Back in Jerusalem after a lovely Shabbat in the Golan Heights region. We left at 6am on Friday morning to head to Galilee, where we visited Rosh Pina, one of the original Zionist moshavot (colonies), settled by Romanians in 1882. It was interesting to hear about the original Zionist settlers, who purchased the land legitimately and then struggled to eke out a living. I have a lot of respect for their hard work and determination. From Rosh Pina we continued north to Tel Dan, which was more beautiful than I remembered. We only went on the public trails, but we got to wade in the wading pool, which was lovely on such a hot day! It was also very busy because several school trips were there that day, but it was still enjoyable. After Tel Dan, we drove even further north, to Metula, another moshavot, in the most northern region of Israel. We stopped at a lookout where we could see Lebanon and Syria. Our tour guide told us a bit about the Second Lebanese War, which led to a slight confrontation between the Jews and non-Jews on the trip (and which I stayed out of!).
From there we went to Tel Hai, to the youth hostel where we were staying. It was a beautiful hostel, nicer than some hotels I’ve stayed at! We had time to relax a bit (and shower!) before Shabbat started. Many of us attended the synagogue service at the hostel, which was very different from any other synagogue I have attended. I have only been to Reform Jewish synagogues, where men and women are allowed to sit together. This was a more traditional service, where men and women are separated. The women had to sit in the back, behind screens. There were more women than men, yet the women’s space was about one quarter of the men’s. We had to cram extra chairs in so we could all fit. The service also went extremely fast (and was entirely in Hebrew), so I had no idea where we were or what was going on. It was a bit disheartening for me, because I love attending synagogue, but it is also not my place to judge traditional Jewish practices. Regardless of how out of place I felt, the other Jews (not connected to RIS) went out of their way to help us and to get us prayer books, when they could have kicked me out for wearing sweats into synagogue. I was exhausted and so I went to bed right after Shabbat dinner, which turned out to be a good thing because the evening activity lasted until midnight and dealt with some pretty weighty stuff (politics, of course).
Saturday morning we heard a bit of reflection on the portion of the week (Genesis 12-18, I believe), after which we played Survivor, which my team lost miserably (no thanks to me!). After lunch, we hiked Shvil Haptzuim, the Path of the Wounded. In 1920 Tel Hai was attacked and eight people killed. The wounded (some of whom died) climbed (or were carried up) this path to reach the doctor at the top of the hill. It was during this attack that the famous Israeli saying "It is better to die for our land" was first uttered. At the same place, twelve Israeli soldiers died in 2006 as the waited their assignments for the Second Lebanese War.
As I mentioned earlier, there were some tensions between the Jews and non-Jews on the trip, or at least, I felt the tension. It wasn’t anything unbearable, but it was very noticeable for me, mainly because when I was here in June 2009, we had a Palestinian tour guide. Our tour guide for this trip was an Israeli Jew. The perspectives of the two were very different. I find the Jewish/Israeli understanding of the situation here in the Middle East interesting and a bit entertaining. There are, of course, multiple viewpoints and it is unfair to act as if every Israeli or Jew feels the same way, but I have encountered plenty of Jews and Israelis already who seem to believe the Israel is in constant danger. Jews and Israelis have faced their fair share of persecution, that is true, but they have also dealt out their fair share, especially to the Palestinians since the 1948 War of Independence. I don’t want to get into some big political debate, but the fact of the matter is that there are literally 100s of 1000s of Palestinians living in refugee camps where the conditions are barely humane. Many other Palestinians have been separated from family or had their land seized or destroyed due to the security wall and the illegal settlements in the West Bank. These Palestinians pose no real threat to Israel and suffer unjustly because of a few Arab extremists. I know it is a very complicated situation and that there are no easy solutions, but I think before any progress can be made, Israel must first admit to its own shortcomings and how it has mistreated the Palestinians.
It is going to be an interesting year here in Israel/Palestine. I fully understand (and perhaps to some degree support) the Palestinian/Arab reluctance to resume peace talks as long as Israel continues to build and develop settlements. At the same time, if the peace talks deteriorate, Mt. Scopus may not necessarily be the best place to be. One way or the other, though, I think this could very well be a historic year and I am excited to be here for it.
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