Going for Round Two!: Ramadan in Jerusalem

The leading news in Israel today is two-fold: the three teenagers who were kidnapped by two members of Hamas two weeks ago were found dead yesterday, their bodies burned; the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) retaliated with 34 rocket attacks on Hamas outposts in Gaza. My heart aches for the whole situation, and for the people who suffer as the result of blind anger and hate. I see in my mind's eye the mothers and fathers of those boys, their friends and loved ones, who must imagine over and over again how their final moments might have been. I see the families running terrified from rockets hitting their homes, although, surely they are somewhat used to airstrikes by now. It is a fairly regular occurrence. Poverty and lack of security in Gaza are commonplace, as are military raids and searches for terrorists. By now fear and anger are simply status quo. And the cycle of loss, pain, rage and hate perpetuates.

I have all kinds of things to say, but they all seem so unimportant when compared with this. I think it a great pity that such a wonderful country, with so much to love and celebrate, is so often overshadowed by the evil actions of a few extremists, both Jewish and Palestinian.

Well, I'll try to gather my thoughts and put down something of experiences I want to share.

Since Saturday I have been blessed with some fun moments and people. For the sake of time and space, I'll abstain from elaborate description and just list them below.

1. A simple rose. Almost every day since I came to this hotel last week, I have eaten at the restaurant next to the hotel. A man works there (I can't for the life of me remember his name, but he knows mine! He always greets me very warmly) who knows exactly what I like: half a roasted chicken with salad. I went down the other night to grab dinner, but wanted to just come back up to my room so I could keep working. He told me he would bring it up, and when he did, he brought me a small red rose with it. Made me smile.
2. Church. On Saturday I went to church (which consists of me hiking for about 40 minutes down the Kidron Valley, then up the Mt. of Olives, which is not really a mountain, but is no small mound either! And it's been HOT! I arrive good and sweaty every time!), where I met up with some of my 2000 summer Jerusalem acquaintances. I spoke for a few minutes with Brother Chadwick, who vaguely remembered me, I think. Then Brother and Sister Gunther, the service missionary couple at the Center, invited me to lunch. It was so nice to sit down with good people (2 other young single adults were there as well) and enjoy a good meal.
3. Abusbeih family. After church, Abd picked me up and I spent the afternoon with his family. More on that to come.
4. The Beach at Tel Aviv. Yesterday I rented a car and drove to Tel Aviv with Nermeen, Neveen, Mahmoud and their mom (some of the people in Abd's family). We spent a couple of hours at the beach. I was enthralled! The water was so deliciously warm, and the waves so fun to swim in! I had forgotten (or maybe never really knew) how much I love to swim in the ocean! I couldn't convince Nermeen and Neveen to come out as far as I wanted, but we had a great time. I was reminded how at home I feel in the water. I get the water, the waves, how to encounter them. There were a lot of other people around me as well, and it was just so splendid. If Tel Aviv weren't so darn expensive to live in, I'd live there and go to the beach every day, just to play in those waves!
5. The lights of Ramadan. I'll have more to say on this in a moment as well, but Ramadan is in full swing (such a test of dedication and fortitude in this heat!), and at night the city comes alive with lights and people. And Jerusalem swarms with both! Last night, coming in from Tel Aviv, you could hardly drive because of all the people coming down from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where they went to pray. Some of the streets were temporarily shut down, the tiny (and I do mean tiny!) little streets in East Jerusalem become even tinier as you drive through with people only centimeters from your car. (More to come on driving in Jerusalem.)
6. Men and makeup. I spent Saturday afternoon with Nermeen and Neveen, two of Abd's daughters. We went to Neveen's home, which is lovely inside - outside, everything just looks old and thrown together - and I got to watch (and watch and watch, endlessly) her wedding videos (she got married in April). So much dancing! I asked how long they celebrated, and they told me matter-of-factly, "Two days." Whoa! At one point her husband came home, and her father-in-law stopped in to visit. He looked at me intently and chatted away in Arabic. I understood nothing. He continued to talk the others in the room, and I knew he was talking about me. I found out he was telling them about all the men he could line me up with who would loved to marry a plump American (turns out, the men like their women pleasingly plump! And I've noticed that the vast majority of Arab women here are quite plump, and the men quite scrawny. I'm in the wrong culture!). Afterward, Neveen, who is a cosmetologist, asked if she could do my makeup. A quick 15 minutes later, I was a new me! It was funny - they thought I looked so beautiful; I thought I looked over the top. The loaded with makeup look is not my thing!
7. Interesting side note: No one in America knows what on earth to do with all their pennies. They're worth less than the copper they're made with. Well, I have news for you - it's the same here. A guy at a shop offered to convert my coinage to shekels, which offer I readily accepted. But the pennies he would not take, and showed me a huge glass bottle full of them. What are we going to do with all the pennies!?
8. Spelling. Walking down into the market at Damascus Gate the other day, I got a good chuckle at some of the spellings. I got one picture of a menu from the restaurant where I ate. A cart I passed (didn't get a picture) was advertising "jouse" and "friut." Hee hee.

I'll end talking about two things: The City of David and the adventures of driving.

One of the great tourist attractions, outside of the Old City of Jerusalem, is the City of David archaeological site. You can browse the website here to get an idea what this is about. http://www.cityofdavid.org.il/en

It is a dig just south of Jerusalem, on the little slope leading down from Temple Mount. Israeli archaeologists are certain it's David's palace, and nearby they're working on excavations for what they think is Solomon's pools. This is cool. It really is. And it's hugely political. First, by uncovering and displaying to hundreds of thousands of tourists each year the site of David's palace, the Israeli government is making a statement: a) the Jews now have "scientific" proof that the Bible story does give them a legitimate claim to the land; b) they're the proper caretakers, since the Palestinians just built right on top of these important Biblical sites, not bothering to carefully preserve them as they should have (or so goes the narrative).

But if you look closer, big questions arise. First, what about the thousands of years of other history in that dirt? What about the ruins beneath the City of David? David wasn't the first to settle there - and that's even in the Bible! Which is the layer of archaeological artifacts that matters? Why, the one that tells the story of Jewish greatness, of course!

And another question arises. What about the families living there, whose homes are being torn out for the sake of the excavations? Do they matter? Abd's family is one of the last remaining families. They used to live in America - they could make a better life there (and most of them wish they could return - especially the girls, who are NOT used to living under the restrictions that Islam, or at least Arab culture in Jerusalem, imposes on them). But they returned to make sure their home wasn't taken away. Abd lives above a now-abandoned store, just down the street from Hezekiah's Tunnel, another amazing Biblical site (and so much fun! You can see my pictures from last year), and smack on top of the 3,000 year-old Jebusite walls. He refuses to give up his home, even though the Israeli government closed the road just in front of his house so that they could funnel tourists to their shops at the City of David (one street up). Now you can only walk to his house. As I walked up yesterday, his 20-something son was arguing with the Israeli workers, saying, in Hebrew, "Every day you are here, I will give you problems." I chuckled. I had heard about this little territorial dispute in Silwan. A year ago, I walked right into it. Now I am dear friends with some of the main players. What an experience!

I spent the first night of Ramadan with this lovely family. It was too hot inside, so we sat outside and ate ourselves sick. Now, eating with Palestinians is not for the faint of heart. Germ awareness is simply not on the radar. They set their bread on the mat next to their feet, dig in with their spoon and eat from the salad bowl (I mean, everyone eats from the same bowl), etc. You just smile and dig in. But it was such a nice meal, and lovely evening, listening to the prayers being broadcast from the Mosque and seeing small fireworks shooting into the sky.

Afterward, Abd drove me home (he always does). If eating is not for the faint of heart, driving is even less so. These are the steepest streets you've seen! And narrow, with people everywhere. Both the drivers and the people work in this kind of understanding - the people walking don't get much out of the way, but enough for you to squeeze by (really, there's nowhere else for them to go), and you drive past as if it's no big deal. And often, if there is a long line of cars up the hill, some daring soul will dart into the other lane of traffic (which currently is empty), and pass them all up, then dart back over when a car comes the other way. Every inch of road space is used, and cars pass each other - quickly, I might add - with 1-2 centimeters to spare (and I've seen a few broken side mirrors, so it doesn't always go so well, I think!).

And then, it's my turn! Oh, how I love the adventure of it all! And I think of how my my mom would gasp and throw her hand out in front of her to brace herself. She would NOT handle this well. And I giggle. I impressed the family I drove with yesterday. Oh yes, I'm good! Boston has prepared me well, but it's like a level 4, and this a level 10 (if this were a video game - which it should be!).

And that, my friends, is the story today.

Me with Neveen and Nermeen.

Hee hee.

This is the sign when I get to my floor on the elevator. It makes me giggle every time. It's really supposed to say 3rd Floor, but some of it has been rubbed off.