Tag: Palestine Page 3 of 4

Jared took me to Hebron today, to see one of the most divided cities in the West Bank. Jewish settlers there have moved into the old part of town, where there has traditionally been a Jewish presence. However, the violence between the settlers and the Palestinians, originating from both sides, is such that the Israeli army has the town in virtual lockdown. There are checkpoints everywhere, and we were blocked from walking down some roads. We did get to see the Tomb of the Patriarchs, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Leah are buried. The cave is covered by a large complex built by King Herod, with a basilica above that, half of which is Jewish and half is Muslim.

The rhetoric from some of the settlers is pretty ridiculous, including this map of “greater Israel”, which extends from the Sinai to Turkey. While it would have made this trip easier, it’s this kind of extremism that makes me wonder how this situation can ever be resolved. It’s also interesting to note that the founder of the modern Jewish settlement in Hebron is Moshe Levinger; probably the most famous owner of our moniker.

Walked along the wall in Bethlehem today, and took some pictures of the graffiti that covers it. Most of it is actually by internationals, not local Palestinians. Still, I am quite enamored of the Banksy stencils.

The impact on the neighborhood is hard to overstate. There are places where the wall curves around a single house, encasing it on three sides. Any businesses near it are closed, and the streets in Bethlehem are quiet because the tourist trade cannot reasonably function under these retrictions.

Made to it Jared on Sunday afternoon, and have been enjoying a slightly slower pace since then. We went to a hippy farm party the first night, and enjoyed roast chicken under the stars. Yesterday I did some needed visa acquiring and ticket booking in Ramallah, and visited Arafat’s tomb. At night we drove to the Dead Sea, where we floated in peace, despite the nasty water and mosquitoes. Today we walked around an abandoned military base near Jared’s apartment, until he was called away by news of a new attack in Jerusalem. Being an intrepid journalist, he responds when duty calls. Still, it’s great to spend some time with him in his new turf.

The plan now is to go to Lebanon on Saturday, spend a few days there and then try the border with Syria. Lonely Planet says that anyone with a valid Lebanese visa can cross the Lebanon-Syria border and get a Syrian visa issued there, for an extra fee. This assuages one of my concerns, so it looks like we will start our “axis of evil” tour after all.