The past three days have been filled with eye opening experiences. First and foremost, the group was spilt up for homestays with families, which has made it difficult for us to blog.

Friday morning, we drove to the outskirts of Bethlehem to visit the Tent of Nations. The land is owned by a man who has been working to keep it within his family for many years. Today, volunteers from all over the world come to work the land and support his cause. For more information, go to http://www.tentofnations.org/.

After lunch at the Tent of Nations, we returned to Bethlehem and perused the many shops. Our treasures were composed of olive wood crosses, scarves, and glassworks made by the students at ICB.

Then, we were dropped off at Holy Land Trust where we waited for our host families to pick us up. We found a picture of Memorial Union there that was left by the last Quest-IP group! Our homestay experiences were wonderful and varied. In general, we discovered that these Palestinian host families aren't much different from our own families back in the US. Although most of our families don't have permission to leave the West Bank, our group had the privilege of venturing out to Jerusalem on Saturday.

We walked around the ramparts of the Old City, attempted to enter the Dome of the Rock (it was closed to non-Muslims because of prayer), and wandered around the Church of the Holy Sepulcure. After our delicious lunch, we hopped on the bus and headed for the Bethlehem-Jerusalem checkpoint.

Once again, we returned to our host families to enjoy another memorable night. This morning, we are all ready for the church service at Christmas Lutheran (ICB). Afterwards, we will be driving to a compound called the Oasis of Peace where Palestinians and Israelies co-exist peacefully. It should be a wonderful bookend to our inspiring journey.

And so we're off! It will be another long cross continental trip that includes swiss chocolate and scattered sleep. Although we may have left as strangers, we're returning as family.  And we look forward to seeing you all soon!

International Center of Bethlehem

We started out the day with a tour of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem.  Our gracious tour guide was Angie and we appreciated that she shared messages of hope despite the hardships. The church complex is very large and includes the Abu Jubran Guest House (where we are staying), International Center of Bethlehem (ICB), a music conservatory, the Cultural and Conference Center, "The Cave" gift shop, etc.  Angie showed us a picture of Ramzi Aburedwan, a young Palestinian refugee who threw rocks in protest.  He is now a violin player because he learned to exchange one tool for another to better express himself.  This story prompted a discussion between the group tonight about what tools we intend to use   in our lives and what tools we have found to be useful here in Israeli-Palestinian context.  The art and cultural projects that are done at ICB encourage all of the students to find meaningful ways to be to express themselves.

Dar al-Kalima

After our tour of ICB and the Wellness Center, we visited Dar al-Kalima, a kindergarten-through-12th-grade school affiliated with the Lutheran church here in Bethlehem. The best part was seeing the smiles that came on the children's faces as soon as we came into the school. It was great to see all the energy and passion from every kid. Some of the boyish rough-housing brought back fond elementary school memories, and we were surprised as the girls didn't hesitate to push back while they were being cannonballed into. As this was going on, one of the cutest little girls was singing "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. We couldn't help but notice the irony at this popular song, but the often under-appreciated message that was only made more apparent in the midst of their daily circumstances. We visited several different grades during our time at the school, and each had different things to offer. It seemed that we hit it off the best with the 5th graders, as there were a few very outgoi
ng boys and girls who didn't hesitate to ask us many questions. Each member of our group had different, but amazing, interactions with the children and workers who made the place run on joy.  It was difficult to leave, but we took the experiences we had along with us as we moved along to the next chapter in our adventure.

The Separation Barrier

We left Dehishe Refugee Camp and stopped near the Separation wall. Human history is full of such barriers, and like most of them, this wall is difficult to understand without witnessing it firsthand. The gray concrete slabs towered over us and closed in on everything in the neighborhood. It is a deeply scarred place. Our group came across the poignant sight of a house suffocated on three sides by the wall. We walked along the heavily graffitied surfaced for a while and saw the words and art of hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Some of that artwork bears explicit messages for Israelis or Palestinians, while some of it is more nuanced and begs association with other times and places (“Ich bin ein Berliner,” huge black letters read). Personal messages written to loved ones mix with the bright colors left by artists hoping to bring life to these hard places. The graffiti touched each of us differently.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Location: Masada, Dead Sea, Bethlehem

Masada

This morning we set out for the Judean desert and the ancient fortress of Masada. Perched on a steep plateau 1,300 feet above the ground, it is the resting site of several ancient stories. It is where Herod the Great built his palace, and there almost a thousand Jewish rebels made their last stand against the Romans during the Jewish Revolt. Several of our team chose to hike to the top of Masada, while the rest of us rode a tram to the site. As we climbed, more and more of the desert stretched out before us. The beating sun drove temperatures close to 100 degrees, and the salty water of the Dead Sea sparkled seductively in the distance. However, the final summit made our climb worth the struggle. We explored the ruins of Herod’s fortress, the Zealot’s dwellings, and a later Byzantine church all spread around the top of the rocky plateau. The archeological remains paint a rich and diverse picture of different peoples and different times. The site also bears an important symbolic meaning for the Jewish people of Israel today. It was the place where soldiers were sworn-in, and still draws many tourists and IDF members.

The Dead Sea

After the active morning on Masada, we ate lunch at the cafeteria near the Dead Sea. The meal was by no means healthy, but was surprisingly delicious. Defying all the childhood teachings of our mothers, we immediately headed down to the waters of the Dead Sea. The mystery of this unique water was soon to be revealed. The sensation was incredible – you really do effortlessly float on the water. We spent an hour enjoying the water: swimming, bobbing, picture taking and even some synchronized floating. There were a few saline inflicted "injuries", but nothing the shower at the beach couldn't fix. After the warm, salty waters of the Dead Sea, we were excited to see the cool springs of the Oasis.

Oasis

After conquering Masada and floating in The Dead Sea, we went to En Gedi National Park which is a fresh water oasis that is only a few minute drive from The Dead Sea.  For many of us Wisconsinites, it was our first time experiencing an oasis.  Having endured a temperature of about 104, it was delightfully refreshing to be able to bathe near (or under) waterfalls and in the pools that they created.  It was an unfamiliar sensation to be surrounded by a desert while being cooled by a waterfall and viewing The Dead Sea below us.  En Gedi is a large park, but since we had a limited amount of time there, we spent the majority of it enjoying the water.  Some of the group fell in love with some small animals that we could see near the path. In particular, some people expressed the desire to return home with a Rock Hyrax, also known as a conie, which we admired from the path and found to be quite adorable.  Visiting En Gedi gave us some much needed relaxation and cooling after the hot, yet enjoyable, day.

The Meaning of Land

At the end of a fulfilling sun-soaked day, the group arrived in Bethlehem. We dodged the brazen noisy drivers as we made our way through the streets of the city. Arriving at the International Center of Bethlehem and throwing ourselves onto the comfy beds was a real treat. Osama, the guest coordinator at ICB, welcomed us to ICB and provided us with wonderful meal consisting of lamb, rice, pita, and many toppings. After dinner, the group began to discuss the day. We focused our attention on land and the concept of home. We drew connections between the intense beauty and ruggedness of the land and its relationship to the people who call it home. Many of us shared our connection to land back home.  Although most of us will never fully understand the magnitude of the importance of land in Israel & Palestine, we have done our best to relate. Tonight’s discussion was a demonstration of how close we’ve become as we wrestled with the very core of the Israel-Palestinian conflict that we are just beginning to uncover.

We hope that our hearts and minds will continue to question and grow during our last few days! 

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Location: Jerusalem

Yad Vashem

After breakfast we started out a somber day at Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. It consisted of an indoor portion, a very narrow triangular structure, the exhibits towering around you. The museum is very thematic--starting with threads of anti-Semitism in European history, moving on to Nazism and then to Zionism as a saving grace for the Jewish people. It ended with a Hall of Names, a very dramatic circular room with the names of the dead surrounding the main platform. Outside the main museum was a children's memorial, where there is a catwalk snaking through a dark room with a voice listing off the names of the youngest victims. Around us in the dark were little candlelights for each of the children. We tried to keep our focus on the Holocaust and wrapping our heads around one of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century, but could not help ourselves from remembering what we had seen and heard from the Israeli occupation. We left understanding more yet even more confused.

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions

We arrived at ICAHD to hear an Israeli perspective on the occupation and housing demolitions in East Jerusalem. The director, Jeff Halpers, gave us an introduction on the situation and explained to us on how housing demolitions and settlement of the West Bank by Jewish settlers change the "facts on the ground"--complicating a two state solution. Our tour of Jerusalem, however, was done by his associate Muhammad. He took us to several vantage points in Jerusalem to show us the lay of the land--including the roof of King Hussein's unfinished palace. We payed a visit to the "separation barrier" and finally visited Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem that recently saw several of its residents evicted--only for Israeli settlers, often fresh immigrants, to take their homes. One family who had been evicted 10 months ago still lived on the street across from their home in protest. We had the pleasure of talking with this family and even witnessing the new settler resident return to the home.

Dinner

At the end of the day the group shared a meal with an Israeli couple--the wife an American who had done her aliyah--immigrating to Israel. It was very refreshing to have extended conversation with Israelis. The meal was enjoyable and we learned Israeli perspectives on peace, and the importance of Israel remaining a Jewish state.

Tomorrow we will be off to Masada and the Dead Sea, and exiling ourselves to the West Bank :)