March 7, 2018
The Separation Wall by Wi’am’s play yard
Today the wall was present wherever we went casting a clear message of you are not welcome here. This could easily be a blog about oppression and violence. However, the day was so much more than that and this will focus on the positive. The good news of the day came from the members of the organizations we visited and their stories that bring hope.
The day started with a visit to the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center. The Wi’am mission is to bring conflicting parties together while saving face, to redress the wrong, and to restore the relationship. They recognize that there are many interrelated realities in Palestine that increase tensions in people’s lives – economic depression, peace process stagnation, environmental degradation, domestic violence, traumatized children and youth struggles. They recognize these things as interrelated and creating pressure cooker situations. They have trained mediators that go to the scene of conflicts and work with the conflicting parties. They provide ongoing support and training. It was also encouraging to hear them talk about the importance of empowering women and advocating for equal rights for women. The bottom line in what they are doing is trying to mend fences and inject hope in the lives of the people.
Seraj Library, partnered with Alrowwad Center in Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem
We then toured the Aida Refugee Camp. There is much that can be written about this visit, I will limit my commentary to the Al Rowwad Center which is currently in one building in the Camp which they have out grown so they will be opening a new five-story center in the next month. This is a center that provides a Library, Fitness Classes, Women’s Resource and Vocational Training, Music Lessons, Media Center for students to earn a Diploma in Media. The unemployment rate is extremely high so they hire young people to work in the building. It is seen as a safe place for children. Among much struggle and hardship, the refugees with help from outside organizations find ways to bring hope to their part of the world.
St. Stephens’ Living Stones Pilgrimage Group at BU
The last place we visited today was Bethlehem University. It is a beautiful campus. In a lot of ways, we could have been on a college campus any where as they talked about the offering of undergrad and graduate programs. You know you are in a different place when they discuss the intifadas and their impact on the University, when you are shown a hole in the side of the library made by a bomb hitting it and when you see a memorial for 4 martyrs from the school in one of the gardens on campus. Our guide told us that the school is aware of the difficult lives of the students so above all the school strives to be an oasis of peace and a beacon of hope for its students.
The last most difficult and hopeful meeting of the day was with two men from the Parents’ Circle/Bereaved Families Forum. This forum is made up of parents from Palestine and Israel who have had children killed in the conflict. One of the men who was with us was an Israeli whose 15 year old daughter was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. The other man is a Palestinian whose 13 year old daughter was killed by Israeli soldiers. Their stories were moving and heart breaking.
Rami Elhanan, Joan Deming, Usama Nicola, George Sa’adeh
What was the most amazing and hopeful is how they transformed their pain into forgiveness and working for peace so some day there will be no new families that need to join the forum. I will close this section with a few quotes from their talk:
“We are not doomed. We can change things by talking to each other. We can listen to each other’s pain and figure a way to peace. We have the power of pain on our side to bring light to the peace issue. We have learned our blood, pain and tears are the same. We talk and tell our story wherever we can.”
And I would certainly be remiss if I didn’t mention dinner ended with a delicious birthday cake in honor of Virgil. Happy birthday Virgil!
~ Karen Klein
Today we journeyed through Wadi Makhrour, a long deep valley, framed by high, terraced hillsides where farmers have grown crops for centuries. The hills are covered with olive trees, almond trees, and a variety of native flowering plants. We learned the significance of Pine trees grown in the area and saw scattered remnants of Roman settlements. 
There are multiple tombs and caves along the way. One tomb we observed was an example of the type of tomb in which Jesus would have been buried. A large “slot” was carved next to the small entrance, from which a disc-shaped stone would have been rolled to cover the entrance. We learned about the history of farm life in this area and some of the difficulties farmers have had in maintaining their livelihood.
At the end of the valley we reached Battir, a small village surrounded by encroaching new Israeli settlements. There are Roman baths and aqueducts at this end of the town where people still drink and swim. The water is still collected and distributed to water some of the nearby gardens and crops. Playful schoolchildren milled about the streets, curious and excited to greet foreign visitors. We congregated on a terrace facing the pools and valley for a wonderful meal prepared especially for our group. The meal consisted of a large platter of layered filo-type bread stuffed with spices and nuts and meats, topped by roasted chicken. This was accompanied by several smaller dishes of salad, olives, vegetables and plates of delicious date-stuffed pastries.