NASA Astronaut Takes Pics Of Israel From Space

TEL AVIV – NASA astronaut Jeff Williams uploaded a photograph of Israel and the larger Middle East as seen from the International Space Station, writing that he was “fascinated” by the view of “biblical history.”

Sharing the picture on Facebook and Twitter a few days before the Jewish festival of Passover, Williams wrote:

We finally have a Sunday (no cargo vehicle this weekend!) with some personal time to take in the view out the window. Every time we pass over, I have been fascinated with this view considering it contains the vast majority of Biblical history.

Williams credited his father, a high school history teacher, for his love and appreciation of history.

“I have a special appreciation for that history. ‘Your testimonies are my meditation.’ It is a good day of rest off the planet!” he wrote.

A Sunday with personal time and I have been fascinated with this view. More in my FB note: https://t.co/lXr7mmWXx7 pic.twitter.com/QT4PosjfcM

— Jeff Williams (@Astro_Jeff) April 17, 2016

Not everyone was as thrilled as Williams by the image of the Israeli-Arab conflict’s Ground Zero. One commenter lashed out: “One side is willing to work with the other. The other says no working with dirty Jews, we will not rest til [sic] they are all dead. Your little kumbaya moment was nice but there is no ‘working it out’ with people that will settle for nothing less than a genocide against your people.”

The International Space Station orbits earth about 16 times a day.