Well after a super successful flight of sleeping for all but about 2 hours of it I am back in the USA! Currently we are on our bus heading back to Lehigh from Newark and I am really happy to be back! The trip was an amazing opportunity and I will post a final blog of compiled reflections from each of the days but right now I am just realy happy to be heading back to my personal mode of transportation, shower, BED, non-smelly EVERYTHING space and my life.
I will be more reflective and summative later-I think I am just really looking forward to a McDonald's breakfast bagel which will accompany the Starbucks I had at Newark nicely in my tummy!
Boker Tov to my American readers and Shalom to those we left in Israel!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Qumran, Masada and the Dead Sea!!!
We finished up our last day in Israel by heading down to Qumran (there they found the Dead Sea Scrolls), taking a cable car up to the top of Masada and dipping in the Dead Sea with two amazing meals in there (no shock since I am pretty sure we ate our way through Israel!).
I think I enjoyed touring Qumran the most from the day, as I went to NYC to see teh Discovery Musuem's exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls in January. It was amazing to see actual portions of the scroll in the Israel Museum on the first day and then see where the scrolls were found on the last day. In NYC the exhibit did not have actual scrolls on display but I think the rest of the exhibit did an amazing job of setting up the history and showing movies of people that actually worked on the dig. I felt very connected to this part of the day because of the other learning I had done around this topic. I would highly suggest anyone interested in knowing more, who can't hop an El Al flight to Israel check out the NYC Discovery Museum. The thing that we learned more about in Israel than the NYC museum was the life of the people that copied the scrolls and how they lived and why they were there.
Masada was one of those miracles that you can't understand, sort of like the pyramids. How was a whole city (a small one but same scale) build ontop of a mountain plateau some 2000 years ago? I have no idea but it was amaizng to take the cable car to the top and see the detail with which a city was built. One of the coolest parts was looking at the model of how they engineered to collect the runoff water in canals that came down the mountain into gigantic cisterns to get them through an entire year. It was also crazy to think about how they didn't have soap back then so they would go through a series of bath chambers cool, warm, hot (that they created a raised floor, with furnace underneath and terra cotta pipes with holes coming up into the room)so that their pores would slowly open up and then they would scrap the dirty off with metal blades. I think it is also interesting to think about the dispute between ideologies that the Jewish people did not surrender but that they committed mass suicide rather than going into Roman slavery (the Josephus Flavius version) rather than the disputed version that suiced and killing your wives and children is so against the Jewish faith and believe system that they must have allowed the Romans to take them. The "Ripley's Believe It or Not" twist comes in with the fact that no Jewish bones or remains were found in archelogical excavation and it is believe that the store houses were full when the Romans got to the top. What does this all say? The debate rages on with certain scholars, but is seems widely accepted by many Jewish people that Masada marked a great stance taken that indicated they were never going to go back into slavery at the hands of the Romans so they took it upon themselves to control their destiny.
The Dead Sea....I was there at -422km below sea level!!!! The water was a bit slimey and the boyancy that people experienced was amazing to witness. The beach was rocky and the salt deposits were amazing and I managed to get a few salt rocks from the Dead Sea back in my suitcase! So on this trip I have had my feet in both the Mediterrean Sea and the Dead Sea...two bodies most people don't get to in a lifetime and I got to do both in the span of 10 days...this is pretty unbelievable!
We finished up with a dinner in a Muslim neighborhood of Jerusalem, Abu Gnosh-which is the oldest Mulism neighborhood in the city. The food was amazing and it was there that we gave Rueben(our driver) Barki(our guard) and Yael their formal gifts. Yael accompied us all the way to security and it was sad to leave her, many of us had tears in our eyes. She was amazing and I wish we could remain friends...Carolina and I are going to put together a weddign well wishes and thank you package later this week and send it off to her....love to Yael (Ani Ohebet Otach-that means I love you in Hebrew just for Yael! and that will be my last Hebrew word of the day!)
From there we headed to the airport and after a quick 20 minute delay (to repair a toilet on the plane) we were off and heading back to Newark!
So what was the change-I forgot to add this in the original post so here it is now as I do my overall trip reflection! Unexplainable things happen everywhere and every day (like ancient biblical writing being sold in the NY times, like a huge city being built atop a giant plateau with now modern equipment, people choose to die at their own hands rather than facing an fate that seems worse than death, and a place that is considered dead can produce valuable exports and products) who are we to make judgements on those things. They occurred for a reason and not everything needs to be explained by scientific fact or written history-sometimes things just occur as part of a grander plan for reasons unable to be understood or interpreted in the present time. I think I need to be more open to this idea and accepting that for me God is the larger force guiding this plan and that as long as I am moving in his path I am doing what I should be.
I think I enjoyed touring Qumran the most from the day, as I went to NYC to see teh Discovery Musuem's exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls in January. It was amazing to see actual portions of the scroll in the Israel Museum on the first day and then see where the scrolls were found on the last day. In NYC the exhibit did not have actual scrolls on display but I think the rest of the exhibit did an amazing job of setting up the history and showing movies of people that actually worked on the dig. I felt very connected to this part of the day because of the other learning I had done around this topic. I would highly suggest anyone interested in knowing more, who can't hop an El Al flight to Israel check out the NYC Discovery Museum. The thing that we learned more about in Israel than the NYC museum was the life of the people that copied the scrolls and how they lived and why they were there.
Masada was one of those miracles that you can't understand, sort of like the pyramids. How was a whole city (a small one but same scale) build ontop of a mountain plateau some 2000 years ago? I have no idea but it was amaizng to take the cable car to the top and see the detail with which a city was built. One of the coolest parts was looking at the model of how they engineered to collect the runoff water in canals that came down the mountain into gigantic cisterns to get them through an entire year. It was also crazy to think about how they didn't have soap back then so they would go through a series of bath chambers cool, warm, hot (that they created a raised floor, with furnace underneath and terra cotta pipes with holes coming up into the room)so that their pores would slowly open up and then they would scrap the dirty off with metal blades. I think it is also interesting to think about the dispute between ideologies that the Jewish people did not surrender but that they committed mass suicide rather than going into Roman slavery (the Josephus Flavius version) rather than the disputed version that suiced and killing your wives and children is so against the Jewish faith and believe system that they must have allowed the Romans to take them. The "Ripley's Believe It or Not" twist comes in with the fact that no Jewish bones or remains were found in archelogical excavation and it is believe that the store houses were full when the Romans got to the top. What does this all say? The debate rages on with certain scholars, but is seems widely accepted by many Jewish people that Masada marked a great stance taken that indicated they were never going to go back into slavery at the hands of the Romans so they took it upon themselves to control their destiny.
The Dead Sea....I was there at -422km below sea level!!!! The water was a bit slimey and the boyancy that people experienced was amazing to witness. The beach was rocky and the salt deposits were amazing and I managed to get a few salt rocks from the Dead Sea back in my suitcase! So on this trip I have had my feet in both the Mediterrean Sea and the Dead Sea...two bodies most people don't get to in a lifetime and I got to do both in the span of 10 days...this is pretty unbelievable!
We finished up with a dinner in a Muslim neighborhood of Jerusalem, Abu Gnosh-which is the oldest Mulism neighborhood in the city. The food was amazing and it was there that we gave Rueben(our driver) Barki(our guard) and Yael their formal gifts. Yael accompied us all the way to security and it was sad to leave her, many of us had tears in our eyes. She was amazing and I wish we could remain friends...Carolina and I are going to put together a weddign well wishes and thank you package later this week and send it off to her....love to Yael (Ani Ohebet Otach-that means I love you in Hebrew just for Yael! and that will be my last Hebrew word of the day!)
From there we headed to the airport and after a quick 20 minute delay (to repair a toilet on the plane) we were off and heading back to Newark!
So what was the change-I forgot to add this in the original post so here it is now as I do my overall trip reflection! Unexplainable things happen everywhere and every day (like ancient biblical writing being sold in the NY times, like a huge city being built atop a giant plateau with now modern equipment, people choose to die at their own hands rather than facing an fate that seems worse than death, and a place that is considered dead can produce valuable exports and products) who are we to make judgements on those things. They occurred for a reason and not everything needs to be explained by scientific fact or written history-sometimes things just occur as part of a grander plan for reasons unable to be understood or interpreted in the present time. I think I need to be more open to this idea and accepting that for me God is the larger force guiding this plan and that as long as I am moving in his path I am doing what I should be.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Our Final Day in Tel Aviv
Well today was our last day in Tel Aviv, and it was one of the first free days we have had. And by free I mean from 1pm until whenever (we had two tours in the morning).
We started with a walking tour of old Jaffa and had an Arab Muslim Israeli and Israeli Jew as our guides. The attempted to tell us their history overlaid on the history of Jaffa, as it is one of the few cities in Israel where Muslims and Jews coexist rather peacefully and in an integrated fashion. The views in Jaffa and the art shops were amazing, the content of the tour however was repetitive because after 9 days in Israel we have had a variety of tours and sessions where this same type of history has been told. Following that we took a tour of a park, also known as the African Refugee Development Center. We learned a great deal about how Israeli will offer asylum to many African refugees and on their visa's they mark them no work visa, but the supreme court ruled that is goes against the right to human dignity to not let them work. We also then toured the area where most of the refugees live, 12 to a one room studio apartment that sleep in shifts of 6 at a time to minimize the cost.
The best part of the day was shopping at the Carmel Market and then walking up the Mediterranean Sea along the beach and stopping at one of the many outdoor beach tables and having a drink and some chips and salsa. We took some amazing pictures and collected a few amazing shells. The sand here is the best fine sugar sand with no pebbles like the Jersey shore or North Carolina beaches. There were also a ton of wind surfers and regular old surfers out today and the place we had drinks offered breakfast and surfing lessons for 171 Shekels which is like $45 US dollars.
I think the change from today came from our talk while lounging on at the beach bar. I asked the group if the the trip shifted there perspectives on Israel, Palestine or the conflict at all compared to what they came in with. We had an amazing discussion and it ranged from not knowing at all what the solutions should be, to being more confused now than before we came. The one thing we all shared in common was that this is not an easy place to figure out and that it is probably not going to be solved anytime soon. We also talked a great deal about the irony or juxtaposition of a "Democratic Religious (Jewish)" state and how that doesn't' seem to be able to possible, as well as the fact that they don't have a constitution (because when they declared the state they Jewish population was so small they didn't want to create a full constitution until a majority of Jews had returned....who will decide when that should happen we then tossed around.
What was the change today? There are some issues that are very difficult and that can not be easily figured out but they can not be avoided. The avoidance of a conflict, or the acceptance of living in conflict is a way to perpetuate the conflict and unpleasant circumstances as a result. Now if you know me at all you know that I HATE CONFLICT, but if nothing else this trip has taught me the value of directness and that avoiding conflict doesn't get you anywhere productive.
Tomorrow we are off to the Masada and the Dead Sea and then back to Tel Aviv to good old Ben-Gurion airport to take the 12:32am red eye back to Newark. I can't believe the trip is practically over. It has been so short yet is seems like we left Bethlehem (PA that is) so long ago...oxymoron yes, but so true! Good night from one last evening in Israel...
Sabbath Shalom!
The Rabin Center
One word pretty much sums up our first day in Tel Aviv...Rabin. It is funny how you look back on history growing up and I would say most of my generation who grew up middle to upper middle class will remember a few key names from current events, but would be unsure why such as...Anwar Sadat, Menacham Begin, King Hussein of Jordan, Yhitzak Rabin, maybe even Shimon Perez and Golda Meir (thought those might be doubtful). They definitely remember names like John Wilkes Booth, JFK, Nixon, Margaret Thatcher, Michel Gorbachev and Yeltsin, Sadam Hussein and George HW Bush. Today I felt like I experienced the first set of names in the way the Israeli's experienced them, which is much like how most of you reading this blog would have experienced the second set of names.
We have been learning much about Israel's history throughout our trip and today we got to learn even more about the declaration of the state of Israel in 1947 by David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel. More amazing than that story, for my generations memory anyway was visiting Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, seeing the last steps walked by Yhitzak Rabin, and seeing the markers in the pavement that indicated just how close his assassin stood to him to shoot him. It was nothing like Lincoln or JFK (our two assassinated leaders), the murderer of Rabin stood less than 2 feet from him and the guard who was suppose to protect him probably 3 feet from both Rabin and the assassin. There was no sniper on a hill and no mad man in the theater wings for this one, we was close enough to touch Rabin with the gun that shot him. To me as an American, living in the lifetime that I have that is inconceivable, even with the assassination attempt that I lived through of Regan, he wasn't that close and it wasn't on the heels of a peace movement rally.
From there we went to the Rabin Center where we were able to learn a great deal about the political history of Israel overlaid by the history of Rabin as a leader all within the context of other things going on in the world arena. Though not as touching or as sensitive for most of us as Yad Vashem, this museum was amazingly well done and laid out, thought the most amazing part was meeting and talking with Dalhia Rabin, Yhitzak's daughter, after lunch. She was a women who carried herself in such a confident, self-assured fashion and one that was noteworthy in her own right, regardless of who her father was. She was engaging and has truly experienced many different positions of political and military power within her career as a lawyer and member of the Knesset. She is an advocate for women's rights and empowerment, and stands firm to her beliefs and wasn't afraid to step away from high political positions (like Deputy Minister of Defense) when she didn't like the political agenda that was being pushed. She said that without the assassination of her father she never would have intended to go into the political arena, but after that happened she felt that this was the only right thing to do. She was also unsure how many leaders are following her father's peace mission. She now directs the Rabin Center and makes sure that her father's life is memorialized as he lived, with conviction and respect.
So what changed today? Well I think the best way I can describe it is that you have to know what is important to you in all aspects of your life, and be open to certain events really shaping who you become and the path that you take because often it is not what you would have expected but is the one that you are being called to do for reasons you do not understand (and the Christian in me in the holy land says that this is one way that God can work in your life).
Oh and another amazing site today...The Mediterranean Sea!!! We got our first up close glimpse of it and tomorrow my goal is to touch it during our lunch and "shopportunity" as Yael calls it. Which by the way is the best guide ever and if you are ever thinking of a trip to Israel I highly recommend IsraelExperts, but mainly Yael Manashe (soon to be Zelcer). She is amazing and I wish I could be her friend but the 12 hour flight could be a difficult one to manage!
Tomorrow a bit back to walking, to tour old Jaffa and then African Refugee Center and a new market, Carmel Market! Tomorrow is our last day in Tel Aviv and the last night we will sleep in Israel. We end our trip at the Masada and the Dead Sea on Saturday, before our red eye home just past midnight. The time as gone so quick, but a few days left to enjoy!
I'll try to do better and remember to take the iPad to the bus tomorrow to upload...our hotel is still crappy though the food is better our room still smells and the bed is unbelievable uncomfortable-I am sort of looking forward to sleeping on the plane...
Beatitudes....and off to Tel Aviv!
Today was the most driving we have done thus far, but it was well worth it to head up to the Kinneret (Sea of the Galilee). We had a rather less than interesting speaker this morning and then spent an amazing day touring the beyond beautiful sea in the north where Jesus performed many of his miracles.
I am not even going to recount the random ecological greenhouse on a Kibbutz. I would have rather toured the Kibbutz itself, but no we sat in a dirty greenhouse and heard from a guide that wasn't good and did a poor job of recapping things we have heard all week. The most amazing part of the morning was hearing the story of an Arab Muslim Israeli who has a Pro-Israel perspective (I wish we could have skipped the 45 minutes of greenhouse garbage and asked her more questions but that wasn't in the cards). She is a law student in university currently and was explaining how difficult it is to be in her position because she truly believes that Israel should be it's own state and that Palestine should not be a part of the picture that Israel is having to worry about. She said a very very interesting things, about how there are arabic and jewish schools in Israel and that you can go to either one, as they teach in both languages, but that typically you don't go to an opposite culture school. She says that she does have many Jewish friends and that while her ancestors came from Palestine (generations back) she is not attached to that country or the Muslims there. She is more of a humanist and thinks the relations between both countries hurts them both more than it helps any one of them. She says that the Israeli flag and anthem doesn't represent her heritage but rather than some that get very upset about that she is grateful for her rights as an Israeli citizen (she can vote, run for the Knesset, she is able to do anything that a Jewish Israeli can-accept she gets to choose to serve in the military or do civil service). She chose civil service and felt good about it because she wanted to have her chance to be an active citizen and participate in the country that she is very much in support of. She lives in a Jewish and Muslim community that co-exists peacefully (which means they are able to live in the same general village/town but on segregated sides of the town.
We were then able to see a few sites surrounding the beautiful Sea of the Galilee-which I have pictures of but that I can't explain in words. And for the first time in this trip we wore short sleeve shirts with OUT jackets-thank you weather for cooperating with us! First we were able to go to the church that commemorates the site of where Jesus turned the 2 fishes and 5 loaves into thousands for the people. The church is still in operation today and mosaics on the floor commemorate the fishes and loaves. It notes 2 fishes and only 4 loaves as the 5th loaf is offered during the communion mass by the Priest.
From there we went to Capernum where St. Peter built his house and where Jesus healed a women. We we also able to see some amazing ruins of St. Peter's original house with a beautifully architectural church built suspended above it.
The most beautiful site today (in addition to the sea and surrounding hills themselves) was the Church of the Beatitudes where Jesus was said to have delivered the sermon on the mound. The church was absolutely gorgeous and built in an octagonal fashion in order to represent the 8 virtues of man noted in the sermon. While Jesus did not deliver the sermon in the church (as he was much before this time) this is the perfect hill (mound) overlooking the Galilee where historians surmised the famous sermon could have taken place.
From there we drove 2 hours down to Tel Aviv, where we ended early with dinner at 6:30pm in the most ridiculous hotel ever. We are trying not to be bitter, but we are in a safe house room/shelter with a shower that you have to fold out of the wall...it is beyond words and they are trying to move us but tonight we make the most of it and practice flexibility...GOD HELP US!
So what was today's change? Well I think more than anything I was reminded of the importance of actively seeking out opinions and individual stories that are missing or not represented in a group and then truly giving them a time to speak their perspective and story. I think this is always valued, or said to be valued, in my profession, though I think that at times it gets overlooked or given a nod to but that those people aren't engaged in a true way. This is very important as I look toward the future of my office and were we are going to make sure we engage all perspectives. I am also reminded that beauty is everywhere around us and that you should truly take the time to stop and enjoy it and not take for granted the experiences we have in front of us.
Well, we sort of stop officially "touring" cities tomorrow and begin our last push of meeting with different people and centers, until Masada and the Dead Sea on Saturday before flying back (I don't want to think of it yet though!). Tomorrow will be a big day visiting the Rabin center and getting to meet with Dalia Rabin. What a day...oh did I mention our amazingly bad (though it looks amazing from all parts that aren't the safe rooms in the stairwell that we have) hotel doesn't have free wi-fi so I will have to post my blogs from our BUS!!!
That is all I have to say about today, more to come later!
I am not even going to recount the random ecological greenhouse on a Kibbutz. I would have rather toured the Kibbutz itself, but no we sat in a dirty greenhouse and heard from a guide that wasn't good and did a poor job of recapping things we have heard all week. The most amazing part of the morning was hearing the story of an Arab Muslim Israeli who has a Pro-Israel perspective (I wish we could have skipped the 45 minutes of greenhouse garbage and asked her more questions but that wasn't in the cards). She is a law student in university currently and was explaining how difficult it is to be in her position because she truly believes that Israel should be it's own state and that Palestine should not be a part of the picture that Israel is having to worry about. She said a very very interesting things, about how there are arabic and jewish schools in Israel and that you can go to either one, as they teach in both languages, but that typically you don't go to an opposite culture school. She says that she does have many Jewish friends and that while her ancestors came from Palestine (generations back) she is not attached to that country or the Muslims there. She is more of a humanist and thinks the relations between both countries hurts them both more than it helps any one of them. She says that the Israeli flag and anthem doesn't represent her heritage but rather than some that get very upset about that she is grateful for her rights as an Israeli citizen (she can vote, run for the Knesset, she is able to do anything that a Jewish Israeli can-accept she gets to choose to serve in the military or do civil service). She chose civil service and felt good about it because she wanted to have her chance to be an active citizen and participate in the country that she is very much in support of. She lives in a Jewish and Muslim community that co-exists peacefully (which means they are able to live in the same general village/town but on segregated sides of the town.
We were then able to see a few sites surrounding the beautiful Sea of the Galilee-which I have pictures of but that I can't explain in words. And for the first time in this trip we wore short sleeve shirts with OUT jackets-thank you weather for cooperating with us! First we were able to go to the church that commemorates the site of where Jesus turned the 2 fishes and 5 loaves into thousands for the people. The church is still in operation today and mosaics on the floor commemorate the fishes and loaves. It notes 2 fishes and only 4 loaves as the 5th loaf is offered during the communion mass by the Priest.
From there we went to Capernum where St. Peter built his house and where Jesus healed a women. We we also able to see some amazing ruins of St. Peter's original house with a beautifully architectural church built suspended above it.
The most beautiful site today (in addition to the sea and surrounding hills themselves) was the Church of the Beatitudes where Jesus was said to have delivered the sermon on the mound. The church was absolutely gorgeous and built in an octagonal fashion in order to represent the 8 virtues of man noted in the sermon. While Jesus did not deliver the sermon in the church (as he was much before this time) this is the perfect hill (mound) overlooking the Galilee where historians surmised the famous sermon could have taken place.
From there we drove 2 hours down to Tel Aviv, where we ended early with dinner at 6:30pm in the most ridiculous hotel ever. We are trying not to be bitter, but we are in a safe house room/shelter with a shower that you have to fold out of the wall...it is beyond words and they are trying to move us but tonight we make the most of it and practice flexibility...GOD HELP US!
So what was today's change? Well I think more than anything I was reminded of the importance of actively seeking out opinions and individual stories that are missing or not represented in a group and then truly giving them a time to speak their perspective and story. I think this is always valued, or said to be valued, in my profession, though I think that at times it gets overlooked or given a nod to but that those people aren't engaged in a true way. This is very important as I look toward the future of my office and were we are going to make sure we engage all perspectives. I am also reminded that beauty is everywhere around us and that you should truly take the time to stop and enjoy it and not take for granted the experiences we have in front of us.
Well, we sort of stop officially "touring" cities tomorrow and begin our last push of meeting with different people and centers, until Masada and the Dead Sea on Saturday before flying back (I don't want to think of it yet though!). Tomorrow will be a big day visiting the Rabin center and getting to meet with Dalia Rabin. What a day...oh did I mention our amazingly bad (though it looks amazing from all parts that aren't the safe rooms in the stairwell that we have) hotel doesn't have free wi-fi so I will have to post my blogs from our BUS!!!
That is all I have to say about today, more to come later!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
City of David and Encounter
We did a variety of things today but only two really stick in my mind as engaging and fully worth typing about. I will however quickly highlight the others for you.
We started the day later (9:20am-what a nice change!) by going to the Sabeel Center which is a Palestinian Liberation Theology organization. Omar spoke with us and provided us a new Arab Christian perspective. Omar had some great personal narratives that he shared with us, though I found the session overall less than engaging and found myself wondering more how our guide Yael and guard Barki were reacting to hearing his perspective on the conflict and what motivates the Arab people living in Palestine.
We then moved to a tour of the Supreme Court, much better than the Knesset, thought the women spoke very fast and was often out of breath. The design and intentionality behind the structure itself was amazing. The description of how they enact the judicial branch of the "democracy" was very interesting compared to the US version of democracy. NOTE: The rest of this is for my GA, one Ashley Sciora (as this is not one of my engaging parts of today but I thought she would like this info!) I am not going to pretend to know what a full and true democratic state would look like (I never took a political science course in college and I think middle school or AP US History was my last academic look at government) but I think they could be slightly missing the mark (or I could be privileged and very US centric). The Israeli judicial branch operates as follows: Across the country there are 32 magistrate courts, then 6 district courts, then the supreme court (with 15 justices, governed by a chief justice-which is essentially the one with most seniority). There are NO JURIES, as they wanted their court system to be fully professional and NOT to have people judged by their peers. Courts hear civil and criminal cases and whether you start at magistrate or district depends on the level of sentence that could result if you are guilty. If you start in magistrate you can only appeal to district and if you start in district you can only appeal to supreme. HERE IS THE KICKER....there are no real requirements on being a supreme court justice-you don't even really need to be a lawyer-you just have to be knowledgeable in law. You have to be at least 18 and be qualified. You could petition in, be recommended or any other avenue then you go throw an interview process. They can operate up to 5 courts at one time because only 3 justices hear any one case (not sure how they are assigned). Oh and the are VERY strict with the justices and where they enter and the hallways they access. They want ABSOLUTELY no contact between justices and lawyers, justices and press, justices and defendants (they even have their own law library, separate from the lawyers and retired justices). You all can talk or comment amongst yourselves-but do others think this is democracy?
Now on to my favorite parts of the day...City of David. More than anything I have greatly enjoyed when we are walking around and Yael is explaining the site and narrating the experience. We watched a rather nauseating (literally) 3D movie about the history of David and how we acquired/built the city. Then we got to walk through some underground tunnels that could have been how David's soldiers attacked the city by gaining access through water tunnels. It was some really exciting hiking and cool to see that perspective on the city.
We then had 3 folks from a group called Encounter which is aimed at bringing grass top American Jews to Israel to engage in listening to Palestinian narratives and encountering them as people. What are grass tops you are asking-they are not grass roots leaders, nor are they top level leaders, they are right in the middle upcoming Jewish leaders who want to create constructive change. This group talked a great deal about listening and hearing the stories of the Palestinians. They were super engaging and open to questions from our group and the group was very engaged with them, on a personal story level-not on a programmatic how do you do it level. I really wish that I could experience a program like this or that I could work for a program that is as committed to a social change cause (and this is the first time in my life I have ever really wanted to work for a non-profit, except maybe Habitat). So dear Encounter, should you ever need a Christian from North America-you just let me know!
So what is the change for today? I think more than anything I remembered today how lucky I feel to be doing the professional work that I am. In my small way I am trying to help educate students how to be more critical thinkers and to listen first to understand others and then to be understood yourself. I also hope that student are learning that there is more to leadership than being a outspoken person with a title, I aim to really impress on them the ideas that true change comes from anyone with a passion and that you don't need a formal title to lead, you just need to authentically you and integrate your values into your everyday life (integrity). Seeing the passion the Encounter participants had made me remember that the more passion and feeling you put into your work the more others will be excited and engaged by it and want to participate in your mission with you.
OTHER RANDOM FACT OF THE DAY (learned in Israel but in no way Israeli or Jewish, and also NOT learned in courses that awarded me a Bachelor of Science in Biology): FACT: Cows and goats produce milk only after giving birth, similar to human. So in order to get the milk you must impregnate said animals continuously so they lactate and it can be taken from them. THANK YOU REBECCA BEELS! What would I have done without this knowledge? I may have gone with Carolina's philosophy that cows produce milk because they moo...False!
Off to the north tomorrow-the Kinnert (Sea of Galilee) and then to Tel Aviv...goodbye Jerusalem, it has been an amazing experience and one that I will never forget!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Bethlehem, Temple Mound/Dome of the Rock, and Parents of Lost Children
What a day it has been, and I can't say I am able to write much after the novel and soul bearing that came out yesterday.
We were lucky enough to be able to travel into Bethlehem (A zone A fully Palestinian administered territory) and meet with the Mayor and some of his staff to get their perspectives. We heard from a 26 year old Palestinian women about her experiences and the terror she felt growing up and still feels. The overwhelming picture painted by the Mayor was that they are a peaceful people seeking a peaceful solution, and that the occupation by the Israeli's is the only issue in the conflict (note this is what he said, not my personal opinion on the matter).
We then visited the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in the world and the site where Jesus was born and put in the manger (both of which we got to see and touch-pictures to follow). For this we had a new guide from inside the wall that separates Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank) and we had to leave our Israeli and Jewish guide Yael and guard Barki just outside the wall (as they are forbidden to enter the Palestinian territory). This too was a bit of a mental battle to hurdle thinking about how they felt having to be left outside the wall while we went it.
We were then able to rejoin Yael and Barki for a trip to the Temple Mound and the Dome of the Rock, and I have to say that Yael has really made this trip such a great learning experience. Both of these places are extremely meaningful and holy for both Judiasm and Islam and it was great to learn more about that and see the amazing site that both are. From there we had a tasty Mediterranean lunch in the Muslim quarter.
Then we visited the Western (wailing) Wall and were able to touch and put prayers into the most holy place in the world for Jews and where they say the spirit of God remains still after the destruction of the 2nd Temple Mound.
We wrapped the day up with a tour of the Knessett, the Israeli parliament. The tour was interesting, and it was not what I expected. It seemed a bit more generic than what I had thought and we saw 3 rooms, so the "tour" was really a quick show and tell.
Then one of the most beneficial part of the day was seeing the Palestinian mother who lost 2 brothers in the conflict (who she essentially mothered) and a Israeli Jew father who lost his small daughter to a suicide bomber in the conflict. To hear their stories and to see the bond, connection, friendship, and true familial love that they have developed for each other out of this shared pain was amazing. They are non-political and spreading the message that the answer is pro-solution (not pro-Israeli, not pro-Palestinian). Their group of over 600 is an amazing organization truly looking to educate all on the the experience and story of the other through narrative.
What a day, we are starting to pack a lot into our short time and tomorrow is our last full day in Israel as we head to the north the next morning then on to Tel Aviv.
So what is the change today? It is hard to put into words. I think more than anything it is that the power of the narrative and hearing the experience of others is so important. And to recognize that just when you think you have figured out a solution or where you stand there is a great chance that you will hear something that could sway you and to be open to that message. I think we all too often close our minds and believe we have all the information we need. So I would like to continue telling myself to ask questions and seek out opposite opinions and thought so I can be sure that I am making my decisions in a truly informed way and I am not letting the propaganda that is clever or heartfelt cloud by ability to think independently.
We were lucky enough to be able to travel into Bethlehem (A zone A fully Palestinian administered territory) and meet with the Mayor and some of his staff to get their perspectives. We heard from a 26 year old Palestinian women about her experiences and the terror she felt growing up and still feels. The overwhelming picture painted by the Mayor was that they are a peaceful people seeking a peaceful solution, and that the occupation by the Israeli's is the only issue in the conflict (note this is what he said, not my personal opinion on the matter).
We then visited the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in the world and the site where Jesus was born and put in the manger (both of which we got to see and touch-pictures to follow). For this we had a new guide from inside the wall that separates Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank) and we had to leave our Israeli and Jewish guide Yael and guard Barki just outside the wall (as they are forbidden to enter the Palestinian territory). This too was a bit of a mental battle to hurdle thinking about how they felt having to be left outside the wall while we went it.
We were then able to rejoin Yael and Barki for a trip to the Temple Mound and the Dome of the Rock, and I have to say that Yael has really made this trip such a great learning experience. Both of these places are extremely meaningful and holy for both Judiasm and Islam and it was great to learn more about that and see the amazing site that both are. From there we had a tasty Mediterranean lunch in the Muslim quarter.
Then we visited the Western (wailing) Wall and were able to touch and put prayers into the most holy place in the world for Jews and where they say the spirit of God remains still after the destruction of the 2nd Temple Mound.
We wrapped the day up with a tour of the Knessett, the Israeli parliament. The tour was interesting, and it was not what I expected. It seemed a bit more generic than what I had thought and we saw 3 rooms, so the "tour" was really a quick show and tell.
Then one of the most beneficial part of the day was seeing the Palestinian mother who lost 2 brothers in the conflict (who she essentially mothered) and a Israeli Jew father who lost his small daughter to a suicide bomber in the conflict. To hear their stories and to see the bond, connection, friendship, and true familial love that they have developed for each other out of this shared pain was amazing. They are non-political and spreading the message that the answer is pro-solution (not pro-Israeli, not pro-Palestinian). Their group of over 600 is an amazing organization truly looking to educate all on the the experience and story of the other through narrative.
What a day, we are starting to pack a lot into our short time and tomorrow is our last full day in Israel as we head to the north the next morning then on to Tel Aviv.
So what is the change today? It is hard to put into words. I think more than anything it is that the power of the narrative and hearing the experience of others is so important. And to recognize that just when you think you have figured out a solution or where you stand there is a great chance that you will hear something that could sway you and to be open to that message. I think we all too often close our minds and believe we have all the information we need. So I would like to continue telling myself to ask questions and seek out opposite opinions and thought so I can be sure that I am making my decisions in a truly informed way and I am not letting the propaganda that is clever or heartfelt cloud by ability to think independently.
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