We woke to a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze – perfect! Actually I was awakened by my alarm, which was fantastic as it meant that I slept until then. A great gift.
Warning: a lot of history to follow – mainly for my benefit so I don’t forget. So skip on down if you are not into history!
Today we left our lovely guest house and headed out of Jerusalem to Bethlehem. First we had breakfast and a short meeting to cover the history of the area since the late 1800s, when the Zionist movement began. Prior to that time, this part of the world was part of the Ottoman Empire for several hundred years. During that time, this area was sparsely populated but both Jewish and Arabic peoples lived peacefully together for the most part. After WWI, the Ottoman Empire was divided up and Britain became responsible for this area under the British Mandate. They loosely promised the Jewish people that they would have a homeland. Well, this land had been Palestine time out of mind, so the Palestinians were not thrilled. Occasional violent outbreaks occurred. Jews continued to come and of course after WWII, they flocked in. The demand for a Jewish homeland reached new heights, the British were fed up, and handed the whole thing over to the fledgling UN. The UN proposed a two state solution, which the Jews accepted and the Palestinians didn’t. That sounds illogical but consider that the Jews had nothing at that time and to the Palestinians,
this was their ancestral land. Anyway, a nation was declared and war broke out with many of the existing Arab states attacking the new Israel. The result was a redistribution of lands and, as the Jewish people moved in, a flood of Palestinian refugees was created. Over three quarters of the existing Palestinian population was displayed.
“A land without a people for a people without a land,” became a theme for Israel but in reality that land did not exist. The Six Day War followed in 1967 and the land was redistributed again. There is much more but I’ll stop with only adding that violence has continued on both sides with several violent outbreaks. Just this past summer, there was a several week war with Gaza.
I realize that much of what I am writing these days is going to sound like I am totally pro-Palestinian but that is not the case. As our mandate for this trip stated, I am for Israelis, Palestinians, peace and justice. And because we American Christians really only know one side of the story, Israel’s, I am presenting more of the Palestinian because I am learning so much. Sides do not need to be taken but seeking a middle way that embraces Jesus’ message of loving our brothers, no matter what. A peaceful resolution is as good for Israel as it is for Palestine.
Ok – I’m climbing off of my soapbox. After this briefing, which you are saying was anything but brief! we loaded our luggage, climbed aboard the bus, and headed to Bethlehem, which is in the West Bank. We went through our first checkpoint in the wall. Once in Bethlehem, which is only minutes from Jerusalem, we stopped at the Shepherd’s Field. This is such a lovely place, up in the hills by the town. We had a personable guide who shared about the birth of Christ and the shepherds residing in these very hills. We are doing so much, it is a little hard to take it all in. Then we headed into Bethlehem proper and visited the Church of the Nativity. We couldn’t get into the “actual” cave but the church was lovely to see. All the holy sites have churches built over them, which has helped preserve the location. So that’s good, but we all wished the national park system had been in place back in the day!
After a brief time of walking through a shop area, which includes Stars and Bucks coffee shop (and, yes, I did buy a mug,) we met up with 7 Palestinian Christian women who are part of an organization, Musalaha (reconciliation) that is working toward reconciliation. They meet with counterpoints in Israel, Messianic Jews. It is amazing! The women came on our bus and headed back to the checkpoint to meet back in Jerusalem for lunch. These women have permits to cross but they are only valid within a month of Christmas and Easter. Fortunately for us, it is still close enough to Easter to allow this visit. Also, we pushed a point by crossing where we did as they are supposed to cross only at a checkpoint a good way out of the way. Prayers were offered up and we sailed though! It helped that the faces in the front of the bus were American! Cheers went up after we crossed.
We met the Jewish women at St Andrew’s church and had an amazing buffet lunch together,out on a patio that overlooked Jerusalem! We mixed ourselves up at the tables and listened to stories and shared our love for the Lord and these, our sisters. These women, enemies by birth, choose to set that aside and love each other. They also work to get their children together at summer camps to learn to know each other as people, not just faceless enemies. However, larger meetings of the group with their families must take place outside of the country as it is illegal for Israelis to enter Bethlehem and the Palestinians can only come twice a year. After lunch, we went into the chapel and had a time of worship, singing choruses in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Unbelievable! Then we prayed together and broke to head to the Old City. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life, and I’ve been blessed with many. What a privilege to be here at just the right time of year to join them!
Our Palestinian sisters stayed with us, then, until our day ended so there was much more time to talk, share pictures of families, and enjoy each other’s company. What a blessing.
We drove to the Old City and walked in through the Lions Gate or Sheep Gate at the time of Christ. Our first stop was the Church of St Anne – a comparatively quiet place bordered by a beautiful garden of purple and yellow violas and deep blue lobelia. This church is known for its incredible acoustics so groups will often sing inside. We waited while a small group from South Africa sang but then we joined them as they started I Love You Lord and then we sang the doxology. The notes echoed around the chapel and filled it with the presence of God. What is it about music? It was a welcome peaceful place to start as we then continued on the Via Dolorosa, stopping at various stations or churches along the way. The walk climbs up to Calvary so Christ had to go uphill, carrying his cross. It is a sobering journey. However, it also was the most crowded part of the trip and much of the climb was through close little shops. At the top, as we entered the cathedral, there was a banner commemorating the 21 Coptic Christians recently killed by ISIS. An emotional wrench.
After a little time to recoup, we walked to dinner for an Armenian meal. We broke bread with each other and our sisters, enjoying the time and the fellowship. Back on the bus to head back to Bethlehem. Short trip. Once there, we all were dropped off at our very lovely new hotel. It was a bit hard as the Palestinian young woman sitting beside me said, “Oh, this is a very nice hotel.” White American woman’s guilt.
We quickly unloaded and reluctantly said goodbye to these amazing women.
And so the day ended! This trip is really playing games with my mind and thinking but that is probably a good thing in God’s economy.