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Published: June 10th 2010
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Roman Aqueduct
This brought water from the Carmel Mountains to Caesaria. My year is rapidly, rapidly coming to an end. It seems that things are getting more intense - the politics of the region, the pace at Mandel, even the visits from friends. So without further ado...
Living I have received dozens of emails from friends and families about the Gaza flotilla wondering how things are being discussed here. Unsurprisingly, the opinions here in regards to the flotilla and the general approach to Gaza run the gamut. The incident still occupies the front page of the newspapers every day, even after it has disappeared from the headlines of the New York Times. On the one hand, everywhere you go, people are talking about the unfolding events, but on the other hand, it does not feel like we are living in the middle of crisis in that day to day ordinariness has not significantly changed. I saw a banner up on a downtown Jerusalem apartment that said that Jerusalem supports the navy and I saw graffiti sprayed on a fountain that said that the blockade of Gaza should come to an end. In general, however, it seems to me that people here are responding to a complex set of realities. Most
of my friends and acquaintances were horrified both by the military attack on the boat AND by the violence of the "peace activists" aboard. They generally feel that the blockade on Gaza is ineffectual and unjust AND they feel that Israel has a responsibility to its citizens to make sure arms are not delivered to Hamas. They also are dismayed, if not completely surprised, by the outpouring of hatred across the world towards Israel.
Right after the incident, I received an email from Gladys, my college roommate from 25 (!!) years ago, who was planning a trip to visit me from Puerto Rico and wanted to know if it was still safe to come to Israel. I told her I thought so, and happily, she made the trip and spent a glorious week with me. We had a wonderful time renewing our friendship and exploring parts of Israel I hadn't see yet this trip (or at all). We visited Caesaria, an archaeological site with a Roman theater, a hippodrome for chariot racing, parts of an aqueduct and some Crusader ruins, as well, all on the shores of the Mediterranean. We went to Nazareth to see the Basilica of the
Annunciation, where Mary received the news that she would give birth to Jesus; the Basilica is quite modern, but inside are elements from the Byzantine period. We ate dinner on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and stayed overnight at an Orthodox kibbutz, Kibbutz Lavi. We got a tour from a member of the kibbutz who had a difficult time explaining to another couple on the tour how it is possible to be both socialist and Orthodox. ("What do you mean, do people believe in socialism? We don't ask people what they believe. We live our lives!")
We also visited Akko, an old port city just north of Haifa. We noticed that Akko, like many of the other Arab towns in the Galilee, is all decked out for the World Cup. We saw Brazilian, German, Italian and Argentinian flags flying on many rooftops. Akko seems particularly supportive of Brazil; I stopped in a store to buy some olive oil soap for a friend and commented on the dozens of Brazilian flags. The store owner's face lit up. "Are you from Brazil?" she asked. I said no, but I have family in Brazil. She was very excited.
On
Belly dancing anyone?
These lovely ladies were dangling from the roof of the market in Akko. Gladys' last day we went to Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity. It was quite an adventure getting there; we took a bus from Jerusalem (where one of the women was wearing a full burka that covered her entire face - I haven't seen that in Israel before) and then a cab with a very persistent driver who wanted to take us for a full day of touring. We declined - and declined. The Church itself was lovely and very crowded; we were befriended by a group of Greek pilgrims who, despite the fact that we couldn't really communicate at all, helped us negotiate the steps - and the hundreds of people trying to descend them - that funnel down to the grotto where the manger was. We ate lunch on the Manger Square, visited another church and then had the experience of going through a checkpoint on foot to get the bus back to Jerusalem. It really felt like an international border - security, passport check, sterile environment.
Finally, that evening, we went to the annual Book Week festivities; one week every year is dedicated to celebrating books around the country. Publishers put up stands in
The Church of the Nativity
It was too crowded to get a good photo of the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born, but this picture gives a sense of the atmosphere. main cities and sell their books for highly discounted prices. The stands were packed with people buying books! We also caught the end of a Flamenco-flavored jazz concert at the Jerusalem Theater.
Learning Classes are officially over, although we still have our papers to turn in and our final presentations to give. However, since Mort Mandel happened to be in town, we had a graduation ceremony for the Jerusalem Fellows and for the School of Educational Leadership, Mandel's flagship Israeli program. I was asked to give the graduation speech on behalf of the Fellows - in Hebrew! Thankfully, I received some advice and editing help, but I must say I enjoyed speaking in public in Hebrew. The real highlight of the program, though, was a presentation by Kobi Oz, an Israeli singer who combines traditional liturgy and Jewish thinking with a decidedly secular and irreverent sensibility. He performed several of his songs for us, including one that featured an old recording of his grandfather chanting liturgical poetry and his own "secular" prayer. (Check him out on YouTube for a sense of what his music is like.)
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Naomi
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Akko and Caesaria are two of my favorite places in Israel-- I'm so happy you got to see them!