Friday, November 13, 2009

My Address is the Via Dolorosa

 
 
 
 

We have been in Jerusalem for a couple of days now, and it has been an unbelievable experience! I am learning boatloads of new things by the day. We are staying in the Old City at the Austrian Hospice (on the Via Dolorosa), which has a roof with a breathtaking view over the entire Old City. I am continually in awe of the things we are doing and the people we talk to here in the Middle East, but nothing is quite like waking up and watching a sunrise in Jerusalem. So far we haven’t done that much sight seeing but it is built into the schedule later, so I can contain my excitement for the time being. We have been hearing from great speakers talking to us about the Israel/Palestine conflict, barriers to peace, Judaism and Zionism, and the settlement activities. Even though we are in the central pilgrimage site in the world, we are still holding firm to a pretty rigorous academic schedule. I am very challenged by the I/P conflict and love reading and learning about it, and I love the workload that we have and it makes it fun to walk the streets of the Old City and look into eyes of people who are daily affected by what we are learning. We read about 50 pages a night in preparation for the speakers the next day, which are usually about 2 a day. Yesterday we heard from an organization, B’Tselem that gives video cameras to Palestinians in the Occupied territories and use the tapes given to them by oppressed Palestinians to use as evidence in Human Rights work and raise awareness. I would advise viewing their website (btselem.org) and watching some videos. Today, we heard from Gersham Gorenberg, an American Jewish historian, who has written several books about the mindset of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. He was hilarious, insightful and intriguing. Later on today, we are donning our kippas (yarmulke) and going to a Synagogue for the Sabbath. Afterwards we are eating Sabbath dinner with Jewish families. I am very excited to see inside a Jewish life, and pick their brains! I am going to learn a lot through this experience. I will update again soon!
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