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Published: November 20th 2008
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Blogging has proven to be a bit difficult ~ expensive to purchase time or too little time or too tired to do it!
We're back in Jerusalem after taking a two day jaunt up to Qiryat al Carmel, Safed and Hebron. It's been quite a time. It's hard, again, to put into words the things we've seen.
Qiryat al Carmel is a Druze community. They are officially recognized as a separate religious entity with their own courts and spiritual leadership. They speak Arabic, are not Muslim, and opted against mainstream Arab nationalism. They have served in the IDF and the Border Police and are completely dedicated to Israel and the Jewish people. When we arrived we were met by the Mayor of the city who toured us around taking us to their Military Academy.
After that we went up to Mt. Carmel and took in the view on our way to Tsfat/Safed. When we arrived there we were all beat and ready for a good long Sabbath ~ during which I slept most of the afternoon after acquiring the community cold ~ have tissue, will travel...
The hotel we stayed in was called Ruth Rimonim. It looks
very old and looks like they have taken old houses along one street and strung them together by enclosing the little courtyards between. It's a beautiful place up on a hill overlooking the Sea of Gallilee. We shopped our way through the Artist Colony quickly and soaked in as much atmosphere as we could before we had to be back on the bus.
Even though this trip isn't a "tourist tour", we have been touring a bit. And we didn't get to spend nearly enough time in Safed.
So off we go again to Jerusalem, checking back into the Mt Zion Hotel in time to change for the inaugural gala event of Worldwide Biblical Zionist Organization. This is a group we're involved with who are working, thorough political and relational means, to facilitate the return of Bet Ephraim to the Land of Israel. It was an amazing time. We again met current and former members of the Knesset, and those who are running for a seat in the next election. I'm continually surprised by these peoples accessibility and willingness to talk ~ but they are, of course, running for a political office so would naturally want to be accessible.
One particularly amazing moment was when Segiv Assulin, who represents the youth in the Likud party, read Ezekiel 37, where it prophesies about the two sticks coming together, the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Segiv sees how important it is to work within and through the government of Israel to facilitate agreement to open the gates for the House of Israel/Ephriam to come home to the land that not only belongs to our brother Judah, but also to us, Bet Ephriam.
On Monday, I had one of the most profound experiences of my life. Our group again boarded armored, bullet proof buses to travel to Hebron ~ one of the hottest spots in Israel today. This is a community of about 500 Jewish families who are surrounded by about 100,000 Muslim Arabs. Over time the Jews have been kicked out of their homes, thanks to much encouragement from our US government, btw.
I confess I was a bit apprehensive to be there ~ after all, these are the places where little Arab children throw rocks at passing cars and these are the streets where bullets go zinging by heads ~ but after we got off the bus and started walking and looking around and seeing people milling about, going on with their lives as if there were no IDF soldiers standing guard at every corner, something rose up within me and said No! you will make way for our entry into this place. After that, after pushing back the darkness, I felt as comfortable there as I've felt anywhere. In fact, I felt powerful and filled with courage and daring...
If you've been listening to the news lately, you may have heard about the government kicking out several more Jewish families from Bet Shalom, an apartment building in Hebron ~ we drove right by it. It's nothing fancy but all the Muslims had to do was say it was theirs, even after the Jews have purchased it, and this government sides with the Muslims. This is a typical Arab mode of operation.
We walked down streets and saw building after building of empty apartments that used to be occupied by Jewish families. They are now sitting empty and destroyed, not because the Muslims want to live in them but because they don't want the Jews living in them. In most cases the homes have been partially destroyed or filled in with concrete so they can never be occupied again. It's horrifying. Imagine, I dare you, dare you to imagine, sitting in your home, minding your own business, and suddenly your door is kicked down, you are removed from it, put on the street watching as your home and it's contents are being completely destroyed. This is what these Jewish families in Hebron have to live with. But they are tenacious people, tenaciously hanging on to whatever they can. If you're looking for brave, courageous people, go to Hebron. This is where the rubber hits the road. These are the nuts and bolts of Israel. Please pray for them.
So our tour has officially ended and we now have a week to be on our own. We're staying in a B&B in the German Colony in Jerusalem. Since it was snagged at the very last minute our room is on the "noisy side" and tiny ~ situated above the cinema, the receptionist said, and may be a little noisy when it lets out. We thought not a big deal. When we checked in, along with the room key she handed us each a set of ear plugs saying some people don't need them so just return them if we don't use them. Hummm, okay not a big deal. It wasn't until the floor began to rumble and vibrate that we understood what she meant by noisy. It's like living at home with 30 of your favorite siblings, all with rooms upstairs while the TV is blaring downstairs. Ahh, just like home....
For the last couple of days we've walked our little feet off on Ben Yahuda Street, the Old City and up and down so many other streets I can't name, ate falafels and shawarmas and dared to ride the city buses. We've bargained with shopkeepers for antiques we didn't buy and bought snacks that we could only guess at their contents because it's only written in Hebrew. We've learned to count out shekels, half shekels and tenths of shekels. And tried to the best of our ability to live in this city as if we were locals. It's been great!
So... Until next time ~ Shalom again from Jerusalem!
P.S. Will send more pics later ~ promise!!
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The Hunts
non-member comment
Funny Thing!
I have been thinking of you all and your trip and maybe even mine someday, natually since I wish I was with you all, and Hebron specifically has crossed through my mind several times. I thought, hmmm, maybe I would visit or even live there someday or something. Now I think its because I was just to simply pray for those particular people. Funny how things can randomly pop up and then we get a reason that makes sence later! I am always amazed.