Today we go to Jerusalem! First things first, though. I have to give a big shout out to my friend Deante Pierre Wilson. Deante lived with me for a while when he was just moving to NYC. He was raised in the CME Church, but left if for COGIC. I got a text early this morning telling me that Deante had passed away. I don’t know the circumstances, but as I said on his FB page, “Dude, when I told you to come with me to Jerusalem, I didn’t mean like this…” I’m sure my young brother is exploring this sacred city with me today.
So we’ll enter through the Moroccan gate, then go up to Hara mesh Sharif, then up through the Northern Gate to St. Anne’s church and the pools of Bethsaida, then on to the Lithostratos, then to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I really want to go in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to see the hill called Golgotha, because I missed that last time.
About 2 pm, we’ll leave through the Jaffa Gate and go to Bill Dockerty’s office at the St. Yves Catholic Relief Peace Society. At 4 we have an appointment in Tentour with Gershon Baskin, an Israeli who founded the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information. Tonight, instead of eating at the hotel, we’ll eat at a local restaurant called the Tent, about 150 yards from the hotel. This is a really ambitious day, and I’m not feeling good.
So. The dome of the Rock is where Abraham was about to sacrifice either Isaac or Ishmael, depending on whether you’re Judeo-Christian or Muslim. It’s also, in the Islamic tradition, where Mohammad ascended to heaven. The El-Aqsa Mosque, nearby, represents Mohammed’s furthest point of travel on earth.
We’re here in Jerusalem, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, walking where Jesus walked, but the question is, where and how would Jesus walk today?
I am really sick, possibly because I made my protein shake with table water last night. They say you can drink the tap water in Israel, but I’ve NEVER been sick like this. I’m hot and cold, I have a monster headache, I’m lethargic, achy, and have no energy. I also think I might puke. I’m sitting in a corner writing while everyone else stands and talks about I don’t know what, because I don’t feel good and am not listening.
We’re leaving the Dome of the Rock and going to St. Anne’s Church, by the pools of Bethsaida. That’s where the sound echoes so nicely. There are lots of Muslim widows begging here at the Dome of the Rock.
So we made our way through the temple mount. It was Muslim prayer time, so we had to leave. We went to the pools of Bethsaida. Peter had Bible study with the passage from John 5. I only came in on the tail end of it, when he explained how Jesus ad not aversion to dealing with people in pagan temples.
We then went into the Cathedral of St. Anne. I don’t know who she was, but as I said before, the acoustics here are great. Last year, an African group sang before us. They were awesome. We sang Holy, Holy, Holy and a couple of other songs.
By this time, I was really faded, and had lagged behind the rest of the group, but Don stayed with me. We called Peter and he directed us to the Lithostratos, which you enter under the arch that says Ecce Homo. You go into a convent.
Inside, Peter was telling us about the geography of the Old City. I am SOOOOOO tired. A lady from the convent interrupted Peter’s presentation to let us know they have materials in English.
My head is KILLING me, my “light” pack suddenly weighs a ton, but I’m here and I’m giving God GLORY!!! I think what made me sick was making the protein shake with tap water. I saw a black man from Texas. The group was kinda wondering why we were speaking to each other, so we had a discussion about how there aren’t so many black people in Israel. There are actually a decent number; I saw both more black Israelis, black American tourists, and black people from other countries than I saw the last time.
We went up on the top of the Sisters of Sinai Convent, several stories above ground. The cool thing about SBS is that Peter knows people and can get you into places the general public can’t get into. We got a marvelous, 360-degree view of Jerusalem. In addition to being a great photo op, it was really cool when the Muslim prayer calls went off. I videoed it. We’ll see how that comes out.
Mark Twain visited here in 1867, and this convent was just under construction then. Peter is telling us all about the history of the convent. Google it if you’re interested. Now he’s talking about the paving stones in the Passion Area helping us to contextualize the story of Jesus. Here is a link to last year’s blog on the Lithostratos.
So back downstairs, we saw photos and diagrams of the Temple Mount Complex, including the Forum Antonia, which was the holding cell for Jesus during His passion. We will go from there to the Western Wall, and Peter is showing us what was originally in the complex and what’s left. A forum (simply an open courtyard or market place) is what he showed us. They put in paving stones to make the forum. In John, when Pilate brings Jesus out and says “Look at the man,” that is commemorated by the arch Ecce Homo (remember we went through it to get to the convent?). Even though archeological evidence tells us it was built 100 years later, by Hadrian.
After that, we talked about “The game of the King.” Again, look at last year’s blog on the subject. With knowledge of the game, it’s easy to imagine the guards were playing that game with Jesus.
Still in the Lithostratos (which means Stone Street). This was referenced in John 19, where it tells us that Pilate takes Jesus out onto a Stone Street. Then we read Mark 15, starting at the 16th verse and going along to where they crucified Him.
We came from St. Anne’s and started along the Via Dolorosa.
We got into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I TOUCHED THE SPOT WHERE THE CROSS WAS!!!, but the crabby Greek Orthodox priest wouldn’t let us take pictures. I also touched (again) the slab His body was laid on, though I didn’t get any pics doing it this time. I didn’t go to the Empty Tomb again; the lines were too long, and I wasn’t feeling good, for starters.
Another part of the reason I didn’t go to the Empty Tomb is that my hip has started to bother me when I stand for too long. But I think the real reason is that this has become a production line tourist establishment. Last year we came in February and there was a completely different atmosphere. This year it’s November, apparently high season, it’s really crowded, and it seems like they just want to put tourists through. There’s so many tourists, so it’s understandable, but the downside is that you get no time to pray, meditate, and reverence the spot. I wonder if we’ll be rude and pushy and cutting in line when we go to Heaven? If it’s more rude and crowded than this, I don’t know……
3 pm: Our meeting with Bill Dockerty from the St. Yves Catholic Relief Peace Society. Bill tells us that to understand the issues in the Middle East, one needs first to understand the role religion plays in the lives of the people. It is quite different than in the States. Here, whether Christian, Muslim, or Jew, professing believers seem to really believe and to try to live their faith. Perhaps it’s because it’s in the desert and the whole desert spirituality thing, but it’s like people’s sense of spirituality really does pervade every aspect of their daily lives. After the first week of December, when it’s live, go to www.saintyves.org.il for more info.
Last year, the Israeli nut job, Haggain ben Aretz, (link to last year’s blog) had said Palestinians had three choices. They could:
1) Be here with no rights, as second-class citizens
2) Leave; or
3) Stay and be killed.
Again, go to www.saintyves.org.il and download Bill Dockerty’s papers.
The internal debate in Israel I s not about security and The Wall. That’s what they sell to the outside world. The internal debate in Israel is about demographics. If you’re going to have a Jewish state, then non-Jews will have to be expelled.,
What’s going on in Israel is, quite simply, ethnic cleansing. I cannot bear it that my tax dollars support this. The modern nation of Israel is not the same as the PEOPLE Israel. The modern nation of Israel, in my experience, is a racist place where if you’re not Jewish, you don’t belong. While there are darker-skinned Jews here, I wonder how long it will be after they expel the Palestinians that they’ll expel the Sephardic Jews? Israel seems to be about repopulating this area with Ashkenazim – it’s ethnic cleansing. There’s a big push to destroy Palestinian homes and to expel Palestinians. They are also pushing to build more of what’s known in Hebrew as Hafrodah, or settlements. The idea is to divide and conquer. Palestinian developments are separated by roads that can only be used by Israelis. Israelis can detain Palestinians WITHOUT CHARGES for 5, 6, even 7 years. Israeli settlements are not DISPUTED, they are OCCUPIED. Like the nut job said last year, some Israelis think Israel’s borders extend from the Mediterranean to the Jordan.
Palestinians living here have not been allowed to build for forty years. Israelis will take Palestinian ID cards on trumped-up charges. There’s a 35-foot high wall surrounding Bethlehem, you have to stop and have armed guards mount your bus – it’s just ridiculous. It is, effectively, Apartheid. For the US to continue to support this government when they do not even respect the US is anathema. We, the American people, need to get over the fear of being called “anti-Semites” (after all, Palestinians are Semitic, too) and take our stand for peace and justice.
Israel treats the world like mushrooms. It keeps us in the dark and feeds us a lot of BS.
I’m to check out a book called “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.” Don’t remember the author. During Bill’s talk, I heard him describe piracy, illegal occupation, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid, all committed by Israel. There’s a website to check out. It’s called www.ifamericansknew.org
Next we went on to meet Gershon Baskin, the founder of the Israeli-Palestinian Center for Research and Information. By this time, I was pretty faded, so don’t know how much of his stuff I got. He started talking about geopolitics. We are in Tantur (which means Hilltop in Arabic). Traditionally, this is the site where Mary and Joseph slept on the night before Jesus’ birth. We are technically not in Israel, but in the Vatican. IPCRI is an ecumenical institute for Christians, Arabs, and Jews to get to know each other. It is administered by Notre Dame, and its mission is to get Christians from all over the world talking to one another.
The tower outside is left over from the Order of the Knights of Malta. It used to be a pedestrian walkway, until The Wall was built.
Here at IPCRI, they’re running a microcosm of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This has become a meeting place for Israelis and Palestinians. They’ve been here on an interim basis since 2001, and they are in favor of a two-state solution.
At the end of the day, the US has to mediate an agreement in this conflict, complete with terms, conditions, and consequences. Why the US? Because we’re funding Israel, for one; because we’re Israel’s only real ally in the International Community for two; and because, for better or for worse, taking a stand for what is morally right and just is what we Americans do. Baskin said that a majority of Israelis and Palestinians want peace, but no longer believe it’s possible. The moderate response does not work. We have to impose a solution.
Israel is covered by a US umbrella. The US needs to stop covering Israel until Israel does what the US wants. In a world community where Israel is increasingly unpopular, the US needs to cut its losses and stop supporting Israel.
That’s all for now. I know it’s sketchy, but I feel like crap and there was a LOT to process today…..
Here are the day's photos:
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