Day 5

Bethlehem

First thing in the morning (7:30AM!), we traveled to the little town of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is designated as an A area of the West Bank, meaning that Israeli citizens are not allowed to enter under any circumstances because it is completely under Palestinian control. It is separated from Israeli territory by one of the checkpoints and the separation barrier/security wall. Because of this, we had to drop off Yael and Barkai at a bus stop before we went into Bethlehem. Once we got in, we picked up a Palestinian guide who stayed with us throughout the rest of our time in Bethlehem.

Visit with the Mayor

The reason we had to leave so early was because we had an early morning meeting scheduled with the Mayor of Bethlehem, Victor Batarseh. Mayor Batarseh gave us a general overview of the history of Bethlehem and focused more on the conditions of Bethlehem today. The unemployment rate is really high, mostly because the majority of the jobs are in West Jerusalem, and the Palestinians would need work permits to go into Jerusalem. The Israeli government in Jerusalem often refuses to offer these permits, so Bethlehem citizens can’t get jobs there.

In addition to serving us tea, the mayor also gave us stoles with the Palestinian flag on them.

The best part of our meeting with the mayor was actually the informal speech his office’s public relations assistant, Carmen, gave about her personal life. She’s 24, and she told us about growing up in times of Israeli occupation of Bethlehem. There was a period where the Israeli army enforced a curfew 24/7 for 40 consecutive days. Once a week the Palestinian residents would be allowed out of their homes for an hour to grocery shop, but that’s it. One time, Carmen’s family was stuck in traffic on their way home after shopping, and they ended up being followed the rest of their way home by a tank. Multiple times throughout her life and sometimes still now she feels that her life is in danger. It was really moving, and we all agreed that she seemed to be the first person who spoke to us completely genuinely about their personal experience.

Church of the Nativity

After we left the Bethlehem Municipality, our guide took us to the Church of the Nativity, which is exactly what it sounds like: It is the church designating the place where Jesus was born. The church itself was huge, and the guide said it is the oldest church in Israel. When the Persian’s went through Israel systematically destroying churches, they stopped at the facade of the Church of the Nativity and decided to leave this church alone. The guide said that they stopped because the front of the building showed an image of the three wise men, who happened to be Persian.

The main focuses in the church are the areas designating the specific birthplace of Jesus and the manger. Here’s a picture of me touching the place where they claim Jesus was born.

There are also really awesome columns in the main area of the church where it seems like pews would have been. They are from the original structure from the 4th century. Also from the original structure are remnants of a beautiful mosaic floor.

After the church, we got back on the bus and went to a really awkward, touristy gift shop. On our way there, though, we saw some awesome street art/graffiti.

Dome of the Rock/Western Wall

After leaving Bethlehem, we drove back to the Old City and went in through a different gate. We saw a whole bunch of kids and families celebrating bar mitzvahs within the city walls. We had to wait in line for a decent amount of time, but we finally got through security and got in to the area of the Temple Mount, which is the holiest of holy places according to the traditional Jewish beliefs. In both the first and the second temples that were built on that site, there were rooms where only the highest priest of the Kohein (group of high priests stemming from the tribe of Levi) was able to go. This was so well enforced that back in the day when he would go into the room they would tie a rope around his ankle so if anything happened they could pull him out without going into the room. Strict Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox Jews will still not go on the Temple Mount for fear of walking in this holy place, which is basically considered their version of a mortal sin.

We also saw Al Aqsa mosque, which is the third holiest site to the Islamic religion (after Mecca and Medina). Right across a courtyard from this beautiful mosque is the Dome of the Rock, which according to Jewish tradition marks the site of the binding of Isaac. According to Islamic tradition, though, the rock is the spot from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven. It’s really a remarkable building. The dome is actually plate in real gold, and the blue stone is all very intricate and perfect mosaic.

After seeing the Dome of the Rock, we went to get lunch at a place inside the city. We got a family style lunch of felafel, pita, humus, and a variety of other sauces and dips. Everything was delicious and we stuffed ourselves silly. I also got lemonade with mint for a drink, and that was really yummy too. Definitely something I will do at home.

After lunch, we went to the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall. This is one of the remaining structures of the Second Temple, and it has become a site for pilgrims to go and pray. It is especially holy for Jewish people because they believe the spirit of God remains here despite the destruction of the temple. It isn’t as big as I think I had imaged it, but it was certainly a powerful experience. We all touched the wall and put notes with wishes written on them into the cracks of the wall, which is a custom similar to lighting a candle for a prayer intention. It’s also notable that the wall is divided in terms of who can pray where. Women have a smaller section of the way to pray at, separated from the men’s section by a wooden fence.

Knesset

After leaving the Old City, we drove back to the government center and got a tour of the Knesset, which is the Israeli parliament. We got a tour of the building, and we also got to sit in for a few minutes on some of the members of the Knesset having a rather heated discussion in Hebrew that I didn’t understand at all. They were deliberating some sort of bill or ordinance, but I’m not sure how they could vote on anything because there were only 5 people there.

Parents’ Circle Forum

In the evening after dinner, we had two members of the Parents’ Circle Forum come to talk to us. This organization gets together parents and families of people who have been killed because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian woman who came lost her brother, who she had parented as they grew up, to a random shooting, and the Israeli man who came lost his daughter when she was 14 to a suicide bomber. It was incredible how close these two people were, despite their differences, drawn together by their mutual loss. They called each other brother and sister and were very supportive of one another throughout their conversations with us. If nothing else did, this brought home how clearly Israeli and Palestinian people can come together as individuals, knowing that peace and nonviolence are not only preferable but also possible.