I set out to explore the behaviour and motivation of tourists in Israel - a battleground for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict during the Second Intifada. In the first three months of 2004, 82% more tourists entered Israel than during the same period in 2003; 297,000 in comparison with 163,200. As the project evolved I was drawn towards the ways in which people transcend the perpetual threat of violence; the cathartic rituals, both public and private, religious and secular, that permeate life in this region.