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Rachel’s Tomb

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Our first day in Bethlehem it was suggested to us that we might want to go to the other side of the wall that took a quarter of Wi’am’s land, to the side of the wall where those who live in Bethlehem are forbidden, to Rachel’s Tomb.

So today, that’s what we did.

We were asked if we wanted to walk through the Palestinian checkpoint. We thought it would be good to know what our guide experienced every time we left Bethlehem—though, with our American passports our experience would not be like his.

As we waited on the Israeli side of the checkpoint we looked over the olive tree groves of those in Bethlehem; Palestinian olive tree groves in Israel; groves that their owners are only allowed to visit once a year.

We took the bus to Rachel’s Tomb.  It’s surrounded by concrete.  I won’t go into details, but some not nice things were said to a few of us.  During one of the incidents someone also stood up for us.  There was no graffiti of protest—the angels were bolted out.

All I could think was, “Rachel is weeping for her children.”

By Celene Lillie

The Sea

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Our final Study Tour Day- a mini one hour vacation on the beautiful Mediterranean and a delicious meal at Samirs in Remle.

Thank you all for a profound, beautiful, and meaningful trip. I will go back in next few days and post more stories here.

Meet Abuna Chacour and MEEI Faculty and Students

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Mar Elias Educational Institution, Abuna Elias Chacour and the wonderful students and teachers of MEEI- we really enjoyed meeting and talking to Archbishop Emeritus Elias Chacour (Abuna),students, teachers, and administrators of this school. They acknowledged and thanked Pilgrims of Ibillin multiple times for all of our support through the years that pays for scholarships, classroom improvements, an upgraded teachers lounge, and much more.

 

By Brenda Mehos, Toor Coordinator

Visiting Symbols of Three Great Faiths in Jerusalem

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On Tuesday the Pilgrims of Ibillin group experienced some of the most holy sites in the three Abrahamic religions.
First we had a rare inside visit to Al Aqsa Mosque, considered Islam’s second holiest site. The green and gold mosaics are wonderful to behold.
Then we visited Judaism’s holy site, the Western or Wailing Wall, at the ruins of the Second Temple. There people pray and place notes and prayers in the wall crevices.
Finally we visited some of Christianity’s holiest sites: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jesus’ tomb), Mt of Olives (where Jesus spent the last days of his life), and the Garden of Gethsemene, where he was arrested by Roman guards. This full day was narrated by our Jerusalem guide, Mike.
From 1948, Jerusalem was intended to be an International City, a status embodied in General Assembly resolution 181. This was to “protect and preserve the unique spiritual and religious interests” located in this center of 3 great monotheistic faiths. This intent has never been fully realized, however, and was dealt an additional blow in Dec 2017 when US Pres Donald Trump ordered the US Embassy to relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – thus encouraging Israel’s domination of the city.
Palestinian dreams of a state with its capital in East Jerusalem seem further away than ever.
We ended the day hearing from Jeff Halper, longtime activist with the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions. He painted a pessimistic picture of the current situation for Palestinians, but expressed hope that they will build an effective movement.

 

By Ann Wilcox

 

Bedouin encampment, Wadi Quelt, Jericho, Dead Sea

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We have heard many tough stories during our short time in Palestine, but our visit to the Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin camp was one of the hardest to hear.  Not only has this group been deprived of their traditional way of life, they are under constant threat by the Israeli government and settlers in multiple ways:  food and water for their animals, health, livelihood and most worrisome of all, the dismantlement of the entire camp.  [The camp leader] asked us what we would do if we were in the Bedouins’ situation.  We were stunned into silence because it was difficult to imagine any solutions.  A very clever suggestion he made was to suggest to our Congressional representatives that US citizens be forced to give up their US citizenship if they choose to live in an Israeli settlement.

Our next stop was a spectacular viewpoint of the wadi Quelt.  We could see the Monastery of St. George deep in the valley.  We didn’t see any rock hyraxes, much to our disappointment.

We descended to below sea level for a delicious lunch in Jericho.  Then we waddled into the Dead Sea, where we marveled at our buoyancy. Our showers afterward left us cool and refreshed for the bus ride back to Bethlehem.

~Stephanie Mayer

Beautiful Resistance

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Along The Path To The Village of Battir
By Ann Wilcox
On Friday, May 19, the Pilgrims of Ibillin group hiked nearly three miles to Battir, a centuries-old village near Bethlehem.  With a current population of about 4,000, Battir is situated above the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway, roughly following the 1949 Green Line.  It features a UNESCO World Heritage Site, consisting of terraces and an ancient Roman bath.
 
To get to the village, we walked on pebbled paths through a valley (or wadi).  On either side were stony hills that evoked the early Roman times.  One can imagine shepherds watching their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth.  We saw caves and a tomb that would have a large stone blocking the entrance – a resting place for the bones of area inhabitants.  On the hillside we saw some Palestinian farmers tilling their terraced land with a simple plow pulled by a donkey. We also saw a modern “shepherd,” an Israeli settler young man with a flock of sheep and two herding dogs.
Since our arrival in Bethlehem, we have been learning about “beautiful resistance” to the occupation of these areas by Israel.  This manifests in graffiti on the Separation Wall, or a children’s playground built in the shadow of the wall, at Wi’am Palestinin Conflict Transformation Center.  In the Occupied Territories, residents lack control of basic resources, such as water – even though a large aquifer sits under the West Bank.  Water is controlled by the Occupying Authirity for the benefit of settler communities, but Palestinians must purchase and transport water.
On the hike to Battir we saw a hillside covered with water cisterns – with drip pans attached, to gather dew water.  This adds to the water resources seen in large white water tanks on the roofs of Palestinian homes and buildings.  Being creative in the gathering of additional water is an example of “beautiful resistance” to the Occupation.