Monday Morning in Haifa

I am sitting on my balcony in a hotel at the top of MT Carmel overlooking the port of Haifa. It is a spectacular view of the elbow of the Mediterranean. The weather is warm but not hot. This is the third to last day of a trip that has been an intense experience in every way.

I have a number of posts yet unfinished and unsent. I am going to try my best to take a couple of hours before I close my eyes tonight to catch up and post the rest on facebook and then, I think, on the blog as well....

Today we are going to a Druze village and on a visit to the nearby Bahai gardens. Tonight we have dinner with the local Hands of Peace kids and their families.

It is scheduled to be a much lighter day after one packed program after another. Yesterday morning we went on a political tour of Jerusalem--with maps in hand and expert guides who explained to us the current politics of polarization in the city of Jerusalem. We visited with a Palestinian citizen of the City of David/Zalwan and observed and heard about the living conditions that he and his family experience. Two of his sons are in different prisons; his eleven year old son has been arrested 8 times--for alleged throwing stones--taken from his house in the middle of the night.

It was very interesting, then, to go to lunch at the Petra Restaurant and hear from an orthodox rabbi (from Brookline, Ma!) in his mid to late 30's who told us of the benevolent democracy with education and health care and great freedom of speech that is Israel. It was such a different narrative, given what we had seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, only hours earlier.

Thankfully the presentation after-lunch concluded with Asiz on behalf of the Circle of Bereaved Families and the work they do to encourage and demonstrate that violence is not an answer and retaliation solves nothing. From the rabbi's perspective, and in that narrative, SECURITY trumps everything. In Asiz's narrative, compassion and relationship building is the only way. Asiz mentioned that he has been told that Gandhi and his way have little appeal to the Israeli government. The wall, the check points, the omnipresence of fingers-on-the-trigger IDF is juxtaposed to the work of Asiz and other peace-making and reconciliation advocates who have gone so far as to donate blood, Jew to Palestinian and Palestinian to Jew. In response to someone who asked how an individual could do such a thing, the response was--it is better to give blood to give life than to spill it on the ground.
Alas--it is only with such courage can hope be sustained and peace not eluded forever.

In the Wilderness: Qumran

Our adventures on this day began with Masada and ended with the Dead Sea soak. In between was a visit to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrols were discovered in the mid- twentieth century. We walked through the remains of the Essene community. The landscape comports with the description of wilderness-- think of John the Baptist described as a voice crying in the wilderness. The remains suggest that there was a community that observed an ascetic lifestyle. The finding of the scrolls was of great significance. The story is that the first of the scrolls was found in one of the many caves by a shepherd who stumbled upon the structure after throwing a stone that didn't bounce back. It took a while for scholars to understand the significance of the discovery--after small pieces of scrolls were torn off and sold as little remnants of antiquity. It was another one of those other worldly landscapes. Someone mentioned that they were reminded of DUNE. . .

We made a stop in the gift store and were able to purchase products from the nearby Dead Sea. Our next stop was to that place where we changed into bathing suits and tried without sinking or slipping in mud at the shore and under foot in the water to manuever to the floating position. It is a very strange feeling to be so buoyant. It is also a little perilous as it is mighty uncomfortable to get any of the water into eyes or mouth.

The ritual is to soak for not more than 15 minutes and then to cover yourself with the mud from the bottom or thw shore then go back into the Dead Sea to wash off. Then it is up to the shower to get any remaining mud and all the sea salt and minerals off. There is supposed to be a tranquilizing effect also in the air as a result of the evaporating minerals, bromides in the atmosphere.

Most of us agreed we were glad to have had the experience of being at the lowest place on this planet and of floating in the Dead Sea.

Moonscape? No, Masada

More rocks. More walls. Maybe the ultimate in rocks high atop mountains and cliffs in the middle of the desert. Synonymous with resistance, Masada towers not only in the desert but in the Israeli imagination. Whichever version of the end of the narrative you choose to believe, the meaning is impossible to miss--making choices and resisting to the finish. Some interesting discussions and observations as we trekked through under sun that was scorching and parching. Two of our number got bragging rights for hiking up the thousand steps while the rest of us crammed into the cable lift both ways.

Before we ascended, we saw clips of the movie with commentary on the resisters and the conquerors. Once at the top, we toured the structures and observed the palace and its fortifications and the way in which the Romans structured and sustained their siege.

The yellowish rock of the fortress contrasted with the dark browns of the surrounding cliffs. It really did remind me of a moonscape or something out of science fiction.

Echoes of demonstrations past

Among the highlights of this Friday in Jerusalem was going to a demonstration. After lunch and dialogue with alumns from Hands of Peace, most of us walked less than a mile from our hotel to a demonstration that has happened every Friday at 3:00 pm for more than two years. The demonstrators are Palestinians who have been evicted from their homes and/ or had their homes destroyed by fiat of some branch of the government of Israel. We talked with many of the people--at least two had or were in imminent danger of losing their homes.

The little boy in the black shirt was leading the chants on the bull horn--accompanied by a great diversity of supporters. I spoke with an older man from Provence who was with a group who came specifically to join the protest and another woman from a World Council of Churches' group dedicated to peace-making and peace-keeping. Several little children undercthe age of 10 were waving flags and keeping time to the drumbeat that for many reverberated up through their feet.

The pottery pictures were taken at a workshop just across from the Legacy Hotel in Jerusalem. The potter is a woman so highly regarded that her work has a greater presence than that of any other middle easterner at the Smithsonian; so great that she was invited to do restoration work in the mosque at the Dome of the Rock.

Sderot and sunset at Gaza

Literally a long stone's throw from the Gaza Strip, Sderot claims to be the most sheltered village in Israel. Since 2001, 10,000 missiles have been launched over the 800 meter space and 16 people have died-- including a student at Sapir College where we gathered to learn about peace initiatives between the people of Sderot and the people of Gaza. The will to resolve the conflict is clearly in the hearts of people on both sides, though there is no such resolve in those who govern. Much of this kind of peace- building is made possible and sustained by social media-- especially Facebook.