Intense Israel

My first stop in Israel had a purpose other than travel. I’d met the nicest American family who was visiting Petra, Jordan the same day that we were. They’re participating in a house swap so they fully experience Israel while living in an Israeli family’s home and that Israeli family is lives in theirs, experiencing the States, for 6 months. A pretty fantastic family adventure if you ask me! They very kindly offered to let me stay with them when I was passing through Israel and I was so taken by them during the short chat that we had had in Petra that I was eager to look them up. This was my light at the end of the getting-into-Israel travel travesty tunnel that I was very much looking forward to.

First point noticed about Israel… guns. Everywhere. Not the compact little pistols tucked neatly into a belt or waistband but fully automatic machine guns thrown over a shoulder or propped up alongside a backpack or duffle bag. Here, almost every single kid who finishes high school is sent for mandatory military service, 2 years for girls, 3 years for boys. So my timing landed me at the bus station at the same time as all these teeny boppers were heading back to their military bases after a weekend away. A good 65% of these kiddos were girls. Olive green wrinkled uniforms complimented with lots of make-up, bling-bling jewelry, funky sunglasses, and messy just out of the dance club or woke up from bed, wild hair. Not the tidy, spit-shined military service appearance of home. Some of kids were in their weekend clothes, skinny jeans and trendy t-shirts but that faithful machine gun alongside. Teenagers on cell phones with guns. Not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. Excellent.

I finally arrived in my destination town where I was welcomed into the family like a long-lost relative. No awkward moments, no second thoughts, just warm and chatty and so very, very kind. All aggravation from the day instantly melted away after being embraced by this incredibly lovely family. Again, my random travel paths have led to me to the most amazing experiences. A home away from home. *sigh* So, so, so nice.

I stayed with the family for two nights and one very full day, far too little time but I only had a few days to see what I could. I fell in love with their girls. The brightest, most entertaining, absolutely gorgeous girls; I just couldn’t get enough of them. The entire family is so interesting, so fascinating, so kind. They taught me about their religion and the history of where they are living, we planted and picked vegetables at an organic farm, we walked and talked and laughed; the time passed far too quickly. I clung to mom as she waited at the 5:30am bus stop with me; I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Oh how I hope to see them again someday. Missing all of you and hope to hear more about your wonderful adventures! Thank you for taking such good care of me.

Next stop… Jerusalem. City of contradictions. New & Old. Religious & Political. Modern & Ancient. United & Divided. Jerusalem was very, very intense. Now, to be fair, I apparently had a pretty different experience than most and I only had a very short time in a very complex city so please remember, my writing is simply about my experiences, not to be taken as anything other than opinion and personal experience. I had heard such wonderful things about Israel and even though I knew I would only have a few days to see a couple of places, I was already planning to come back and see the rest of the country. At this point, I may give that a pass. While I LOVED my time with the family and couldn’t get enough of the oh-so interesting history, I could do without experiencing the people again. Not the nicest time.

Coming from two countries where there is the regular tourist harassment, I also had the overwhelmingly wonderful experiences of endless invitations to join this person or that person for tea, warmly and freely given help for any number of things from directions to suggestions for eating, sleeping, and traveling to offers of continuing my life in their country with them taking very good care of me. Alongside the harassment to buy there was an even more genuine interest in where you come from and what your story is and please sit down with me. I felt very welcomed in Egypt and Jordan, from the smallest town to the craziest city. Jerusalem did my head in.

Asking for directions often got me a scowl and a simple shrug of the shoulders. Smiling at people as I walked down the street, saying hello, how are you? in a shop, and attempting to engage people in conversation were all met with icy indifference. I just couldn’t figure it out.

And there is tension, just there, in the air, everywhere. Military and police and regular people armed to the teeth because of history and necessity. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim populations alongside a concrete and barb-wired Palestinian wall coloured with desperate and beautiful graffiti pleading for peace. Some people more tolerant than others, some more open about their political views than others, a very strong-willed society where everyone seems incredibly ready to fight for what they believe in or what they’ve been taught to believe in. When you mandatorily arm your children with weapons, I wonder if they know what they believe in or simply follow blindly. It’s powerful, that young age group. Easily emotional, readily hyped up, reckless invincibility. Add to this a bit of a victim mentality, the whole world has always been out to destroy Israel, and that’s one heck of a mix. Walking on eggshells all around. Not the happy and light-hearted traveling I had done so far.

Bethlehem was beautiful as was Old Jerusalem. For a non-believer, the history and the stories and the pilgrimages are endlessly interesting. Simply being in a place that draws people to it for the sake of belief and prayer, how it has been conquered by this group or that, survived, been torn down, built back up, the holiest of holy places, the beginning and the end of many journeys, it’s more than I could ever fully appreciate. Crosses, crescent moons, and stars. Churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues all woven around cobblestone streets and surrounded by weapons. Seems like such a contradiction, such a shame.

I had the good fortune to be in Jerusalem on “Jerusalem Day”, a day celebrating Israel’s reclaiming of Jerusalem . I was hanging out at the Western (Wailing) Wall and noticed more and more people filling the plaza as the afternoon wore on. More flags, a stage and band being set up, more people, more flags. Ohhhhh yeah! Jerusalem Day! So off to the side I lingered as the crowd grew and grew and grew. Women were soon ushered to one side of the plaza and men to the other, significantly larger side of this big open square. Families with kids and mixed groups of teens were joining hands and dancing around in circles to the music on the stage or their own songs shouted joyfully at the top of their lungs. Police in every colour and style of uniform with guns and various other weapons growing in numbers all around the square initially just lounging about but then straightening up, communicating briskly with each other or over radios and seeming to square off. Then the boys. Teenage to young adult boys in groups, hordes, swarms. All with sticks and flags, shouting, jumping, chanting, banging drums or random surfaces pushing, elbowing, surging their way through crowds in constant motion. I gave my head a quick shake, took a good look at where I was, and decided it was time to get the heck out of an enclosed area filling up with tens of thousands of people.

As I attempted to elbow my way against the crowds pouring through a narrow cobblestone road leading into the plaza, I was pushed around, pinned against the wall, stepped on, and forced to flatten myself into corners until I could find a break small enough to dart through. Only a few tiny moments of panic as I made the journey through the Damascus Gate out to wide open spaces but the people kept pouring in. Newspapers the next day reported in excess of 50,000 people in that square and several fights and arrests made around the gate that I had fought my way out of. Fighting between Israelis and Palestinian supporters and Israelis vandalizing the Arab/Muslim store fronts. The occasion was a celebration but here, you can just feel it, how fragile it all is, how quickly it could become violent. I was glad I had the rare good sense to get out when I did. Overall it was a well contained and relatively peaceful – 50,000 people in any spot could go bad quickly, but here, you just learn to be a little more cautious of any gathering. Emotions are intense, intense, intense.

I think of some of the countries I’ve visited or travelled through, ripped apart by generations of war and genocide, left incredibly corrupt and impossibly impoverished, yet the people continue to welcome travelers and are kind to the very bottom of their heart. While I only got a glimpse of life in this politically charged Middle Eastern country, and some would say I got the wrong glimpse, I was missing the warmth that I had experienced up to this point and very ready to move on. I’d love to give Israel another visit someday but for now, there’s too much else to see. I’m on to Turrrrrrrrrkey!!!!