Old Grey Goose International : Israel Journal

Saturday, July 5, 2008 - Day Five

We woke up early today for a guided tour of old Jerusalem. Lynn was able to hire an Arab guide, and Danny drove us the approximately 45 minutes south-east to the city.

In ancient times it was said that the world had ten measures of beauty, of which nine belonged to Jerusalem (Insight Guides, Israel, p.131). The city’s reputation made it very attractive to conquerors, as did its location on the trade route and crossroads between the East and West. But ironically it was the supreme holiness of the city that inspired centuries of discord and bloodshed.

To Jews it is their national and spiritual epicenter—the incarnation of ancient Israel; to Christians it is where Jesus spent his last days on earth—the site of the last supper, the crucifixion and resurrection; to Muslims it is the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven and is Islam’s third holiest city after Mecca and Medina (Ibid).

From the founding of Israel until 1967, Jerusalem was held by the Jordanians. Since the war, when Israel officially annexed the Old City and East Jerusalem, the Israelis administer the city, although there are still Jewish, Christian, Arab and Armenian quarters. Most of the area east of Jerusalem remains Arab, but the Israelis have been establishing some settlements.

There is also a major security wall on both sides of a highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem that the Palestinians on the West Bank can pass under, in places, but to which they have no access. It is 420 miles long and varies from 16 ft. high wire to 26 ft. high concrete walls with watchtowers.

In 2002, when the Israeli government announced the plan to build a security wall, they said it was to exclude Palestinian suicide bombers—and it has. However, it does not follow Israel’s pre-1967 boundaries but rather incorporates large pieces of the West Bank that contain Israeli settlements. According to one United Nations report, the wall separated more than 200,000 Palestinians from their hospitals, schools and workplaces. (Ibid, p. 277)

We drove along the highway and saw Ramallah, which is the official capitol of the Palestinian authority. In front of Ramallah and along most of the West Bank, hills loom that have been terraced for centuries for agricultural purposes. The catch is that Israel does not permit the Palestinians to drill wells into the aquifer, whereas the Israelis are big irrigators—in fact they innovated drip irrigation. Thus, there is a dramatic “green” delineation between the Israeli and Palestinian lands.

On another highway we noticed double-high barriers on the sides of the road that traversed a valley and were told that it was the site of a terrorist incident where someone grabbed the wheel of a bus carrying 17 Americans, among others, and forced it off the road and into the abyss.

Our two-hour tour took us through the various quarters of the old city, to King David’s tomb, to the site of the last supper--which was an old Mosque converted to a church that still physically points the way to Mecca--to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the hill where the crucifixion took place. The various Christian sects (Greek, Roman Catholic and Armenian) have been fighting over this church for years. An Armenian ladder graces the front on the church, and no one has been allowed to touch it for 150 years! Scaffolding is present that has been the source of a dispute since the British left Palestine. Only an impartial Muslim is trusted to be the gate (and peace) keeper of this church.

We also saw the Wailing Wall and, from afar, the Dome of the Rock from where Mohammad ascended to heaven and the Mount of Olives where both Jews and Christians believe that come Judgment Day a line will appear for people to walk. Those who have lived piously will follow it heavenward. Those who have not will fall off. The Mount is largely a Jewish cemetery that dates back to Biblical days and is still in use.

No photos were allowed at the Wailing Wall due to the Shabbat, and they were very strict about this rule. However, we were able to approach, touch and meditate at the wall with the others. Andy said that there are certain ultra-orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem where our van would actually be stoned if we were to drive though on the Sabbath.

Following our tour we drove to the top of Mount Scopus for an impressive view of the city. From there we went to Lynn’s favorite falafel place for a delicious sandwich.

We headed back to Tel Aviv where Andy had a reception for about 100 of his colleagues and their families. It was a fourth of July barbeque, and we played music outside for several hours. Our good friend and BBC reporter, Quil Lawrence was there, just back from Afghanistan. He brought his guitar and mandolin and played along with us most of the night. At the end of the evening we called a dance. A good time was had by all.

Tomorrow, we head back to Jerusalem to play for a school and then to Jordan for seven performances in two days.

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