dignified shot before heading back to Jerusalem.
Popular Right Now
Advertisement