End of the Pilgrimage, mid-May 2018 ~ Alan Dorway

Sigh, I know, this is late.  I signed up to write a blog on our last day.  However, our last day was filled with travel.  I could have easily re-written my blog post from my previous trip, but I did not think that would be fair and I’m sure some who read would note that I just plagiarized myself.

Alan with Luke, leading devotions

As I prayerfully reflect on my trip to Israel/Palestine, the people we met there, the stories I heard, the rich conversations with members of our group, and the deep sense that where Jesus walked may not be the place he walks today, one image stood out to me: speed bumps.

I do not think there was a straight, solid stretch of road in the West Bank.  Everywhere we turned, there was a roundabout and a speed bump.  I’m not sure why there were so many speed bumps.  Our bus bravely tried to make it up to 40 or 45 miles per hour at times, but unless we were on a road in Israel, highway speeds were non-existent in the West Bank.

Israel/Palestine is a multi-layered complex area about the size of New Jersey.  This is a place where geography, history, politics, and theology merge and form competing narratives over-lapping and converging in a complicated reality. Plus, there are a lot of speed bumps.

Yes, we can think of speed bumps like the multiple attempts at peace accords.  We can think about rockets fired out of Gaza and then missiles shot back into the same stretch of land.  We know for every child detained bitterness grows and rocks being thrown at guard towers can turn into shots fired.  Those and many other images from our media and our knowledge are speed bumps.  Yet, speed bumps are not always bad.

For instance, speed bumps get you to slow down. How many of us have casually driven through a neighborhood and seen a sign for “Children Playing”, but without the speed bump, we may not have slowed down?  For me even when annoying, speed bumps make me slow down and notice what’s going on around me.  That’s one of their main purposes: make one slow down and pay attention.  In the West Bank, speed bumps make you see what’s going on around you.  As our bus slowed down and went over a bump, I was able to take pictures of powerful graffiti along the separation wall.  I was able to see Bedouin camps slated for destruction.  I took note of the cisterns on the roofs of Palestinian homes, but not on homes in settlements as a testimony to the lack of water for one group and ample water for another.

Charlie, Daher Nassar, Daoud Nassar, Heidi Saikaly at the inspiriting Tent of Nations Farm

Speed bumps caused me to slow down to see and to listen.  I heard our host in the West Bank talk about his struggles as a peacemaker.  I heard again the story of hope coming from a refugee camp.  I was reminded that when women get together they can ensure a bright future for their children.  I heard music coming from cars, who also had to slow down over speed bumps, as we ate gelato on a patio.  I noticed that a coffee shop could help revitalize part of the old town in Nazareth. I saw students get excited about opportunities to learn and even practice English with visitors.  I heard heart breaking stories from parents who have come together after a loved one has died due to conflict, yet also listened as hope triumphed over more violence, hate, and separation.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 ~ Howard Stoess

Many of us have had the experience of being asked to express what something has meant to us in one word. It is impossible to do so for a visit to Israel/Palestine. So many thoughts and memories come to mind that is seems like a chaos of contradictory words. In our conversations and interactions with the Palestinian people, we have experienced – and witnessed – frustration, anxiety, fear, uncertainty and disappointment. But also resolve, courage and hope.

Fourth grade girls, MEEI

Fourth grade English students (learning their 3rd language)

The last five days of our trip, we are staying at the guest house of the Mar Elias Educational Institute in Ibillin. This morning, we divided into three groups. My group visited a 4^thgrade English class. The classroom was filled with excitement as we were warmly greeted by the teacher and students. The school is located in a Palestinian village in Israel and welcomes students from both communities as a way of encouraging students to intermix in a very positive way and learn that we are all humans and have equal rights and dreams for our future. It seems to be working very well as we saw only happy students with smiling faces wanting us to take their picture with their friends. The students from the school do very well academically, too and many move on to university to study medicine or science.

This afternoon, we met at the site of one of the many Palestinian villages destroyed by the Israelis in 1948. British author Jonathan Cook, who is recognized as one of the world’s most respected journalists with respect to the current plight of the Palestinians, used the site to give us a brief history of Palestine and then speak in more detail about what happened to the Palestinians living inside the border of the new state of Israel in 1948.

Jonathan Cook

Palestine was a common name used prior to 1948 to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. During its history, the Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires have controlled Palestine at one time or another. The exile described in 2 Kings was at the hands of the Babylonians beginning in 605 BC and the area was under Roman occupation during Jesus’ time on earth.

After World War I, Palestine was administered by the United Kingdom under a Mandate received in 1922 from the League of Nations. The modern history of Palestine begins with the termination of the British Mandate, the Partition of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel, and the ensuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In 1947, the United Nations proposed a Partition Plan for Palestine. The resolution noted Britain’s planned termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and recommended the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, with the Jerusalem-Bethlehem area protected and administered by the United Nations. The resolution called for the withdrawal of British forces and termination of the Mandate by August 1948 and establishment of the new independent states by October 1948.

Jewish leadership accepted the Partition Plan but Arab leaders rejected it as the more desirable areas were to go to the Israelis and the Palestinians were to only have approximately 40% of the land for their new state. The Arab League threatened to take military measures to prevent the partition of Palestine and to ensure the national rights of the Palestinian Arab population. One day before the British Mandate expired, Israel declared its independence within the borders of the Jewish State set out in the Partition Plan. The leadership of the new state were a part of Judaism known as Zionist for their belief that God had promised this land to them and they should expel the current Arab residents at any cost. Which is interesting because they are ethnic Jews, not practicing religious Jews which are opposed to the current treatment of the Palestinians, but unfortunately, are a small minority of the people in power.

The Arab countries declared war on the newly formed State of Israel beginning the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The subsequent series of wars and other conflicts is too long to include here, but those who are interested can find a lot of information on the Internet.

Mapcard of Palestine (in green) showing loss of land over time

Very quickly after the establishment of the state of Israel, the Israelis began to take over land owned by the Palestinians living within the boundaries of the new state. In all, over 500 villages were destroyed causing the Palestinians to become refugees in the West Bank, and the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Many have hoped to return to their lands, but the government has made that hope nearly impossible through laws that severely discriminate against the Palestinians.

After the 1967 war, Israel established even stricter laws affecting nearly every non-Jew in the combined Jewish and Palestinian areas. These laws are still in effect today and restrict almost every facet of daily life for the Palestinians. The government continues to illegally confiscate property from the Palestinians and has built over 150 illegal ‘settlements’ on these lands. Palestinians are very restricted on their movements and a wall is being built between the Jewish areas and the Palestinian areas. There are many checkpoints in the border and many more inside the West Bank where Palestinians are harassed every time they need to pass. There are even some roads and areas that are illegal for Palestinians to enter. During our visit to Hebron several days ago, our Palestinian guide had to walk the long way around to a meeting point as it would have been illegal for him to pass down the more direct road that we walked.

Israel claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East, but in actuality, it is an Apartheid system. Very good if you are Jewish, very bad for everyone else – especially the native Palestinians.

We have been very impressed with the Palestinians we have met who are working for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Many are risking their already restrictive lives to boldly work for peace between the two peoples. They are encouraged that people in the European Union and the US are becoming more sympathetic to their plight and more and more organizations are offering aid for them to continue their work. Please pray for them, the residents of both states, and for the peace of Jerusalem.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 ~ Rita Stoess

This morning we had the opportunity to visit some of the students at the Mar Elias School.

Our group has been hosted at the Mar Elias guest house for the past few days so it was an easy walk to the school. The guesthouse is on the top floor of the elementary school.

“I know, I know!”

Some of us visited a 4^thgrade English class and others of our group visited students at the middle school.  I had requested to visit the 4^thgrade since I used to teach that level.

The students were excited to see us and I felt sorry for the teacher, Shadia, who had to work hard for them to pay attention to her. I sat next to two very polite boys—Mojd and Marsel.

First the teacher had the students take turns reading a story from their book in English and then they had a workbook where they had to answer questions about the story.

Fourth graders with Ursula

While the students were working in their workbooks, some of them got the idea to begin asking us to write our names for them.   This, of course, led to all of the students wanting our autographs with much noise and disruption, but the teacher eventually got them back on track.

The students all seemed so happy and were excited to learn, which is a true testament to the success of this school.

The Mar Elias Education Institution was founded in 1982  by archbishop Elias Chacour.  It is located in Ibillin, an Arab village in northern Israel. Arab students from all over the Galilee attend this school. The school includes a nursery, a pre-school, a kindergarten, an elementary school, a middle school and a high school. In all, nearly 3,000 students are enrolled, 1200 of which attend the high school. High school students are bussed from a 50-mile radius. The student population is approximately 60% Muslim and 40% Christian. The teachers are Christians, Jews, and Muslims, all working together.

Church of the Sermon on the Mount, Mar Elias Campus, Ibillin

Later in the morning we visited the beautiful Church of the Sermon on the Mount which is part of the Mar Elias campus.  The church was completed in 2005 and has the most beautiful icons and stained glass windows. It was a special time for reflection as we read once more The Beatitudes and remembered our visit to the traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount on Sunday.