Sunday October 27, 2013 Beit Safafa Elementary School

We visited Palestinian schools in Beit Safafa and Sharafat. The school in Beit Safafa is under Israeli jurisdiction and has 1200 students in grades 1 - 6. There are 34 classes, so nearly 40 students per class.

The school in Sharafat is under Palestinian jurisdiction and has 160 students in grades 1 - 11.  Maximum class size is 24.  There are 21 staff in 3 buildings. One building has no playground or bathrooms, so students come to one of the other buildings to use the bathroom or playground. If more students want to come to school than the school can handle, they can't come. They have to stay home or find another school to attend.

Salaries for teachers in the Israeli schools start at 4500 shekels per month and reach 7,000 - 8,000 shekels after 10 years or so.  Teachers in Palestinian schools start at 1500 shekels and reach 3,000 shekels after 20 years or so.  The, exchange rate is 3 1/2 shekels per dollar so 1500 shekels is about $400.

 

This is a music class at the Israeli school for Palestinians.  It is small class size because they don't have enough instruments to involve more students.

Friday October 25, 2013 St Anne's Church, Bethesda Pools in the Old City

After tours finished, we walked into the Old City through Lion's Gate to St. Anne's church.  This is the traditional site where Mary's mother was born. It is the site of the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed an invalid who was waiting for the water to agitate so he could be healed.

 

 Excavations of Bethesda pool behind Linda.  This served as a reservoir for water that was needed on the temple mount for washing ceremonies.

St. Anne's church, one of the first stops on Via dolorosa. Great acoustics in this church!

Thursday October 24, 2013 Seder dinner at the Jerusalem Center

We had the seder dinner tonight in the Oasis to celebrate Passover. The dinner reminds us of Israel's escape from Egypt under the oppression of the Pharoah. The Jewish history professor, Ophir Yarden, conducted the dinner and taught us how it is done in stages, interspersed with eating, drinking, reading and singing. 

As part of the celebration, we poured grape juice into each other's goblets, to sip at certain points during the reading / singing.  After everyone had finished pouring, someone recognized it was wine, not grape juice. The staff quickly gathered the goblets and wine bottles and replaced them with clean glasses and grape juice.

 

We were assigned seating so we got to sit with Jules and Kristin.

Monday October 21, 2013 Humanitarian visit to Sidreh in Laquia in the Negev

We visited Sidreh in Laqia, Negev, the southern part of Israel. Sidreh is an organization to help women.  They sell products that are made by Bedouin women to help raise the Bedouin living standard. In the Bedouin community, 35% of women live in polygamy.

There are 35 unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel with 12 applying to get recognition. Recognized villages get some government services, but not as much as Israeli towns. Many villages don't want to become recognized.   While some services are provided to recognized villages, there is little done to provide employment opportunities so the unemployment rate is high, crime rate is high, drug use is high. This is not appealing to the unrecognized villages where people can at least raise animals and crops for themselves. Getting public transportation in unrecognized villages is difficult.

 It is hard for organizations like Sidreh to get government funding. The funding is available if the organization has a building with water, electricity, plumbing, etc. But they don't have the money to upgrade the building so they can qualify for funding. 

Seventy percent of Sidreh's products are sold in their store in Laqia. Tourist buses stop there. It is interesting to see how our inability to get along hurts the economy. When there was talk of invading Syria earlier this year, many of the tours cancelled, so Sidreh's sales dropped off dramatically. 

 

Khadra, on the left, was born in Rahat, a recognized village of 45,000 people - 25% Bedouin and 75% Jewish. She is a Bedouin and she is the director of Sidreh. She is educated and well spoken. 

Heidi, on the right, is from Mexico. She has lived in Israel for 12 years, helping with organizations like Sidreh.  She lives in Nazareth.

This rug is one of the products Sidreh makes and sells in their Laqia store.

Monday October 21, 2013 Making olive oil

Students used the equipment on the Center property to make oil from the olives they picked last week. The technology is 2000 years old, and is still used in some parts of the middle east.  Donkeys, rather than students, usually turn the crusher wheel. 

 

The process starts by putting whole olives, pits and all,  into the crusher. 

As the wheel turns, the olives are crushed...

 

and crushed...

and crushed some more...

You get the idea by comparing the whole olives on the right to the crushed olives on the left.

The log is inserted through a hole in the center of the crushing stone, and we crush the olives by pushing on the log which rotates the crushing stone inside the crushing bin. The unlucky guy on the outside has more ground to cover with each revolution. We push round and round...

and round...

and round...

and round...

and round...

and round.

 

Then we shovel the crushed olives into hemp baskets and stack the baskets under the olive press screw. 

As the screw is tightened, pressure builds on the olives in the baskets... 

and oil starts to ooze out of the hemp baskets...

 and spills down the stone into a large basin, into a smaller basin, and into another smaller basin.  The oil sits for a few days to allow settling.  Water is added, oil rises to the top and is skimmed off. The oil is sent out to be processed and each student receives a small bottle of olive oil as a souvenir.

 

 This is another olive press representing 3,000 year old technology.  It is no longer used in the middle east, but we used it anyway to demonstrate this press.

 Large stones (not the pretty girls) help apply pressure to the olives in the hemp baskets.  The oil flows into the trough and into the settling basins.



Sunday October 20, 2013 Hike in Judean Hills

We drove about 45 minutes from the Center, past Ein Karem to some hiking trails near Nes Harim in the Judean Hills. We chose a trail that took us 3 hours to hike plus 1/2 hour for lunch and getting lost once. We walked by an abandoned train station, an abandoned village, and an old mosque. It was a very steep hike.  We hiked down, down, down, and kept thinking we have to go back up, up, up.  It was good to get away from civilization for a little while. This used to be a main route into Jerusalem.

 After hiking for about an hour, we arrived at the abandoned train station. The train still passes by here.

We hiked down to the dry creek bed in the valley below, and up to the top of the hills above.

Abandoned mosque along the trail.

One of the few level parts along the trail. Notice all of the dried pine cones hanging on the trees.

 An abandoned home along the trail.

 This was the easier part of the trail. Most of the trail was very vertical and heavy with trees and bushes.

Friday October 18, 2013 Reformed Jewish Synagogue service with Ophir Yarden

We attended a Reformed Synagogue service tonight.  Ophir Yarden who teaches Jewish history at the Jerusalem Center took us to his synagogue. They have a morning, afternoon, and evening Friday meeting to celebrate the coming of the Sabbath. They don't name the weekdays - they number them as a countdown to the Sabbath to remind them to look forward during the week to the Sabbath. They sang / chanted music - one for each day of the week, two for the Sabbath, and one for closing.  It was a joyful meeting. At the end of the meeting, they gave announcements, which included welcoming us and several other visiting groups.

 In an orthodox synagogue, women and men sit separately.  We sat together in the reformed synagogue. The reformed call their meeting place a temple.  They believe they can do whatever they need to do without having a temple rebuilt on the temple mount. They don't want a temple as in old times with animal sacrifices.  The orthodox call their meeting place a synagogue because they expect to build a temple again as in ancient times, on the temple mount with animal sacrifices and ceremonies as practiced in old times.

The synagogue is behind us. We couldn't take pictures inside. In an orthodox synagogue we couldn't take pictures outside either.  The reformed synagogue is ok with pictures as long as we don't take pictures of the people. We are with Fred and JoAnna Woods.

John Clayton loaned me his kippa. The men cover their heads as a show of respect for God.

 We waited for the buses in front of the synagogue. The synagogue looked more like a business or apartment building.  We met in a large room with chairs set out on 3 sides for the congregation in a half circle. The leader sat in the center of the half circle and led the singing. A woman led the singing tonight.  In an orthodox meeting, only a man would lead. Partway through the meeting, the congregation turned to face the entry behind them, to welcome in the Sabbath.

Thursday, October 17, 2013 Picking olives

We hosted tours today.  Not many people came.  I took a few more pictures around the grounds of the Jerusalem Center.  The students picked olives today in preparation for making olive oil next week.

 Linda and I went into the Old City to find the Armenian Tavern - a restaurant Scott might like to visit when he comes. On the way out of the city, we stopped at Our Savior Church and listened to an organ concert for 1/2 hour.  We left early because we are asked to be out of East Jerusalem before dark.

This is the entrance to the garage which is on the 7th level of the Jerusalem Center.  The Center owns several cars.  We pay $100 per month for 400 kilometers of personal use.

Visitors enter the upper gate and see this on their right.

 Visitors enter the upper gate and walk along this path to the main entrance of the Jerusalem Center.

This is a pit for crushing grapes, on the grounds of the Center.

Blaine picked a few olives just outside the gates of the Center.

Menu for the Armenian Tavern, in the Armenian quarter near Jaffa Gate and David's Tower museum.

Looking through the doorway into the Armenian Tavern.  We're trying to get Scott excited to visit next year.



Wednesday October 16, 2013 Excavation and journalism

We hosted tours today.  Dieter Vieweger and Katja Soennecken, archaeologists from Germany, took a tour with us. They have been excavating under the Church of the Redeemer in the Old City. There are differing opinions about whether that area was inside or outside the walls in Jesus' time. The excavation has uncovered Herod's wall which shows the area of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Church of the Redeemer were outside the city walls in Jesus' time. Many believe that is where Jesus was crucified.  The scriptures say He was crucified outside the city walls.

Tonight we listened in forum to Matthew Kalman, a British journalist who has lived in Israel for 15 years. He said you can't believe the media - if you are interested in a story, compare several news sources. Media has celebrity journalists who drop in, do a story about something they know nothing about, then leave.  We listen to them because we like them (they are celebrities), not because they know what they are talking about. Even seasoned journalists make mistakes. When Matthew started in the business, his stories were read by 3 people before they were published.  Now he can write a story and see it published in 20 minutes.

 He said the middle east is a unique and crazy place. He told of a time he was going to Ramallah to cover a story. In his car were foreign journalists and a Palestinian who was a TV comedian. The Palestinian said he would take them through an area where they could by-pass the Israeli checkpoint. He told them to turn into an olive grove, but they ran into several Israeli army vehicles and soldiers in the middle of the grove. Several Palestinians were sitting on the ground with hands behind their heads. One of the soldiers asked who the Palestinian was in their car. The journalists told him he was a comedian who did impersonations and he was taking them to Ramallah. The soldier told the Palestinian to get out of the car. He asked him to impersonate Yasser Arafat, which he did. The soldier yelled to his buddies "Hey, this is the comedian we've seen on TV". The soldiers came over, the Palestinians on the ground came over, and they watched the comedian do impersonations for 15 minutes. Then the soldier said, "ok, we've got to get back to work". The soldiers picked up their guns and went back to their stations, the Palestinians sat back down on the ground and put their hands behind their heads, and the soldier told their driver to take a right at the 3rd olive tree.

We walked into the Old City after we finished tours to see Church of the Redeemer. We arrived just before they closed and could spend only 10 minutes inside.  We walked back to the Jerusalem Center through Lion's Gate in the Muslim Quarter. We were captivated by this scene as we looked back at the city before leaving Lion's Gate. This is Via de la Rosa, traditional path Jesus took to his crucifixion.

Monday October 14, 2013 Holocaust Museum

Jewish history professor Ofir Yarden guided the student tour of the Holocaust Museum. He taught about internal Israeli conflict in two areas: submissive versus resistive, and secular versus religious.

Resistive versus submissive perspectives

Jews who fought for the establishment of a new state of Israel were resistive. Most Jewish immigrants who were in the Holocaust had been submissive to the Nazis. The Israeli Jews judged Holocaust survivors harshly for not resisting. This attitude began to change after the 1972 Olympics when the Israeli wrestling team was taken hostage and later killed. The obviously strong wrestlers did not resist their captors.

In 1944 a Jewish woman ignored the Nazis and planted a tree to celebrate a Jewish holiday.  In the 1990s, her story was revived when school children took a start from her tree to plant in the grounds of the Holocaust Museum. The message is heroes are not just those who resist physically.

Secular versus religious views

Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Leaders of the Knesset are buried on Mount Herzl. They are leaders elected by the people.  Men, not God, are responsible for the establishment and maintenance of Israel. The bones of Herzl, founder of modern Zionism, are buried on Mount Herzl. A celebration is held each year during Hanaka on Mount Herzl. Mount Herzl is the holy place for secular Jews.

In Biblical times, priests served in the temple on the Temple Mount.  Priests were chosen by God, not by the people. God is their guide. The Temple Mount is the holy place for religious Jews.

 A garden area recognizes some of the people who risked their lives during World War II to protect Jews.

Markers in the garden honor some of the people who showed their courage in resisting evil during the war.

 Not everyone is known who helped protect people from the Nazis.

These two pictures are designed to illustrate the contrast between resistive and submissive. Notice the soldiers helmets and bayonets behind the march of the Holocaust victims.

This is a monument to the children who were killed.  One in four Jews who were killed by the Nazis were children. One and one-half million children perished.

This is the religious site for secular Jews - Mount Herzl. Herzl's tomb is between the flags by the flowers.

 

We listen to field trip lectures through headsets, so we don't have to be within earshot of the speaker.