Jerusalem Week

     Marhaba and Shalom -- Where do I even begin?!? Even though Jerusalem is only fifteen minutes away from Bethlehem, it feels like a whole new world filled with incredibly diverse people. Our group was fortunate enough to spend a week full of touring, meetings and adventures in this beautiful city. Though Jerusalem is an entirely different animal in terms of the conflict -- bringing together political and religious elements, it is obviously an extraordinarily holy place, as well.

    Leaving the West Bank to go into Israel is a bit more difficult than entering. Despite internationals & Israelis being able to pass through the checkpoint (via car) with ease - with the possibility of experiencing delays due to passport checks and car searches, our group decided to accompany our guide Elias on foot. In general, many Palestinians aren't actually able to get permission to leave the West Bank. Those who do oftentimes face hour-long waits and encounter unwarranted searches and/or interrogations, being required to walk through several security screening stations. It was definitely a valuable experience actually going through all the turnstiles and metal detectors to try and put ourselves in Elias' shoes & understand yet another obstacle the Palestinians face. Fortunately, we did not have a midnight curfew to be back in the West Bank like Palestinians do.

    We started our trip to Jerusalem with a tour of East Jerusalem (Palestinian-populated). We visited Jerusalem Peace Park and got our first glimpse of the Old City. Even though it was really foggy and rainy, we were still able to pick out the Dome of the Rock atop the Temple Mount. Our guide Sharon also took us to visit a Palestinian village in E. Jerusalem called Sirwan before we made our way to the Old City :)

    Jerusalem is split into three parts: the Old City, East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem (Israeli populated). The Old City is completely surrounded by these massive stone walls most recently built during the Ottoman Empire. The Old City has actually been destroyed twice, twenty-three times besieged, fifty-two times attacked and forty-four times captured and recaptured.  The Old City itself is split into four areas: the Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter, Muslim Quarter and Armenian Quarter & we could not have asked for a better location for our hostel -- right in the middle of the Old City in the Muslim Quarter. The best part of our stay at Hashimi Hotel - other than consistently hot showers & Internet - was the view we had from our roof of the entire Old City; some of our group even had rooms with views of the Dome of the Rock....incredible! We had just enough time to drop off our stuff and enjoy a quick falafel lunch before heading out into Jerusalem for our afternoon meeting with David Louis - an Orthodox rabbi who also studies Christian Science. Walking down the small cobblestone streets of the Old City was definitely an experience in itself because a) it was super slippery and b) we passed hundreds of small shops selling everything from produce & bakery goods to scarves and jewelry. Eventually, we ended up at the Temple Mount Institute, an organization advocating for the re-construction of the Temple. Rabbi Louis gave us a lovely introduction to Judaism at the Institute and took the time to give us detailed answers to our questions which were very valuable. As we returned to our hostel, we stopped at the Wailing Wall and encountered a bunch of IDF (Israeli Defense Force) soldiers being sworn in as commanders singing and dancing which was fun. We also had a woman come up and tell us not to fall in love with a Jewish man because we were impure, only follow the 7 laws; Jews follow 613. 'Twas very out of the blue, but she was very nice.

    On our second day in Jerusalem, we visited the Holocaust Museum which was a very powerful experience. Besides visiting the Holocaust Museum and the Israel Museum, we also got to meet with some incredible speakers ranging from a woman who works for "Encounter" (an organization which arranges tours of the West Bank for Jewish visitors) to a Foreign Service Officer (Amanda) at the US Consulate. It was pretty cool to be on US soil for a couple minutes and to be allowed inside the Consulate. Amanda did a great job answering all our questions and explaining the US stance on the conflict. We learned a lot about Jerusalem (her focus), Egypt, Israeli government and the Israeli lobby...from an American perspective. We were actually quite impressed and reassured by how aware she was about both sides of the conflict.

    Perhaps my favorite meeting, though, was with Yehuda Shaul who is the founder of "Breaking the Silence," an organization working to raise awareness about IDF activity to bring about change. His goal of the organization is to serve as a mirror to try getting Israel to take responsibility for all the abuse which is happening with the IDF. What a relief to hear about an organization which is exposing the problems within the military, especially because of the violence we've seen and heard about firsthand. Yehuda was SO inspiring because, even in his IDF service, he continually worked to do the right thing, despite pressure to do the opposite. So far, 730 soldiers have shared their story and "Breaking the Silence" puts on many exhibitions showcasing these accounts. He joked, "If society loves us, we're not doing our job right" which most definitely takes a lot of courage... We also got to speak with Ibrahim Ahmad El-Hawa and Eliyahu McLean-Dalal who travel around the world representing Jerusalem Peacemakers and a representative of an organization called "One Family" that works to support Israeli victims of terror.

    We also were fortunate enough to attend the Gaza-Sderot Conference 2011: Moving from Crisis to Sustainability which was AWESOME....perfect for what we are studying! Sderot is a village in southern Israel (about 2 hrs away from Jerusalem), located right near the border of Gaza. As soon as we arrived, we were given a safety briefing and told that if we heard sirens go off - indicating a missile was just launched from Gaza - we would need to run to the nearest shelter. The most recent missile was fired just the week before, though fortunately that was not part of our experience while in Sderot. Because Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to exist, every city within Israel is considered to be a settlement & several areas near the border are frequently under attack. Though Israeli citizens have experienced fewer and fewer missiles each day since the Gaza War, it is unfortunate that this threat is part of their daily lives.

    Also affected by Hamas' rule are the Gazan civilians.  While at the conference, we got to meet a couple Gazans which was an incredible experience. Because of the situation in Gaza, they actually were not able to tell anyone -- even their families -- where they were going. For me, the most meaningful part of the day was hearing from a Gazan who was part of a panel called "From Destruction to Construction: The Contribution of Civil Society." He shared with us that peace actually is not talked about in Gaza because the people are experiencing so much suffering, lacking basic human rights like access to food, water and electricity. Therefore, Gazans are most concerned about their survival. On top of that, there are ~1.6 million people living in the Gaza Strip which is 360 sq km, making it the most densely populated area in the world. Unfortunately, West Bank Palestinians are not able to support Gazans because they are not allowed to be in contact with or visit their fellow Palestinians. And, it is rare that Gazans are able to leave the Gaza Strip. Though it can seem a bit hopeless that they are not even thinking about peace when Israel and Palestine putting forth great efforts to do so, I was grateful to be informed of the situation. Unfortunately, we were not able to enter Gaza, though we may or may not have visited the border which is surrounded by a 100 m buffer zone. The IDF soldiers patrolling the area were actually quite nice which we were grateful for, though it was difficult to imagine so many people suffering & living in such a small space under Hamas rule.

    Obviously during our time in Jerusalem, we visited many holy sites was absolutely incredible. As a religion major, it was amazing to see all these important places for myself. In one day we visited the Western Wall, Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount, Pool of Bethesda, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Mt. of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane.....

     ......obviously during our time in Jerusalem, we visited many holy sites was absolutely incredible. As a religion major, it was amazing to see all these important places for myself. In one day we visited the Western Wall, Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount, Pool of Bethesda, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Mt. of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane.Wow! We started at the Western (Wailing) Wall is a retaining wall to the Temple Mount and is the only part of the Second Temple which wasn't destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Called the Wailing Wall because people come to this wall to mourn the loss of the destruction of the Second Temple (and also because there have been certain times when Jews have not be allowed to come and pray at the wall), it is the most holy site in Judaism. It is common to see people praying at the wall & to see people writing out prayers to leave in the wall.

    Directly above the Wailing Wall are the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque which sit atop the Temple Mount. Inside the Dome is the rock on which Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac/Ishmael. It it also believed to be the rock where Prophet Mohammad ascended into heaven. At this rock, it is believed that Abraham, David, Solomon, Elijah and Jesus all prayed. And, this rock is also considered to be once the location of the Holy of Holies & the cornerstone of the new Temple. Because of all the various religious significance, it considered to be "the most dispute piece of real estate in the world" & is somewhat of a microcosm of the conflict. A cool demonstration of non-violence concerning the Temple Mount is that since 2002, non-Muslims haven't been allowed inside either the Al-Aqsa Mosque or Dome of the Rock because not all Muslims can get there to worship (due to the wall). While in Jerusalem we definitely encountered many fundamentalists as well, the most heated opinions centering around the future of the Temple Mount. There are some people who are pushing to blow up the Dome of the Rock so the Third Temple can be built to bring about the Messiah. Others believe the coming Messiah himself will build this temple, while others feel the Third Temple shouldn't be built. Despite the conflicted space which the Dome sits on, it was actually the most peaceful place we visited in Jerusalem & definitely my favorite spot. It's so, so beautiful!

    As I mentioned, that same day we also got to see many important Christian sites as well. Right outside the Temple Mount is the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who had been diseased for 38-years and was waiting for the water to be troubled to be healed. Not only did we get to see the five porches mentioned in the Bible, we also got to see a beautiful church beside the Pool which is believed to be the Tomb of Virgin Mary. This church had incredible acoustics & we were blessed to hear a group singing "Amazing Grace" as we entered. Our group followed it with "O Dreamer." Next, we walked the Via Dolorsa which is the 14-station route which Jesus walked right before he was crucified. Station #1: Jesus received his crown of thorns, #2: Jesus received his cross, #3: Jesus fell for the first time, #4: Jesus met his mother Mary, #5: Jesus received help from Simon carrying his cross, #6: Jesus has his tears wiped by Veronica, #7: Jesus falls for the second time, #8: Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem, #9: Jesus falls a third time, #10: Jesus is stripped of his garments, #11: Jesus is nailed to the cross, #12: Jesus dies on the cross, #13: Jesus is taken down from the cross, #14: Jesus is laid in his tomb. Though only stations 1, 2 and 10-14 can be archeologically proven, there were some beautiful churches along the way.

    The last five stations are all in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is quite the church!! First of all it is huge and super ornate. The three most important spots within are the Anointing Stone (where Jesus was anointed before being crucified), Calvary (where Jesus was crucified) and Jesus' Tomb (where Jesus was buried before he rose from the dead). Each is in very, very close proximity to each other, all within the Church. It was at these three spots where we found many, many people overcome with extreme emotion. Though place is not super important for me in thinking about Jesus and the Christ, it was really interesting to see how connected people are to the exact locations where Jesus walked, was crucified and was buried. As we were walking the Via Dolorosa, we passed several groups singing and carrying a cross. Though the actual "anointing stone" is found several meters below the church - no longer accessible to the public because people used to break off parts of the stone, we saw many devout Christians weeping and praying at and falling all over the stone and touching their crosses and recent purchases to it. In addition to all these people who seemed to be reliving Jesus' struggles, there was also a LOT of artwork and relics within the church depicting Jesus' final hours.

    Along with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, we also visited the Mt. of Olives - where Jesus ascended where a today a mosque located. Next, we walked down past a Jewish cemetery where the burial plots cost $100,000 because it is so close to the Temple Mount. We saw Jesus' Tomb #2 (according to Greek Orthodox), as well as the church where Jesus last wept. We also visited the Garden of Gethsemane - where Jesus spent praying the night before his crucifixion. It was also in this Garden that Jesus asked his disciples to pray with him just one hour, but they all fell asleep. The Garden of Gethsemane was definitely my favorite place because it was very peaceful. Though not as lush as I was imagining, the trees in the Garden of Gethsemane are ~2000-3000 yrs old and are quite beautiful. There is also a beautiful church right next to the Garden called the "Church of Nations," having been built by 12 nations -- including the US. Our day ended visited Tomb of Mary #2 --- it is amazing how many churches have these HUGE caves beneath which are quite beautiful.

    Another incredible week! Jerusalem is most definitely a special place, filled with many colorful and devout people. Though there are a lot of extremists, there are also many wonderfully friendly and giving people as well. During our time in Jerusalem, we got to hear some incredible lecturers, visit Gaza and tour a lot of the city....all in one week. It was amazing to see all the holy sites and learn a lot about their history and significance today. We also visited some awesome museums. I was very grateful also to learn about many NGOs and organizations who are working for peace (on both sides) -- definitely brought about a lot of hope. This upcoming week we're looking forward to going to spending a couple days near the Dead Sea in Auja. Then, we'll head down to the Negev to stay on a kibbutz & visit the Arava Institute which is home to one of the most solid environmental studies programs in the Middle East. Much love and peace…