Last day in Isreal

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We were scheduled for a tour of the tunnel under the Western Wall at 11. We went down to the Wall early and both Jack and I left notes praying for the same things. A little later we watching a group of police escort a young man shackled at his hands and feet shouting “Allah Akbar” through the plaza. We thought it was an isolated agitator.

This was our second tour of the tunnel. Since we had done this 20 years ago, the tunnel had been substantially extended. Seeing the stones of the second temple is very moving. Along the way you pass two huge stones, the larger of which is 45 feet long and weighs as much as 2 fully loaded 747s. It is a mystery how they were ever put in place. On our way out, the guide offered to have any member of the group who chose to join her be escorted out through the Arab Quarter by guards. Having walked through the Arab Quarter in the past, I didn’t quite understand. On the way back a member of the group, explained that earlier in the day, a group of Muslim youths had stoned tourists who were visiting the Temple Mount. The Israeli and Palestinian police needed to intervene to protect the tourists and break up the demonstration. This happened at about the same time we had seen the young man shouting “Allah Akbar” escorted by the police. After that we saw a significant increase in the number of soldiers near the wall. It always amazes me that there is security to enter the Western Wall Plaza that is comparable to what you see in the US airports and there are strategically located bomb disposal sites.

The concierge recommended we visit Ein Kerem in the afternoon. He said that in addition to Christian sites it was quaint, lively had lots of crafts shops. What he neglected to think about is that it was Sunday and in a Christian town, everything was closed. Because we stopped there we ended up driving through mountainous terrain covered with pine trees to get to the airport. We got to see all the trees that were planted with the $1 contributions we made as kids. Mostly it looked like the lower Pyrenees and NOT like what you think about when you think about Israel.



The trip is basically over as we sit and wait for our flight back to the US. We already have things we didn’t have a chance to do this time, that we want to do in our next visit. Hopefully, they’ll need more of my help in Haifa.

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Photos

Israeli Democracy
Going through the Arab quarter in Jerusalem it is not uncommon to see "Free Palestine" t-shirts. Their presence is evidence that freedom of speech is alive and well in Israel.