I did have a good day yesterday, but also a frustrating one. Long story short, I did a "free" (tip-based) tour of the Old City, which I should have done so long ago! It was great! I'm learning so much from being a "tourist" - next time I'll be a much better guide. Then I met up with a friend from Boston who is living here now, had lunch, and went to the Israel Museum. It was all great - the museum is quite fantastic. I took a good long look at the Dead Sea Scrolls, King Herod's Final Journey (a temporary exhibit - the story of the excavation of his tomb is quite the story, in which the archaeologist who had spent his life looking for it and found it, later died in 2010 from a fall at the site!), and some of the ancient artifacts, of which there are plenty! I always get a sore back from walking slowly around museums, so after 3 hours, I had to go.
I found out from a good friend of mine that in order to do interviews and surveys as I was planning for my research on the Jesus Trail, I have to get prior approval from the Office of Research Administration at Brandeis, which I didn't have a clue about, so didn't obtain. I was rather frustrated, as you can imagine, so I just came home, ate a little bit of my favorite yogurt, took a shower, and slept. I tell you, with my earplugs, I sleep like...well, like there's no bus stop 20 feet from me!
But I have regrouped on the research and decided to just talk to as many people as possible and contact the Christian organizations in Israel to see what I can find out. I ain't finished yet!
That's how today began - I contacted all kinds of organizations around here, and made plans to visit a couple. Thus, at 12:47 exactly, I purchased a ticket for the tram going to west Jerusalem, hopped on around 12:54, and around 1:15 I knocked on the door of the Interfaith Encounter Association. But wait, this is a good story. I wasn't exactly sure how to find it - I had seen it on google maps, and the instructions said, and I quote, "12 Ha’arazim Street, Entrance 34 (Beit Hakerem Neighborhood, Jerusalem). Walk towards entrance 36 and immediately go down the stairs on the right hand side. At the end of the stairs make a left and take the first entrance. We are on the top floor." Encounter (directly copied and pasted from the site.) I got off on the stop I thought it was (which turned out to be one stop too soon, but I'm a good walker, as we have well proved!) and walked down a road that had little apartments with a long stone fence blocking any entry, for a good 1/4 mile. No street to the right or left, and I began to think this wasn't going to work out at all. I decided to walk to the next tram stop and see about just going straight up to Mount Herzl (which was my final destination for the day, after the visit), when, to my utter delight, I happened upon the very street I needed - Ha'arazim. I went down it, completely unsure what "entrance 34" or "36" meant, but hoping to figure it out. Turns out, it has to do with the group of apartments in that block.
OK, this is getting long. I found, after some real detective work, entrance 34, climbed my way up to the top floor (8 floors), and knocked on the door. A woman in a hijab (Muslim head covering) answered the door, rather surprised. I asked her in Hebrew if she spoke English, and she looked at me even more strangely and answered, in Hebrew, yes. I told her who I was (in English), that I had emailed earlier, and was in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by and become acquainted. She was clearly shocked, and I was wondering if I had been too presumptuous (probably - I don't know how one does these things!), but invited me in. She was having a meeting with the director, so she showed me to a seat in the tiny apartment, where I sat for about 10 minutes while they finished up, and he left for a meeting (but not without saying hello).
They had gotten my email, but hadn't really had time to respond - not that I expected them to. But I am leaving next week and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to meet them. I had quite a few minutes to look very carefully at this little apartment they worked out of. Quite a different space than most non-profit offices, I would guess. But maybe not - maybe that's the nature of non-profit - wherever you can get a space! The apartment was clearly quite old and very tiny. Probably 35x35 ft. total. From my seat in the kitchen/dining room/living room, I could see two windows - one small one next to the sink (which was just a small, farmhouse style sink, rather low, like it was made for an 8-year-old) with a very dingy old lace curtain, and another one closer to me that was open for air flow. Next to the table where I was seated was an old couch, with red, yellow and black lettering saying random words in English ("stop" being the most frequent, for some reason), and accented with 2 periwinkle pillows. One small room was behind me - I couldn't really see it - and one was to the side, which served as the office from which they worked.
After finishing up her meeting, Fathiey, who is Palestinian (working in a very Jewish neighborhood - go her!) sat and talked with me for about an hour and a half. The purpose of the organization is to bring together Muslims, Jews, and Christians to create bonds based on faith, not despite faith. They learn about each others' traditions and beliefs, and have even visited some of the holy sites together. It sounds like it is taking some time to really gain momentum, but cool things are happening. I also mentioned my idea to begin a scholarship fund for Palestinian students who want to go to college after high school, but don't have the means. We're going to continue working toward that.
By the time I left, we had become friends and I am very excited to continue working with her and Yehudah (the director). And glad I didn't retreat when I thought perhaps my barging in wasn't such a good idea. I think this could be a positive thing. I'll do more contacting organizations tomorrow.
I found my way to the tram stop again, but it was delayed, and time was now running short. So I just walked about another 1/2 mile up to Mount Herzl and looked around. You know, I've never been there. It is quite lovely. On the entrance side, it doesn't seem like much of a mountain - just a gentle incline up the road leading to it. But on the other side, it's definitely a mountain - and it's beautiful! I gazed over the trees to other hills and cities west of Jerusalem. It's a great view. Of course, I'm quite certain more than half of the trees on the mountain (no sign of desert there!) are not native to Israel or Jerusalem, but no matter.
I also wandered over the Holocaust Memorial/Museum Yad Vashem. It's nothing like I remember it - and even when I looked specifically for the one place I do remember clearly, I couldn't find it. Who knows what goes on in my head! Or perhaps they have changed it. The complex is huge, with all kinds of monuments to "The Righteous," "The Heroic," and, of course, the lost. I finally found the history part of the museum, but by this time only had about 45 minutes to see it. I briskly moved through familiar history, a bit sad I had to skip some of the video testimonials they had running at different locations. I have seen most of it before, but one particular little video clip stopped my heart. Of course, the images of the Holocaust are never pleasant, and I have seen the starving bodies, the pits filled with the dead, and such. But I caught the end of a video in which a bulldozer is just bulldozing dead bodies, through the dirt, for several feet until they are dumped into a pit. Just bulldozing them like rocks. It was a heartless display I hadn't witness, and the horror of it stopped me. I continue to be baffled by this moment of inhumanity.
I met up with my new German roommates there - they happened to be visiting as well. And we got back on the (stiflingly crowded) tram to come home. I stopped at the market again and got some fresh veggies and fruits for dinner. I'm ready to sleep (already - it's only almost 8!), but I promised I'd go to my friend's house for a little bit.
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| Eat your Mediterranean heart out! Watermelon, hummus, cucumber, tomatoes, pita and a nectarine. Life is good. |
*****Well, as it turned out, my friend never showed at the place where I was supposed to meet her. As I waited for her, I'm pretty sure I got hit on. A guy stopped in his car and asked for directions, which of course I was in no position to give. Then he asked if I was alone, and mentioned something about him being alone. I'm not sure what all else he said, but I just said, "I'm fine, thanks," and walked away. That's one solo adventure I'm not up for.
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