Saturday, June 5, 2010

Israel – 21 to 30 May 2010

Falafel!

We arrived on the Friday because we wanted to be there for Pentecost (a day described in the book of Acts in the Holy Bible when the Spirit of God came down on the early church). Holy Day in Israel starts sundown Friday night and ends sundown Saturday. So…

Shabbat shalom (peace to the Sabbath) time! A horn is sounded 20 minutes before sundown on Friday that lets everyone know it’s almost time to commence the Sabbath, in which they do no work - whatsoever. Some of the Jews who are serious about this time ensure that all electrics are on/off as they don’t touch anything electrical during this time, there are some lifts that are programmed so one doesn’t have to touch the floor number, and so it stops at every floor.

At about 11pm we went for a walk in an area called Mea Shearim, which is one of the most Jewish Orthodox areas in the world – and they’re right. We went for a wander and saw many of the families walking around after their dinner – the whole family. Because they believe you aren’t to do any work on the Sabbath, if you drive through the area you will have your car stoned, so the police put up road blocks to their streets. I had to wear a skirt because according to their traditions (and it does state in the Old Testament) women aren’t to wear men’s clothing – so I wore my pants on underneath. They don’t look at you because if you don’t follow their practices, you aren’t “right” before God. I had mixed feelings walking through and watching these guys – sadness and a kind of respect. Sadness because their lives seem restrictive where more and more practices and traditions come in with every new Rabbi, that are passed down and obeyed. There is so much more spiritual freedom to be had and it’s not in following law, God has provided the Way. A kind of respect because they live out these things with seriousness and discipline. There are 3 year olds walking around with their “curly sidies” because they aren’t to shave the hair on their temples. Then there are all types of hats they wear, from small round ones to big Russian-looking fluffy ones. So that was my experience in a Jewish area. Dan however was approached by a bunch of Jewish kids and was told he looked like an Arab (he was wearing an Arab-coloured scarf on his neck) and that he should take it off. I was wondering why we were getting such looks…

We went to church on Sunday night and it was really awesome to be among other believers in Jerusalem of all cultures and ethnics, it was such a family feeling. On the Monday we went on a free tour around the old city which was really cool to get explanations of the different things around. It’s basically divided into four quarters – the Armenian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish. It was interesting to know that the old old city is really some 8m below because it’s been demolished and rebuilt over the years from a number of different conquerors. It is a Holy City for the three faiths – for the Christian it’s where Jesus was crucified, buried and rose again. For the Muslim it’s where Mohammad ascended to Heaven. For the Jewish it’s where the second temple was built and where the Western (Wailing) Wall stands. It’s nice to see the three co-existing, but there is also tension because of it’s significance and also the prophecies about the place.

On Tuesday we went on a Political Tour which was run by an ex-Palestinian activist who’d been jailed for some years. He is one of the lucky Palestinians who is allowed to live in Israel territory. He has people go on his tours to spy on him. He is just telling the truth and he is very passionate about it, but he has a family and so isn’t so full-on anymore. This tour really opened my eyes and created such mixed feelings inside. I mean, yeah Israel as a state, but they’ve created this huge wall that closes off the “Israel state” from Palestinians. When you look at a house you can tell whether they are in or out of Israel territory – the ones with 2 tanks on the roof are Palestinian because they have to store water as they don’t know when Israel will cease giving them water. Pregnant women in labour are made to wait at the checkpoints until an ambulance comes to collect them, and then it needs to be searched before they are transported. Israel calls the checkpoints “security gates” but the tour guide described them as more of “shame gates”, because if you look Arab they will ask you for the Israel ID card and if not they let you pass through. Now the ID cards, if you don’t have one, you cannot live in Israel – but to get one? Almost impossible. There is criteria set that cannot be met by most Arabs. We met a guy living on the streets with this problem, he was waiting for a card to be made and had paid the money. He wants to see his family in Jordan, but won’t be able to get back in if he doesn’t have the ID card. The tour guide called what Israel was doing – ethnic cleansing. I didn’t see even a slither of what’s going on. I have to say, it’s not everyone in Israel who agrees with what’s going on – it’s those in government and those who are Zionists (believe that the Jewish state should exist but more than what they’ve been given) and the guide was honest about this also. On their smallest coin, there is a “state” which is a lot bigger than what Israel is now…we were told a meaning of their flag represented the Nile and Iran with the Star of David (Israel) in the middle, which shows there is still a lot of land to be taken, or attempted to be taken. We were taken to see where the wall goes through a neighbourhood and to a house where the woman had to make the decision to have the wall go through her garden or be excluded from the Israel side. She opted to stay within Israel but now what took her a 3 minute walk to get to her mother’s house, now takes 1 1/2 hours to drive through all the checkpoints to visit her! There was a small street we visited in which Israeli settlers were moving in and the Palestinian family was living under a tree across the road. One woman was living in a tent just on the side of the house. While we were there, Zionists arrived (mostly American) and there was a little conflict, one of them stating that the Palestinians ought to feel lucky because they are allowed to live on Israeli land…under a tree and having your home taken from you? What the?!

We went to a Young Adults meeting at a church and heard a testimony of a guy from a Caribbean Island of when he died for over an hour and then came back to life. Quite an amazing journey while he was dead…Then he offered to heal people of shortened legs, as he had been healed himself. He prayed the simple prayer, “In the name of Yeshua (Jesus) I command you to grow,” for about 5 people and the legs grew! One after the other these legs grew, it was amazing to see. Never have I seen miraculous healing like this. I’d remembered reading about Jesus healing, back in the day, and noticed that coupled with healing was new faith, the renewal of faith, and praise to God. This is what I also saw in some of them at the meeting. Faith was renewed and they were strengthened again. It was an amazing experience and it also solidified my faith that God is still healing today. If we could capture all the stories in the world of such healings and deliverances, it would be a massive book! God is just too awesome!

We went for a visit to the Mount of Olives and ‘the’ Garden of Gethsemane where we met up with a Christian tour who were doing some teaching and fellowship. They invited us to join them which was really cool. They even introduced us to the rest of the tour. I truly felt welcomed. It was really surreal learning about Jesus in the place where he had been so many years ago. The view from the Mount of Olives is incredible – a bit of a hike but incredible. We saw olive trees that were 2000 years old and 1 that was 3000 years old. These are kept in an area that had only been re-opened recently. It was really cool to see.

We did a lot of walking around in Jerusalem. There is certainly plenty to see. I would have liked to get around to other towns and especially see how the Palestinians live (which there are tours you can do that), but you need a bit of time and know where you are going and what you’re doing.

I am still feeling a little tired of travelling, but know that we have another 2 months left and I think I can push through it. You definitely learn a lot about yourself and how you like to travel and live.

Til next time in Egypt…

Liz

Oh, here is an excerpts from Dan’s email which tells his story of Israel…enjoy!

If you have an Israel stamp in your passport, you are unable to travel to most Arabic (also mostly Islamic) countries: Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and others. You WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to enter the country. If you have a Syria stamp in your passport, you will be questioned at the Israel border but you will be allowed in the country. Do not try to enter Israel on a Saturday – it is likely that the borders will be closed – it is the Jewish holy day.

Before you support the State of Israel on religious principles, please investigate your reasons for such support. (Note: I support the State of Israel but definitely not in its current position). Historically Israel was created by a Zionist agenda in the land of Palestine, where initially 55% of Palestine land was given to Jews, about 33% of the population at that time. The Israel-Palestine situation has very serious political and religious issues impacting on people very personally right now. http://www.btselem.org/English/index.asp

There are many ideas for resolving the Arab-Israel conflict. High level political support/pressure from the UN is needed just as much as grassroots reconciliation. Some friends started Ultimate Peace a few years ago; a way of using sport to break down barriers between different groups, between kids who are not currently involved in reconciliation but have grown up in a divided country. There are no stupid ideas – as long as someone has the passion to pursue them.

In similar news, all six branches of Starbucks in Israel were closed down on account of the managing director being an active Zionist.

We were listening to a guy we met from San Martin, an island in the Carribean. He'd drowned and been medically dead for about thirty minutes, and had come back to life. His story made the local news but unfortunately isn't on YouTube. He had an out-of-body/near-death experience and saw heaven and hell. Great story.

Then he said God had given him a gift to heal people's legs. So there were six people with different-length legs. And the six shorter legs grew to be the same length! One girl had a (long-ago) broken bone sticking out on her foot. It wasn't sticking out anymore. God is amazing, and awesome, and the very NAME of Jesus is powerful! Jesus really did rise from the dead and he's alive today – check it out in the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John). And his life story was prophesied hundreds of years earlier!! The Bible is a book worth reading…

The ultra-orthodox (extreme) jews are pretty special. They religiously follow the `instructions' found in the Torah (first 5 books in the Bible, written by Moses), but place equal weight on the Talmud (oral instructions resulting from cultural interpretations of the Torah). In one way, they create fences around fences. `Thou shalt do not work on the Sabbath', found in the Torah, is ensured by the creation of additional rules. The light switch must not be turned on or off during the Sabbath, but the lights may remain on for the duration. The stove may not be turned off after the Sabbath meal, but an electric hotplate may be timed and set before the Sabbath, which will automatically turn off. Highly religious.

One of the beauties of the ultra-orthodox Jews however, is that after their Sabbath meal, en masse and as families they all walk the neighbourhood. So the men are dressed in silk suits and fur hats, and do not cut the hair on their temples, and the women are all modestly dressed in dresses and skirts, but they are out enjoying the streets as a family, along with everyone else in the neighbourhood. An excellent community-minded idea!

And we are now in Cairo, Egypt…

DAn

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