Day
1. I arrived in Old Jerusalem late at night. Early
the next morning a long time friend, Art Gish, who was leaving to
go back to Ohio later that day, showed me around the old city. He
is pictured with a background of the Western (wailing) wall, the
Dome of the Rock, and the Mount of Olives far in the background.
I visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, went to church services
at the Lutheran Church and then the Anglican Church in Jerusalem,
and then had lunch with Mordecai Vannunu, who was imprisoned by
Israel for 18 years for divulging the fact that Israel had nuclear
weapons. He is now under house arrest at St. Georges Anglican Church.
Day 2.
Sunday afternoon I went to Hebron, spent the night there, then on
to At-Tuwani, a small village of shepherds maybe 30 miles southeast
of Jerusalem. Within two hours of arriving I was in the midst of
a major brouhaha between Israeli hilltop settlers and the Palestinian
shepherds over where the sheep could graze. Soldiers and police
came out, as well as an Israeli peace group. I was to find out later
that these types of conflicts would happen almost every day I was
there. Later that evening I met some of the children in the village
I stayed at.
Day 3. Pictures
of life in the village. Out with the shepherds during the day, sharing
meals out in the open, escorting children to school for safety.
Day 4.
Visited nearby Qawawis with United Nations Human Rights representative
to ascertain living conditions for Palestinians moving back into
their homes after four years of eviction. Hilltop settlers nearby
had chased them out. Now internationals will accompany those returning
to their homes. The well-dressed people will be living in their
cave homes.
Day 5.
Scenes of At-Tuwani countryside. Meeting with International Solidarity
Movement, an international human rights group who will be staying
with the nearby village of Qawawis. Hafez is the one villager speaking
English, here pictured with his children.
Day 7.
Scenes of Hebron, a city of 120,000 about 20 miles south of Jerusalem.
A few small Israeli settlements have taken over downtown, with the
help of a large contingent of Israeli soldiers. The debris over
the Palestinian shops caught in chicken wire was thrown from an
Israeli apartment above, typical of daily humiliation the Palestinians
endure. Abraham's tomb (Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Sarah, Rebecca are
also buried here) has a large building, half mosque, half synagogue
over the Cave of Macpelah. I enclose scenes of the synagogue and
the mosque side. Bullet holes are where a few years ago a radical
Jewish physician gunned down several hundred praying Muslims killing
about 30. Palestinians are often detained for an hour or more at
the many checkpoints. CPT sometimes waits as observers so that harassment
is not dished out.The Sooq (market) in downtown Hebron is where
we would get our groceries.
Day 8.
During our morning prayer time on our patio, shots rang out at the
nearby Abraham Mosque/Synagogue. Two security guards had been shot.
The immediate area was locked down, all men gathered up where they
waited all day and night before being cleared. Intense house searching.
The perpetrators of this crime were never apprehended. The security
guards miraculously did live. The immediate area was locked down
for 7 days as collective punishment, causing hardship for businesses.
These pictures also show CPT accompanying school children home,
and an outlying town called Karmil.
Day 15.
These pics are actually a compilation of photos from the past
several days of life around At-Tuwani.
Day 16.
A cold, windy, drizzly day. Pics of a newborn goat, the (it seemed)
daily encounter with soldiers and armed settler security patrol,
the museum in At-Tuwani, a meal in Im Faggarah with a family living
in a cave, and CPT tutoring school kids on English as an extra service.
Day 17. Scenes
in At-Tuwani with shepherds, with Andre of the United Nations, thowing
rocks at a can for recreation, milking sheep, and back in our little
apartment.
Day 18.
A compilation of two days. The first was an organized take-back
of land that had been confiscated by the hilltop settlers of Maon
four years ago. An Israeli court had decided for the Palestinian
owner, so all the shepherds of the area came together to recover
the property. A bus carrying a delegation of the group, "Every
Church a Peace Church" came by right at a time when soldiers
had been called out and might have chased off the shepherds. (they
just call it a closed military zone). So this time the land was
recovered. But paybacks came a week later when settlers placed green
poison pellets into the fields, killing sheep and goats (more photos
on this later). The young settler I photographed watching us was
pointed out by Palestinians as one of the men who has beaten some
of them, including women. I then say my goodbyes and head to Hebron
where I have some pics.
Day 20. Scenes
in Hebron including school patrol. Shahuda Street is where Israelis
and Palestinians come into close proximity, sometimes with violence.
I was spit on and cursed by boys of maybe 12 years or so age. I
bought a few souvenirs at a shop of a man whose business has suffered
being in the center city where fewer shoppers go because of time-delaying
checkpoints. I got my beard trimmed. Saw an area being confiscated
by a settlement. Then off to Jerusalem for some sightseeing. I fly
out tomorrow.
Day 21.
I fly out late tonight, but today is a busy one. It is Palm Sunday,
so I get up early and walk to the Mount of Olives. I look over Jerusalem,
and ponder and resonate how on the first Palm Sunday He wept over
the city as it did not know the way to peace. I then head to Bethlehem
to join Palestinian Christians trying to walk the eight miles to
Jerusalem. Of course they will be denied, but will make a point
of the injustice. Photos of the so-called security wall, or apartheid
wall. Also scenes of the blockade by soldiers. To get to Bethlehem
I had to walk part-way in, another so-called security measure of
the Israeli government. Also scenes of men taken off our bus and
detained at a checkpoint. Our bus drove on without them. They'll
probably get on the next bus that comes by. Finally, evening comes
and I prepare to leave for home.
Appendix.
These are pictures taken by others. The poison pellets were scattered
in the fields of At-Tuwani right after I left. Sheep and goats were
killed, and pregnant and nursing mothers who drink sheep and goat
milk were worried. Also pictures taken a number of months before
my arrival of settlers attacking Palestinians and CPTers.
Travel through
Israel. I did get a car for two quick days traveling
around Israel on my break. I would not miss the experience. I visited
Masada and Dead Sea, drove up along the Jordan Valley along the
border of Jordan to Galilee, spent the night at Tiberias, then on
to the Golan Heights on the border of Syria, saw snow-capped Mt.
Hebron, saw into Lebanon, drove though Nazareth, went to Meggido,
then back to Jerusalem. I then returned to my work in Hebron and
At-Tuwani.
AVI movies. These will take more download time.
I've included just a few of many I have. [to be added soon]
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