Jerusalem 2022
June 29
What a day!
We woke up today and found out that one of the teachers with us had tested positive for covid :/ We all took a test and the rest of us tested negative so we went out for the day. A couple of new guides have joined us now that we're in Israel- Jonathon and Ori. Jonathon is from New Jersey and I think he'll be with us the rest of the four weeks. Ori is from Israel and I think he'll just be our guide on days when we need a tour guide. We'll see him twice this week.
We walked around a little bit this morning, saw some cool city views and then we headed to the American Jerusalem Center. It is the only land owned by the United States in Israel, so they work closely with the U.S. ambassador.
We met a few people that worked there- Felicity Aziz had told us what the center does. They were having a market for Palestinian business women. They told us about all the community outreach they do. Felicity is from the UK but said she has lived in Israel for decades and has worked with the center the whole time she's been here. We met Ariel Resnikoff- he's a research fellow who has Fulbright funding to study poetry and language in Israel. We read and discussed a poem about a woman from Beersheba for about an hour.
We woke up today and found out that one of the teachers with us had tested positive for covid :/ We all took a test and the rest of us tested negative so we went out for the day. A couple of new guides have joined us now that we're in Israel- Jonathon and Ori. Jonathon is from New Jersey and I think he'll be with us the rest of the four weeks. Ori is from Israel and I think he'll just be our guide on days when we need a tour guide. We'll see him twice this week.
We walked around a little bit this morning, saw some cool city views and then we headed to the American Jerusalem Center. It is the only land owned by the United States in Israel, so they work closely with the U.S. ambassador.
We met a few people that worked there- Felicity Aziz had told us what the center does. They were having a market for Palestinian business women. They told us about all the community outreach they do. Felicity is from the UK but said she has lived in Israel for decades and has worked with the center the whole time she's been here. We met Ariel Resnikoff- he's a research fellow who has Fulbright funding to study poetry and language in Israel. We read and discussed a poem about a woman from Beersheba for about an hour.
After that, Ori took us to the Old City. We saw Jaffa gate, walked through some of the markets, and then ate lunch at Abu Kamel. Ori told us he likes to find places that are *less* touristy, which is hard to get in the Old City. We ordered everything on the menu and shared. You should have seen us all taking pictures and videos of our food as it was arriving 😅
They had fresh squeezed juice- lemonade with mint, orange juice, and grapefruit juice. They had about 5 kinds of hummus. Ariel joined us for lunch and said the bean one is the style of hummus they have in Jordan. The pine nut one and the egg one were my favorite of the hummi* (not a real word).
We had a few plates of salads, some cabbage & some leafy greens. Labneh??!!
I watched all of chef Yotem Ottolenghi's cooking class episodes on Master Class (he's an Israeli chef) and I've made labneh before! It tasted pretty close to the one we had today. ❤️
A few plates of chicken- it was good chicken. Veal and lamb stewed in tomatoes, which I didn't end up trying. Pita bread, which *of course* I tried. But my favorite of all the food ... was the falafel. Delish.
We had a few plates of salads, some cabbage & some leafy greens. Labneh??!!
I watched all of chef Yotem Ottolenghi's cooking class episodes on Master Class (he's an Israeli chef) and I've made labneh before! It tasted pretty close to the one we had today. ❤️
A few plates of chicken- it was good chicken. Veal and lamb stewed in tomatoes, which I didn't end up trying. Pita bread, which *of course* I tried. But my favorite of all the food ... was the falafel. Delish.
After lunch we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I don't know if I was just feeling lethargic from lunch- but I didn't love it. I've visited a few cathedrals and Catholic churches, and they're usually fine... but for whatever reason I didn't want to participate in this one. This church is inside the Old City. The outside isn't super noticeable, but the inside is really ornate. There's a Greek Orthodox section of the church, an Armenian Orthodox, copts, Ethiopians, Syrian-Jacobites, and a Catholic section.
When it was decided which sect would have which section of the church, they couldn't agree which Christian sect should hold a key to the church, so they gave a lock and key to two different Muslim families and charged them with opening and shutting the church. The walls, ceilings, and light fixtures were all covered in silver and gold. So many mosaics. The art was amazing. They had a stone right after you entered that is believed to have been the stone Christ lay on when they were anointing His body after He died. People were bringing things to place on the stone to bless them. They had a section of the church where you could see the rock that was part of the hill of Golgotha. They had a cave tomb that they believe Jesus was buried in. There was a line to go in. Apparently in regular tourist-season it's like 3 hours to get through that line.
When it was decided which sect would have which section of the church, they couldn't agree which Christian sect should hold a key to the church, so they gave a lock and key to two different Muslim families and charged them with opening and shutting the church. The walls, ceilings, and light fixtures were all covered in silver and gold. So many mosaics. The art was amazing. They had a stone right after you entered that is believed to have been the stone Christ lay on when they were anointing His body after He died. People were bringing things to place on the stone to bless them. They had a section of the church where you could see the rock that was part of the hill of Golgotha. They had a cave tomb that they believe Jesus was buried in. There was a line to go in. Apparently in regular tourist-season it's like 3 hours to get through that line.
I didn't wait in the line to see the sepulcher. I waited with a couple of people from my group who also didn't go through the line. I didn't want to. And as I was trying to analyze why I didn't want to, I came to this conclusion:
I am impressed by the artwork in Catholic churches, but it never makes me feel close to God. I don't believe Christ was buried in the tomb inside the church, but even if he was... I'm not sure I would've wanted to visit. My relationship with Christ is very personal and sacred to me. Looking at pictures of him and the apostles in beautiful artwork doesn't evoke feelings of closeness for me. In fact, it does the opposite. It makes me feel removed. That is not the way I want to worship. I want to feel His presence in a quiet and personal space. To be reminded of my relationship and experiences with Him. Not in a big room of tourists taking pictures.
Here are a few pictures of the market though...
I am impressed by the artwork in Catholic churches, but it never makes me feel close to God. I don't believe Christ was buried in the tomb inside the church, but even if he was... I'm not sure I would've wanted to visit. My relationship with Christ is very personal and sacred to me. Looking at pictures of him and the apostles in beautiful artwork doesn't evoke feelings of closeness for me. In fact, it does the opposite. It makes me feel removed. That is not the way I want to worship. I want to feel His presence in a quiet and personal space. To be reminded of my relationship and experiences with Him. Not in a big room of tourists taking pictures.
Here are a few pictures of the market though...
The Old City has four quarters: The Christian Quarter, The Muslim Quarter, The Jewish Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter
The Muslim Quarter is the biggest, the Jewish Quarter is the wealthiest. We walked through each of the quarters, but we weren't allowed to go to the Temple Mount (it has the Dome of the Rock and it's in the Muslim Quarter). Muslims can go there anytime, and they let other people in *some* of the time, but the U.S. government, who is funding our trip... won't let us go there :/ They said it's too dangerous. I'm really bummed about that.
We did walk up to the Western Wall. It's the remaining wall from Herod's temple (the temple itself was destroyed by the Romans). It's on the edge of the Jewish Quarter. It used to be part of Transjordan (Jordan) so, even after Israel became a state, Jews weren't allowed access to it until 1968. And now, like I said earlier, it's separated into a male side and a female side, but they let anyone approach the wall. Sometimes you are asked to cover up, but they don't turn people away. People write prayers on paper and leave them in the wall. We participated in that and then walked back to the hotel.
We stopped and talked about the Mount of Olives / Mount Moriah (which is believed to be the same place and the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac). Muhammad ascended to heaven in Jerusalem. While Mecca is the most sacred, Jerusalem is also considered to be a sacred place for those who practice Islam (Muslims).
I asked why the Armenians have their own quarter in the Old City. It turns out, because they came first and established a strong presence. Ori told us that the whole country (Armenia) converted to Christianity at the same time, and then established a strong presence in Jerusalem starting in the 4th century. (part of the Ottoman Empire)
Jerusalem has been through so much, man. (and women. I mean... I'm inclusive 😂)
We did walk up to the Western Wall. It's the remaining wall from Herod's temple (the temple itself was destroyed by the Romans). It's on the edge of the Jewish Quarter. It used to be part of Transjordan (Jordan) so, even after Israel became a state, Jews weren't allowed access to it until 1968. And now, like I said earlier, it's separated into a male side and a female side, but they let anyone approach the wall. Sometimes you are asked to cover up, but they don't turn people away. People write prayers on paper and leave them in the wall. We participated in that and then walked back to the hotel.
We stopped and talked about the Mount of Olives / Mount Moriah (which is believed to be the same place and the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac). Muhammad ascended to heaven in Jerusalem. While Mecca is the most sacred, Jerusalem is also considered to be a sacred place for those who practice Islam (Muslims).
I asked why the Armenians have their own quarter in the Old City. It turns out, because they came first and established a strong presence. Ori told us that the whole country (Armenia) converted to Christianity at the same time, and then established a strong presence in Jerusalem starting in the 4th century. (part of the Ottoman Empire)
Jerusalem has been through so much, man. (and women. I mean... I'm inclusive 😂)
*disclaimer* the stuff below is gonna get into a condensed history of Jerusalem. If you don't want to read it, scroll until the column has ended 😅
I mean, the bible takes place in the region, but it wasn't until 1000 BCE that there was a Jewish kingdom (Judea) was established.
The Jews build a temple- Solomon's temple (960) Then Assyrians attack (701). Then Babylonians (586). Then the Persians (539). Then Alexander the Great / Greeks take over (332). Then the Romans (63 BCE) Then Herod builds a huge temple where Solomon's temple used to be (37CE) THEN Jesus. (33CE) Then the Romans destroy Herod's temple (70 CE) - but the Western Wall is left. *SIDE note... the Romans pillaged the temple and carried home the treasures. Roman Emperor Titus had an arch made showing them taking the precious menorah from the tabernacle. BECAUSE Titus made an arch to show his 'triumph' the Jewish people knew what the menorah in the tabernacle was supposed to look like, other than the written description they had. Titus immortalized what the menorah looked like. It is now the official symbol of Israel (star of David is just flag stuff). So, at this point, there are two religions who see Jerusalem as sacred-Christianity is now a thing. Then Islam becomes a thing in 610 CE. Later in the 600s, Jerusalem is taken over by Islamic empire (Umayyad) The Muslim rulers build the Dome of the Rock *on top of* the site of Solomon and Herod's temples. (691 CE) Then the crusades happen and the Christians / Catholics try to retake Jerusalem. They succeed (1099) For a few hundred years it goes back and forth between Muslim / Christian forces having control of Jerusalem, but ends up with the Ottomans from 1517-1917. Then British take control of the territory after WWI-British Mandate (1918) The British promise a lot of people things, but end up on following through letting it become a Jewish State, a place of refuge for Jews where they could rule themselves (1948) Jews had lived there under Ottoman control, and under the British Mandate, but once they had an official country for themselves, they migrated by the millions. THAT'S when the Palestinians / Muslims resisted. Do you see why this is so complicated? Or maybe you're starting to? Who has claim to the land? ALSO there's the Zionist movement which I won't get too deeply in to, but it was that movement that helped convince the British the Jews needed their own place. Europe wasn't working. BUT there were people within the Jewish population who believed they were expelled from Jerusalem for sinning and the only reason they should have the holy land was if God gave it back to them, when the Messiah came. Then there's the Theodor Herzl & David Ben-Gurion stuff. Appeasing the Haredi / Ultra Orthodox. Marginalizing of the Palestinians (who are usually Muslim, but not always) and the Spehardic and Mizrahi Jews. Then all the wars / conflicts I mentioned earlier. It's SO COMPLICATED. Watch the Crash Course explanation if you want to learn more. |
Anyway, here are some pictures from the rest of the day...
June 30
This morning after breakfast we headed to the Israeli Museum. The museum is across the street from the Knesset, the Israeli parliament building. It is also down the street from the Hebrew University. We were told that this area of the city is a place that holds the things you need to run a country- learning, culture, and government. And that all were intended to be down in the valley, a symbol of accessibility to the people.
We were met by a museum guide who sat with us as we talked about our past most memorable museum experiences and what made them memorable. The opening hall to the main exhibits is awesome. Very wide and long hallway that is slightly uphill with 4-5 exhibits. 3 of them are mosaic tiles that tell stories of Odysseus. Reminding you that Jerusalem has a long history that is intertwined with other cultures. I don't remember the number they told me of the different nations / empires that have taken over this land... but I mean, you can tell when you look at a timeline, even of just Jerusalem... Greeks. Romans. Babylonians. Persians. Egyptians. Turks / Islamic Empires. When you learn about Israel you're really learning about a ton of European / Asian / African culture. And all the religious history and tradition that has been tied into that. They have exhibits from all over the world, but they do focus on the land that is Israel. At the top of the entrance hallway you can see a bunch of colored panels that cover the wall and make a rainbow. Really cool piece made by a Dutch artist.
We were met by a museum guide who sat with us as we talked about our past most memorable museum experiences and what made them memorable. The opening hall to the main exhibits is awesome. Very wide and long hallway that is slightly uphill with 4-5 exhibits. 3 of them are mosaic tiles that tell stories of Odysseus. Reminding you that Jerusalem has a long history that is intertwined with other cultures. I don't remember the number they told me of the different nations / empires that have taken over this land... but I mean, you can tell when you look at a timeline, even of just Jerusalem... Greeks. Romans. Babylonians. Persians. Egyptians. Turks / Islamic Empires. When you learn about Israel you're really learning about a ton of European / Asian / African culture. And all the religious history and tradition that has been tied into that. They have exhibits from all over the world, but they do focus on the land that is Israel. At the top of the entrance hallway you can see a bunch of colored panels that cover the wall and make a rainbow. Really cool piece made by a Dutch artist.
We learned that the Israeli Museum is an encyclopedic museum. That means they have a ton of different types of exhibits. They have a fine arts gallery, a youth wing (that includes a children's illustration library), an archeological wing, and a jewish art and life wing. They have more, but those are the ones we saw today.
After the initial discussion, we were taken on a 'highlights' tour of the museum. 2 hours of really fast-paced seeing some of the cool artifacts and hearing a little bit about them. Definitely not enough time to see what we wanted. Luckily they gave us all a free entrance ticket. I think most of us are planning to come back on our day off.
As we were learning I was (of course) taking notes. I didn't take pictures of every exhibit and description (like I've been known to do before) but I did do that for a few. I am really inspired by museums. I would LOVE to work in a museum. When I get really inspired by something, I notice myself making goals for myself and taking notes of things I need to do. For example, I was really inspired by the curators. They design the rooms and the experiences and research not only the artifacts, but the best way to get people to understand the significance of said artifacts. They're artists AND historians AND teachers. They get to learn every single day. I want to be that. We haven't even been on this trip for a week yet, but I've been reminded of how much I love learning and experiencing new things.
I was thinking of ways I could make learning in my classroom more of an immersive experience. Exhibit-like but also active. To be more of a tour guide and less of a lecturer. I was taking notes on ideas I was having. Coming up with experiences and design to make history come alive? #dreamjob
But I was also making notes of things I wanted to do to make my *day* go better. That weren't related to what I was being inspired by in the museum. That's when I know that I'm inspired. My drive increases. And I want to start making goals about everything.
Condensed version? Museums inspire me. 😉
Some of the cool things we saw... ossuaries. Small boxes that are the final resting place for human remains. At some points and in certain areas, they would leave the body out to be eaten by animals and give back to the land and then bury the bones. As civilization developed, they would have family caves or tombs. They would put the bodies in certain spots, but once they needed a spot and didn't have room, they would transfer the bones into an ossuary. As long as a femur and as wide as a hip / skull bone. Then they would have a kind of 'library' of their ancestors.
If I heard the guide correctly, they have only discovered one nail that shows how crucifixion was done in Jerusalem. Other than this nail, there wasn't any evidence to corroborate the Bible's story of how crucifixion worked. That's because they would use nails, but usually they would pull nails out and reuse them for other purposes. But in this case, with an ossuary they found (and have no idea who the body belongs to), the nail was still embedded in the bone. So they assume that's why the nail was left in, it would have destroyed the bone and the person wouldn't have been able to function in the afterlife. Thus the proof of how nails were used in crucifixions.
A couple of exhibits really affected me. Emotionally that is. And it was a contrast to what I didn't feel the day before at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. One exhibit of a child's sarcophagus. An Egyptian child's sarcophagus. That struck me. The other was the nail they found in the ossuary that I just told you about.
They have also found the ossuary of Caiaphas. The Jewish priest who sent Jesus to his death.
A couple of exhibits really affected me. Emotionally that is. And it was a contrast to what I didn't feel the day before at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. One exhibit of a child's sarcophagus. An Egyptian child's sarcophagus. That struck me. The other was the nail they found in the ossuary that I just told you about.
They have also found the ossuary of Caiaphas. The Jewish priest who sent Jesus to his death.
One of the women in our group is Jewish. She chose to join us on this month trip under Fulbright Hayes instead of her pilgrimage. She went to the Western Wall this morning to participate in a demonstration. She went with a group called 'Women at the Wall'. This group of women read aloud from the Torah script at the wall.
In Ultra Orthodox tradition, women aren't supposed to read aloud from holy books. This group (Women at the Wall) read aloud from the Torah script at the beginning of every month in protest of this tradition that women should be silent, while the men's side of the wall is much louder with prayer and singing.
So every month when these women get together and read, they're accosted. Becky said they were shouted at by orthodox women and children (children are allowed to go with their mothers to the women's side of the wall). She said they weren't doing anything radical, like advocating for desegregation of genders, they were merely reading aloud. Sometimes just in the context of religion, sometimes in any context.
In other places in the world there are women rabbis, so note that this is not always the case. But it is certainly the case in Ultra Orthodox tradition in Jerusalem. And it's the Ultra Orthodox who drive politics and culture in Jerusalem and arguably all of Israel. They're the top of the social hierarchical ladder.
Yesterday, when we visited the Western Wall as a group, we walked through security very easily. They didn't even open my bag, they just felt the outside of it. When Becky went with 'Women at the Wall' this morning, she said they were particularly thorough in security. She guessed because they were trying to slow this group down and not let them enter together. She said they opened her bag. Thumbed through the pages of her journal, opened her prayer shawl. Opened her wallet.
As she was telling this story she told us how women aren't supposed to have prayer shawls. How at the wall, the men can be loud and sing and say prayers, but women are encouraged to be quiet. This is why this 'demonstration' this morning they chose to read aloud and sing religious hymns.
It was inspiring to hear her stand up for a religion she believes in, but advocating for change within her religion.
I've been looking for evidence today (other than recounting that story) of things I like about the religions we've been learning about. After my experience yesterday, and even the things I was writing... I thought it would be a good idea to find traditions that inspire me.
In both Muslim and Jewish tradition they pray facing their Holy Land- Muslims to Mecca and Jews to Jerusalem. This is inspiring to me. I like that they pray with intention and have a physical direction that puts them in a specific mindset.
I like the importance of remembering ancestors. Family is very important
In both Islam and Judaism there is no idol worship. They don't create figurines and sculptures to worship. I like this. I think it leads to a more personal experience with worship. You aren't worshipping something someone created with their idea of what divinity is.
When we did our walking tour yesterday of the Old City, our guide Ori spoke a blessing in Hebrew for those who experience new things. I like the tradition of many different blessings. Reminds me of Fiddler on the Roof when they ask the rabbi if there's a blessing for the tsar. "May God bless and keep the tsar... far away from us!"
But the idea that blessings bring you in the moment and help you appreciate what you're doing. Jewish tradition there are lots of rituals that help people become very intentional in turning their thoughts a certain way. I see the significance of that. Another example is the mezuzah. They're small boxes (though we've seen some huge ones) hung in doorways. Inside there's a prayer. Jewish people touch the boxes as they enter a space.
In Jewish synagogues, the arc faces Jerusalem. In the museum they've recreated 3 synagogues. One in the Italian style, one is Indian, and the third is South American. Those were really cool to go into. You can see how each culture has influenced the design of their respective synagogue. The synagogues are fake because they're in a museum... but the recreation was really cool. The Italian one looked very Christian. We were told it's because they hired Christian artists to do the designs on the arc. The Indian arc was made of teak wood and the ceiling was decorated by lotus flowers. You could sit on the floor in that one. We didn't really spend much time in the South American one, but I'll go back and look at it.
In Ultra Orthodox tradition, women aren't supposed to read aloud from holy books. This group (Women at the Wall) read aloud from the Torah script at the beginning of every month in protest of this tradition that women should be silent, while the men's side of the wall is much louder with prayer and singing.
So every month when these women get together and read, they're accosted. Becky said they were shouted at by orthodox women and children (children are allowed to go with their mothers to the women's side of the wall). She said they weren't doing anything radical, like advocating for desegregation of genders, they were merely reading aloud. Sometimes just in the context of religion, sometimes in any context.
In other places in the world there are women rabbis, so note that this is not always the case. But it is certainly the case in Ultra Orthodox tradition in Jerusalem. And it's the Ultra Orthodox who drive politics and culture in Jerusalem and arguably all of Israel. They're the top of the social hierarchical ladder.
Yesterday, when we visited the Western Wall as a group, we walked through security very easily. They didn't even open my bag, they just felt the outside of it. When Becky went with 'Women at the Wall' this morning, she said they were particularly thorough in security. She guessed because they were trying to slow this group down and not let them enter together. She said they opened her bag. Thumbed through the pages of her journal, opened her prayer shawl. Opened her wallet.
As she was telling this story she told us how women aren't supposed to have prayer shawls. How at the wall, the men can be loud and sing and say prayers, but women are encouraged to be quiet. This is why this 'demonstration' this morning they chose to read aloud and sing religious hymns.
It was inspiring to hear her stand up for a religion she believes in, but advocating for change within her religion.
I've been looking for evidence today (other than recounting that story) of things I like about the religions we've been learning about. After my experience yesterday, and even the things I was writing... I thought it would be a good idea to find traditions that inspire me.
In both Muslim and Jewish tradition they pray facing their Holy Land- Muslims to Mecca and Jews to Jerusalem. This is inspiring to me. I like that they pray with intention and have a physical direction that puts them in a specific mindset.
I like the importance of remembering ancestors. Family is very important
In both Islam and Judaism there is no idol worship. They don't create figurines and sculptures to worship. I like this. I think it leads to a more personal experience with worship. You aren't worshipping something someone created with their idea of what divinity is.
When we did our walking tour yesterday of the Old City, our guide Ori spoke a blessing in Hebrew for those who experience new things. I like the tradition of many different blessings. Reminds me of Fiddler on the Roof when they ask the rabbi if there's a blessing for the tsar. "May God bless and keep the tsar... far away from us!"
But the idea that blessings bring you in the moment and help you appreciate what you're doing. Jewish tradition there are lots of rituals that help people become very intentional in turning their thoughts a certain way. I see the significance of that. Another example is the mezuzah. They're small boxes (though we've seen some huge ones) hung in doorways. Inside there's a prayer. Jewish people touch the boxes as they enter a space.
In Jewish synagogues, the arc faces Jerusalem. In the museum they've recreated 3 synagogues. One in the Italian style, one is Indian, and the third is South American. Those were really cool to go into. You can see how each culture has influenced the design of their respective synagogue. The synagogues are fake because they're in a museum... but the recreation was really cool. The Italian one looked very Christian. We were told it's because they hired Christian artists to do the designs on the arc. The Indian arc was made of teak wood and the ceiling was decorated by lotus flowers. You could sit on the floor in that one. We didn't really spend much time in the South American one, but I'll go back and look at it.
The last exhibit on the highlights tour, was the art exhibit. One of my favorites was this piece:
A lion attacking a gazelle. Inspired by a mosaic on a floor in Jericho. The lion symbolized Israel (there are symbols all over Jerusalem) and the gazelle is Palestine. This piece is controversial and people are offended it exists in the Israeli museum. I won't go into the reasons, because I feel like I've been rambling too much already. 😅
Almost every Israeli who has talked to us in a learning-setting has referenced the 'SABRA' cactus. This idea of Israelis being prickly and opinionated on the outside, but soft and sweet on the inside. This one --> is done by a Palestinian Israeli named Asim Abu Shakra and is inspired by the style of Van Gogh's famous sunflower painting |
After we did the highlights tour, we did an activity where we made a stop motion video. The direction they gave us was to respond / interact with the artifacts and be creative. This is an activity they do with high schoolers who visit, so it was meant to teach us and give us an idea. It was a lot of fun :)
We had lunch and then were allowed to wander a little bit. A few of us went to see the building that houses pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I remember going to an exhibit in Salt Lake City with my brother on the Dead Sea Scrolls several years ago...
The design of the building is super cool. You descend into this cave-like entrance and come into a room with a large platform in the center. They have a replica of the text of the scrolls wrapped around a display in the center that looks like it's attached to a roll that a scroll might be rolled around. Underneath the scroll, you can see an orange-light highlighting money that people have dropped. Not sure why.
Around the edges of the chamber are the fragments and explanations of the scroll. It was cool.
See what I mean about creating an immersive experience? The architecture and design of the room are meant to make you feel something, evoke the time period, and draw you in. THAT would be so cool to create.
The design of the building is super cool. You descend into this cave-like entrance and come into a room with a large platform in the center. They have a replica of the text of the scrolls wrapped around a display in the center that looks like it's attached to a roll that a scroll might be rolled around. Underneath the scroll, you can see an orange-light highlighting money that people have dropped. Not sure why.
Around the edges of the chamber are the fragments and explanations of the scroll. It was cool.
See what I mean about creating an immersive experience? The architecture and design of the room are meant to make you feel something, evoke the time period, and draw you in. THAT would be so cool to create.
The last thing we did today was head to the Illustration Collection in the Youth Wing. It's a library of books categorized by illustrator. Orna Granot lead that part of the tour. We sat in the Illustration library and talked about how books tell stories with pictures. We looked at examples of some of the books they have in the library and a famous illustrator who paints ostrich eggs (displayed in the library) in her free time. It's not a library where people can check out books, but they've designed it to be comfortable for kids to come and read a book.
She took us down to the special collections and showed us a couple of more rare books. A book from China with no words. It was about how Mao gave a family his car to go to the hospital and get vaccinated. Then there was Little Blue Riding Hood where Hitler was the wolf. Then we went into a room that had toys and dolls all over. It was a fun experience!
She took us down to the special collections and showed us a couple of more rare books. A book from China with no words. It was about how Mao gave a family his car to go to the hospital and get vaccinated. Then there was Little Blue Riding Hood where Hitler was the wolf. Then we went into a room that had toys and dolls all over. It was a fun experience!
I wrote down something Orna said, that resonated with me when we were talking about stories that might be too scary for children...
"I think the most traumatic memories of childhood, come from a time when you were afraid, and you felt alone in it"
We came back to the hotel around 5pm. I took a nap because I signed up to go to a 9:30 light show. The show was inside the Tower of David (inside the Old City). 7 of us took the light rail and the show was projected on the walls of the inside of the tower. It told the story of the history of Jerusalem. I loved it. Night life in Jerusalem is insane.
TTYL ✌️
TTYL ✌️
July 1
TODAY we went to the Mahane Yehuda Market. They tell us the city is dead once Shabbat starts (Friday at sundown) but the shuk (market) is HOPPIN' on Friday during the day. Pretty crowded. Lots of colorful shops. Lots of stuff to buy. We spent a couple hours there. My favorite part of the day was talking to Shay ('shy'). Our tour guide Ori asked his friend (who's also a tour guide) if he would be open to letting us come and ask him a few questions about how he observes shabbat.
Shay invited us into his home. We sat on his bed, his couch, and in his kitchen as he told us about growing up in Israel, serving in the Navy, traveling around the world and still observing shabbat even as he climbed part of Everest. We asked questions (some maybe too personal 😂) but it was awesome to get a 'unpaid' or 'unsponsored' perspective on what life is like living in Israel. His parents are Moroccan and Iraqi and I believe he said he grew up in the West Bank (he has at least lived there).
He served in the navy for 3 years as part of his mandatory IDF service. He said he was stationed down at the Gaza Strip and his job was to make sure terrorists / Hamas didn't cross into Israel by sea. He mentioned one time they arrested an old fisherman and he felt really conflicted about it, but it was their job to keep Israel safe.
Shay invited us into his home. We sat on his bed, his couch, and in his kitchen as he told us about growing up in Israel, serving in the Navy, traveling around the world and still observing shabbat even as he climbed part of Everest. We asked questions (some maybe too personal 😂) but it was awesome to get a 'unpaid' or 'unsponsored' perspective on what life is like living in Israel. His parents are Moroccan and Iraqi and I believe he said he grew up in the West Bank (he has at least lived there).
He served in the navy for 3 years as part of his mandatory IDF service. He said he was stationed down at the Gaza Strip and his job was to make sure terrorists / Hamas didn't cross into Israel by sea. He mentioned one time they arrested an old fisherman and he felt really conflicted about it, but it was their job to keep Israel safe.
We wandered the market for an hour and a half. I stuck with Becky for a big chunk of the time. We mostly stopped by bakeries and spice shops. We bought some candy and a few of the store owners gave us a bunch of free samples.
After resting for the afternoon, we met up to go to Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming of shabbat) at the Kotel (Hebrew for wall). We visited a few more sites in the Old City while we were waiting for sundown. One was King David's tomb. As Ori was telling us about the building a Jewish man dressed for shabbat walked by and said loudly to us "Yes, a 2,000 year old tomb in a 500 year old church. Tell me how that works". He has a point. I think for people to come to the Old City and have a bunch of old sacred sites nearby and accessible is just for tourist's convenience. But, I also don't want to be too insensitive to people's beliefs. It's hard when nothing is proven and people guess where Biblical events happened. They get a lot of people coming for pilgrimages and it's handy to have a specific location to visit. When we got to the Western Wall for Kabbalat Shabbat it was a really cool experience. There were a ton of members of the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). We learned last week that serving is required for most people and at 18, men and women are supposed to serve for over 2 years (timing differs for the genders). They were actually a lot of fun. At one point our group circled up with about 10 soldiers and we we put our arms on each other's shoulders and were singing and jumping, and then we started clapping. It was not the vibe I was expecting, but it was super cool. We spent some time as a group thinking about something we want to change about next week and we shared those things with the group. Then we lit candles. Ori showed us how to light and place them. We left before sunset. We came back to the hotel and had dinner. Our hotel kitchen is kosher, which means they cooked all the food before shabbat. I learned today from Shay, that dishes have to be kosher. If non-kosher food is served on a dish... that dish is no longer kosher. So when Shay travels, he takes his own dish. You aren't allowed to turn on electricity on the sabbath, so all over apartments in Israel, people have hot plates and AC on timers. Shay showed us how he unscrewed the light in his fridge before shabbat so when he opens it, it doesn't come on. He said using the fridge is fine, because it is constantly running. He also told us how he spends a lot of time with family and neighbors on shabbat. He told us how he will go to the park on Sunday to play ultimate frisbee. He said a lot of Ultra-Orthodox Jews would tell him he's not keeping shabbat, but to him that is keeping shabbat. Ori explained when we were at Kabbalat Shabbat that the purpose of these rules is to help you very consciously remember and notice that God rested on the 7th day. That helped me connect with the purpose of their rules and rituals. We have an early morning tomorrow, so I'll post more videos later :) |
July 2
Day 4 in Jerusalem! We didn't stay in Jerusalem today.
We drove out to Masada this morning. The way out to Masada passes through the West Bank, which is run by the PA (Palestinian Authority). What I heard from the seminar in Brandeis, the government there is kind of a mess and most people don't trust it. There are some Jewish settlements in the West Bank, some recognized by the state of Israel and some not.
There are also some Bedouin settlements in the West Bank that aren't recognized by Israel OR the Palestinian Authority.
The West Bank operates within Israel, but they're fairly autonomous and have several agreements with Israel. There are border checks coming back into Jerusalem. The Gaza Strip is much more dangerous because it is ruled by Hamas. According to one of the people that taught us... they don't have elections in the West Bank because the P.A. is terrified that the people will elect Hamas into power. Why would the people elect Hamas if they're a terrorist organization? Because they're sick of corruption and lack of control from the P.A.
When we talked to Shay yesterday, he said when he was a kid he would hear about terrorist bombings all the time in the city. His father drove a bus and he said he was always afraid that his father's bus would be attacked. He said you would often hear of a bus bombing and 25-30 people dying. That's not the case anymore.
Ori told us that there were a few terrorist attacks in the West Bank where people would just drive cars into people waiting at bus stops. You can see they've set up cement barriers at bus stops to prevent this from happening. Ori told us this as we drove through the West Bank, but I noticed a couple of places in the city of Jerusalem that had the yellow barriers.
We drove out to Masada this morning. The way out to Masada passes through the West Bank, which is run by the PA (Palestinian Authority). What I heard from the seminar in Brandeis, the government there is kind of a mess and most people don't trust it. There are some Jewish settlements in the West Bank, some recognized by the state of Israel and some not.
There are also some Bedouin settlements in the West Bank that aren't recognized by Israel OR the Palestinian Authority.
The West Bank operates within Israel, but they're fairly autonomous and have several agreements with Israel. There are border checks coming back into Jerusalem. The Gaza Strip is much more dangerous because it is ruled by Hamas. According to one of the people that taught us... they don't have elections in the West Bank because the P.A. is terrified that the people will elect Hamas into power. Why would the people elect Hamas if they're a terrorist organization? Because they're sick of corruption and lack of control from the P.A.
When we talked to Shay yesterday, he said when he was a kid he would hear about terrorist bombings all the time in the city. His father drove a bus and he said he was always afraid that his father's bus would be attacked. He said you would often hear of a bus bombing and 25-30 people dying. That's not the case anymore.
Ori told us that there were a few terrorist attacks in the West Bank where people would just drive cars into people waiting at bus stops. You can see they've set up cement barriers at bus stops to prevent this from happening. Ori told us this as we drove through the West Bank, but I noticed a couple of places in the city of Jerusalem that had the yellow barriers.
We saw a UN car on the road and Ori mentioned that the UN patrols the West Bank. Some cars had Palestinian license plates.🇵🇸 Apparently those cars are only allowed to travel within the West Bank and can't exit into Israel.
We learned back in our seminar, that Palestinians that live in the West Bank don't have Israeli citizenship. They have to go through a process if they want to move to Israel and get citizenship. Seems a little unfair to me, seeing as how it was the British who came in and said 'this is now a country for the Jews' and the Palestinians had to deal with it. There were revolts, but they were suppressed. Now 'independence' is celebrated when the Jews gained control of Israel (1948) and they put signs up around the Old City in 1967 when they got that 'back' from the Palestinians. Maybe I shouldn't put that in quotations. Jews at one time were in charge of Jerusalem. But that was before the Ottoman Empire. It's just a messy situation.
When we were on the beach later that day, someone was joking about how my dancing might attract an older Israeli man. That led to a conversation about marriage and citizenship. I asked Ori, and he said that you can't just become an Israeli citizen through marriage, you have to get married and then convert to Judaism. 🤔
What was I talking about? Oh ya. Masada. Masada is a fortress that King Herod built in the middle of the desert. ☀️☀️☀️
Herod was half Arab (Jordanian... his father was Nabatean) and half Jewish. So the Romans, who allowed him to be King of Judea in their empire, saw him as a Jewish king of a Jewish kingdom. But the Jews saw him as Roman. So he wasn't really beloved by anyone. Ori also said Herod probably had some undiagnosed mental disorders. Megalomania for sure.
You might already know, during the time of Jesus, Romans ruled Jerusalem. But Judea was allowed to exist under Roman rule.
The Jews weren't loving being part of the Roman Empire. For several reasons. Romans would place their statues around. It was against Jewish law to see these naked statues of other gods in the streets. The Romans disregarded Jewish custom and culture and brought in non-kosher animals and killed them in non-kosher ways. The Jews thought a Messiah would come and save them from having to deal with these Roman oppressors.
But after Christ, they were still under Roman rule. 70 years after Christ / Herod the Jews revolted. They were not successful in their revolt.
When most of the Jews had been defeated, and their temple destroyed, about a thousand Jews fled to Herod's old fortress at Masada. Middle of the desert. Did I mention it was hot? 🥵 The account we have of what happened comes from Josephus (Jew who wrote history for Romans). So the story may or may not be correct.
What I found fascinating though, was how important this story is to the people of Israel. I'll give you more on that in a sec.
As a history teacher, I feel a need to explain what happened 2,000 years ago. So, 960 Jews fled to Masada. The Romans sent a legion after these rebels. Thousands of Roman soldiers. The Romans started their usual siege tactic to starve them out.
UNESCO named Masada a World Heritage Site. Ori told us that it's not because of the ruins at the top, but because of the preservation of the Roman siege camps and their methods of war.
We learned back in our seminar, that Palestinians that live in the West Bank don't have Israeli citizenship. They have to go through a process if they want to move to Israel and get citizenship. Seems a little unfair to me, seeing as how it was the British who came in and said 'this is now a country for the Jews' and the Palestinians had to deal with it. There were revolts, but they were suppressed. Now 'independence' is celebrated when the Jews gained control of Israel (1948) and they put signs up around the Old City in 1967 when they got that 'back' from the Palestinians. Maybe I shouldn't put that in quotations. Jews at one time were in charge of Jerusalem. But that was before the Ottoman Empire. It's just a messy situation.
When we were on the beach later that day, someone was joking about how my dancing might attract an older Israeli man. That led to a conversation about marriage and citizenship. I asked Ori, and he said that you can't just become an Israeli citizen through marriage, you have to get married and then convert to Judaism. 🤔
What was I talking about? Oh ya. Masada. Masada is a fortress that King Herod built in the middle of the desert. ☀️☀️☀️
Herod was half Arab (Jordanian... his father was Nabatean) and half Jewish. So the Romans, who allowed him to be King of Judea in their empire, saw him as a Jewish king of a Jewish kingdom. But the Jews saw him as Roman. So he wasn't really beloved by anyone. Ori also said Herod probably had some undiagnosed mental disorders. Megalomania for sure.
You might already know, during the time of Jesus, Romans ruled Jerusalem. But Judea was allowed to exist under Roman rule.
The Jews weren't loving being part of the Roman Empire. For several reasons. Romans would place their statues around. It was against Jewish law to see these naked statues of other gods in the streets. The Romans disregarded Jewish custom and culture and brought in non-kosher animals and killed them in non-kosher ways. The Jews thought a Messiah would come and save them from having to deal with these Roman oppressors.
But after Christ, they were still under Roman rule. 70 years after Christ / Herod the Jews revolted. They were not successful in their revolt.
When most of the Jews had been defeated, and their temple destroyed, about a thousand Jews fled to Herod's old fortress at Masada. Middle of the desert. Did I mention it was hot? 🥵 The account we have of what happened comes from Josephus (Jew who wrote history for Romans). So the story may or may not be correct.
What I found fascinating though, was how important this story is to the people of Israel. I'll give you more on that in a sec.
As a history teacher, I feel a need to explain what happened 2,000 years ago. So, 960 Jews fled to Masada. The Romans sent a legion after these rebels. Thousands of Roman soldiers. The Romans started their usual siege tactic to starve them out.
UNESCO named Masada a World Heritage Site. Ori told us that it's not because of the ruins at the top, but because of the preservation of the Roman siege camps and their methods of war.
The beginning of the video starts on the ramp they built (which also destroyed the system the fortress had in place to collect winter flood water) and at the end I pan over to where you can see the Roman siege camp
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This is a synagogue built on the temple complex, which really was just a shul (from the German word school), where they transcribed the Torah script
The black line shows where the ruins were. Above the line has been reconstructed, below the line is original. |
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Anyway. That's the story. The ruins were cool. It was super hot up there.
When we were waiting to go up on the cable car, there were a lot of tourist groups around us with loud tour guides. One was telling everyone to gather. The were the 'menorah group'. I told Rebecca that OUR group should have a group name. Then I suggested "the Fulbright HEEEEEYS" with gusto. Rebecca said, "Tara I don't think anyone in this group matches your energy, but I appreciate that you bring it". L.O.L.
I mean, I am a little strange. I think she was sincere about appreciating my energy :)
I get along with people who like to party and are more easy going. A few of the other teachers have those type of qualities! I feel like we're having a lot of fun together. But maybe Rebecca's right. I just need to find someone that matches my energy.
After Masada we went to the Dead Sea. Not what I expected either! The water was super warm. It's 34% salt. The ocean is 4% salt. A few of us floated around for a while. You can't sink in that water if you tried. It was cool ... but not in temperature 😜
After the Dead Sea, we did a short hike to En Gedi. Gedi is Hebrew for ibex. We saw a whole herd of them!
I made a video explaining what I wanted to say about En Gedi because I didn't want to type it out. 😂
ALSO THOUGH- En Gedi is the place where David (the one from the Bible- David and Goliath) hid from Saul when Saul was trying to kill him. Ori pointed out lots of caves and told us that people think David hid in the caves. He probably chose En Gedi because it's not *too* far from Jerusalem and there's water there. 1 Samuel 23:29. Also maps / study helps in the back of the Bible.
July 3
It's our day off today! Sunday. My shabbat. Unfortunately in Jerusalem, they hold my church services on Saturday, so I missed them. I had planned to have a nice quiet day reading scriptures and visiting the Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb... but one of the other teachers wanted to join when she heard I was going those places.... and it turned into a day of doing not what I expected. Which is okay, but next time I'm going to be more adamant that I want time alone when someone invites themselves to do what I'm doing. 😅
It ended up being me and 4 other teachers wandering around the Old City for a few hours after a leisurely breakfast this morning. I only got about 5 minutes in the Garden of Gethsemane :/ and I missed the Garden Tomb altogether.
It ended up being me and 4 other teachers wandering around the Old City for a few hours after a leisurely breakfast this morning. I only got about 5 minutes in the Garden of Gethsemane :/ and I missed the Garden Tomb altogether.
I agreed to walk with 3 of the teachers to the Church of the Ascension, and it was a hike. Lots of steps in the hot sun. The church was a bit of a joke, but I won't relate that here for people who think it's special. Ask me in person if you want my real opinion :)
One of the other teachers really wanted to see Oskar Schindler's grave, and I was kind of interested in that... at this point I had resigned to not getting to do what I wanted. Every time I tried to break off, they would convince me that they would go with me later if I came with them now. But that's the whole thing, I didn't want company in the first place. 😂
But also, I think the two guys I was with were just being chivalrous. They didn't want to leave me wandering around Jerusalem alone. I can't fault them for that. Though I definitely feel more than capable, sometimes I have to prove that to people.
I'm planning on coming to Jerusalem on another day off when I'm by myself. And I'll have time alone to do the couple of things I didn't get to do today. And that might be for the best, I'll have more alone time then.
Schindler's tomb was so powerful. There wasn't a monument or anything. Just a regular tomb in a cemetery. I felt so much there. More than I've felt so far at any place in Jerusalem. I felt the goodness of all he did to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust. It was amazing.
I got back to the hotel and immediately took a cold shower. I feel like I got to know Jerusalem much better today though. Walked from downtown Jerusalem, to the Old Town, to the top of the Mount of Olives, and back again. A tale by Bilbo Baggins. I don't get to know a place as well when I'm on a guided tour. I don't worry about directions as much when I'm guided. So today was useful and good exercise. :) #lookatmebeingpositive
So a productive day, even if it's not what I envisioned for myself. I spent the whole day with kind people. 😊
So a productive day, even if it's not what I envisioned for myself. I spent the whole day with kind people. 😊
July 4
Happy Fourth of July, everybody!!!! 🎆🦅🎇🇺🇸🧨
I thought that I'd be really bummed to be in another country and missing all of the fun celebrations on the 4th. And I do miss being home, but we're learning and doing so much that it hasn't affected me as much as I thought it would.
Here's an overview of what we've done so far today and the other one is a run-down of the cities we'll visit ...
I thought that I'd be really bummed to be in another country and missing all of the fun celebrations on the 4th. And I do miss being home, but we're learning and doing so much that it hasn't affected me as much as I thought it would.
Here's an overview of what we've done so far today and the other one is a run-down of the cities we'll visit ...
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So, like I said in the video, this morning we met with an Israeli teacher who grew up and then taught school in Jerusalem. Boaz. We were supposed to have a Palestinian / Arab teacher as well... but he has covid :/
I learned a lot about the education system- some of it reinforced what we learned during the seminar, some of it clarified a little bit more of what we learned last week. I recorded the whole discussion. It's an hour and a half if anyone wants to listen to it. 😅 |
Boaz told us that he sent his daughter to an Israeli private school called 'hand in hand' where they have both a Jewish teacher and a Pakistani teacher in the classroom, and the students grow up learning both languages. He admitted they have a lot of issues in other places, but the idea that these children can learn together about each other's cultures in the same environment is an important one. Ariel (from our first day in Jerusalem) told us that his son was just accepted at that same school to start in the fall.
After the park discussion, some of the other teachers decided to go back to the Old City after our park discussion, but the rest of us headed to an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, west of downtown. And here's the part where I tell you everything I learned! 🙌
Ori was telling us, that if you look at communities (and their beliefs about Israel as a Jewish state) as a spectrum, and you have radicals on both ends, one end would be Zionists and the other would be the Ultra Orthodox.
That surprised me. Both groups identify as Jewish. Why would they be polar opposites?
Going back to the early years of the Zionist movement, Jews were hoping to create a place that was just for Jews. To preserve their culture. To create a safe space of Jews. The Jews who believed in this Zionist movement were all levels of religious. From secular to devout. Theodor Herzl was one of the really important figures in the Zionist movement. I don't remember if I already mentioned him. He was pretty secular, but advocated for a place for Jewish people to go and preserve their culture. Another contributor to this movement was Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. He revived the Hebrew language. Came up with words that wouldn't have existed in Biblical times (airplane, tomato, etc). He and his wife and children spoke Hebrew when there was no other place in the world where Hebrew was spoken. It is now the national language of Israel, and it is intentional. It is the language of a people coming together as Jews. Israel is a state created for the Jews. Where Jews immigrate, leave their previous culture behind- and embrace all aspects of Jewish life. THAT'S WHY you get conflict. What about the people who were already here? What about people who disagree about how religious a place should be? What about the people who don't want to abandon their former way of life and their former traditions?
☝️Exactly. It's complicated, and everyone has a different opinion on how those things should be handled.
On the other side of the spectrum I was talking about- is this group of Ultra Orthodox Jews in west Jerusalem. They are very anti-Zionist. They came from post-World War II communities and believe that there should not be a special state for the Jews. That the problem that led to the Holocaust was trying to integrate into society- that the answer is to isolate themselves and not draw attention to themselves. That creating a nation for one culture / religion puts a big target on their backs that will lead to a global recreation of the German Holocaust.
This group, in the neighborhood we walked to in west Jerusalem, believes those ☝️ things so strongly, they are actually pro-Palestine. That blew my mind when Ori told us that. It seemed to me like the conflict in Israel was Jews vs. Palestinians / Muslims. So much so, that Jews won't learn Arabic. Both Ori and Boaz told us that growing up they were told Arabic was 'the language of the enemy' and there are a lot of negative stereotypes to speaking Arabic. It's seen as a second class language spoken by second class citizens (Palestinians / Muslims). Those beliefs have led to a lot of social problems. And all of that is true to an extent... but like I said, a group of SUPER religious Jews (Ultra-Orthodox) believe a Zion state or a Jewish state is such a bad idea, that they want to give the country back to Palestine. Crazy right?!
There's like 1000 of them, so it's not a huge section, but it's still significant. |
Here's a link to an article about a Ultra Orthodox rabbi who supported Yasser Arafat (former president of Palestine)
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And the Jew / Muslim conflict affects a lot of states in the Middle East. Boaz told us that there are almost no Jews in other Arab countries, they've all moved to Israel. And a lot of countries surrounding Israel, don't love that it's a nation controlled by Jews.
Ori told us that other countries have mentioned 'throwing Jews into the sea'
I was trying to find evidence about who said that / when it was said and this is what I found.
Ori told us that other countries have mentioned 'throwing Jews into the sea'
I was trying to find evidence about who said that / when it was said and this is what I found.
Ori told us that he used to take groups into the neighborhood but they would throw eggs at him and scream at him. He said once he took a group there on shabbat and that was a very bad decision. They don't love outsiders.
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I've been so interested in Ultra -Orthodox culture. I asked Ori a lot of questions. And I know I've written about them in previous posts, but here's more. There are many different sects of Ultra-Orthodox. Each might have a different rule about clothing or behavior- but for the most part they are very strict in how they live. I mentioned the men can't touch women. Even brushing past a stranger in a crowded place is forbidden.
They have a tradition of mourning (shiva) where a family will stay at home for 7 days when their family member dies. In some communities, when a person in the family marries outside the community, they go through the same mourning period as if that family member had died. We were told back at Brandeis that a lot of Ultra-Orthodox people get money from the government. This program was put in place just after Israel became a state (1947) to help preserve Jewish culture. There were about 400 Ultra-Orthodox who wanted to spend their days studying the Torah, so they state subsidized these groups so they didn't have to work. It wasn't a huge deal when the population was small, but it's become a much bigger deal now that the population is growing. 8% of all of Israel, and much higher in Jerusalem. Estimates say in the next 25 years, 25% of the population of Jerusalem with be part of this Haredi / Ultra-Orthodox group. Boaz told us there were 4 secular schools in his neighborhood when he was growing up, now all of those schools have been converted to religious schools for the Ultra-Orthodox population. |
We were discussing equality in education this morning with Boaz. There are 4 types of schools in Israel: state schools, state religious schools (emphasize Jewish tradition), state Arab schools, and private schools. 🏫 Hebrew is taught at all schools. In the Arab schools it's a second language though. In the Ultra-Orthodox schools, they focus much more on the Torah and Jewish culture. They don't take assessments like the secular schools do. The students don't really get a lot of math or science. The children would only learn that if they pursue it on their own. So the question was asked... 'in a system where some students don't learn to read / write well in the national language, and some students don't learn at the same academic level as other students... how do they have the equal access to education that should exist in a democracy'? 👈 The answer, they don't have equal access and that is a valid criticism of Israel's democracy. 🇮🇱 And the Ultra-Orthodox aren't really interested in individualism or democracy. God is the governor. They vote the way their rabbis tell them to vote. An intense secular education is meaningless to them. Yet they are politically powerful and their population is growing. The money the government gives the Ultra-Orthodox doesn't go to individuals, it goes to the rabbis who buy things for the community. Ori told us that you'll see people using the same stroller... it's shared by the community. They provide diapers as well. It sounds like they live very communally. |
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Okay. Lunch. We had falafel, like I mentioned in the video above. It was a small shop at an intersection with no indoor seating. But it was delicious. Ori told us it's the best falafel in the world. Yemeni style. Their bread is a little bit different. It's very pan-cakey. The owner kept passing free falafel balls out the window. The falafel was wrapped in the pancakey-bread with a whole bunch of stuff inside. I talk about it in the video below :)
Here's a FB video of the place
Here's a FB video of the place
There have been a couple of times we were told we're on our own to find food, but usually Fulbright will give us cash to cover food. They gave us $100 when we had to find food in the airport, they gave us ₪50 (shekels) on Saturday when we had to find food at the beach.. they have taken good care of us. If it's not our day off- they feed us or give us the means to feed ourselves. That's been nice.
A couple of people in our group have been on other Fulbright trips (Morocco, Bulgaria, Egypt) and have told us their trips they met with ambassadors and dignitaries. We haven't so far in Israel, but I'm alright with that. I like that it's a more casual setting but we get access to pretty much everything (excluding Palestine or the West Bank :/ )
As we were walking this morning, Ori told us that he got a phone call from a colleague last week who asked him what he was doing the next day. He was planning on taking us (Fulbright group) on a tour of the Old City. His colleague told him to get out of that because Ivanka and Jared Kushner were in town and their scheduled tour guide tested positive for covid. He could've been their guide!?! He said no and he guided us instead. He said it wasn't something he was sure he wanted on his resume. The majority of Israelis are big Trump fans. Not so much of Biden. We ran into one guy on the street who was heckling us about having Biden as our president. I've been a little surprised at how involved Israelis are in American politics.
A couple of people in our group have been on other Fulbright trips (Morocco, Bulgaria, Egypt) and have told us their trips they met with ambassadors and dignitaries. We haven't so far in Israel, but I'm alright with that. I like that it's a more casual setting but we get access to pretty much everything (excluding Palestine or the West Bank :/ )
As we were walking this morning, Ori told us that he got a phone call from a colleague last week who asked him what he was doing the next day. He was planning on taking us (Fulbright group) on a tour of the Old City. His colleague told him to get out of that because Ivanka and Jared Kushner were in town and their scheduled tour guide tested positive for covid. He could've been their guide!?! He said no and he guided us instead. He said it wasn't something he was sure he wanted on his resume. The majority of Israelis are big Trump fans. Not so much of Biden. We ran into one guy on the street who was heckling us about having Biden as our president. I've been a little surprised at how involved Israelis are in American politics.
We walked through an area of Jerusalem known as the 'Russian Compound'. The land and the building are owned by Russian oligarchs. As we passed through, we stepped inside one of the buildings that's a fancy hostel now and looked around. Ori told us that the Israeli government attempted to buy that area back from Russia with ₪2 million and ₪1 million in oranges.
Putin came into power and decided he didn't like that deal so he took the area back.
Many Russians live in Israel. There was a big movement in the 1970s.
Rebecca told me that the Russians own the building that houses the police station where the jail is located. The Israeli government rents it from the Russians.
We walked past the street that used to be a wall dividing East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem (east is more Arab / Muslim, west is more Jewish). The city used to be divided just like Berlin was divided during the Cold War. The wall dividing Jerusalem came down in 1967.
Putin came into power and decided he didn't like that deal so he took the area back.
Many Russians live in Israel. There was a big movement in the 1970s.
Rebecca told me that the Russians own the building that houses the police station where the jail is located. The Israeli government rents it from the Russians.
We walked past the street that used to be a wall dividing East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem (east is more Arab / Muslim, west is more Jewish). The city used to be divided just like Berlin was divided during the Cold War. The wall dividing Jerusalem came down in 1967.
Downtown Jerusalem is very lively. Parties. Loud music. Most of the night. It's only on shabbat that it's really toned down. Our hotel is right next to Zion Square. They have a piano bolted to the cement and people can just come play on the piano. Last night, one of the other teachers took this 👉 video around 10pm
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July 5
Today we went to Yad Vashem. The Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. I don't want to go into all of the stuff about the Holocaust on the internet. As a history teacher, my goal is to be really sensitive and intentional around topics like these. My students tell me they've heard about it every year, but I don't know if they actually feel when we talk about what happened during the Holocaust.
And that's the lesson, right? The point is to expose ourselves to these awful awful events so we know how important it is to stand up against any type of discrimination or injustice. In the courtyard of the museum they've planted trees to represent what they refer to as 'The Righteous'. The people who tried to help the Jews and other victims of the Holocaust. They're collecting names and so far they have 28,000. Their criteria for adding people to the list is the following:
-They have to have tried to help people escape (even if they didn't succeed)
-They can't have received any sort of payment or favors for their services
-They can't have been Jewish
-They must have put their own lives at risk
-There must be a testimony confirming their efforts
I heard some heartbreaking stories today. I cried. I tried not to look away. But I think the message should always be hope. Hope that you are the type of person who fights that kind of thing.
Our tour guide who told us multiple stories would say "I'm going to give you back their names". Remembering them is so important. And if you don't feel that... I urge you to try and feel that by learning more about what happened to the Jewish people and their culture.
And that's the lesson, right? The point is to expose ourselves to these awful awful events so we know how important it is to stand up against any type of discrimination or injustice. In the courtyard of the museum they've planted trees to represent what they refer to as 'The Righteous'. The people who tried to help the Jews and other victims of the Holocaust. They're collecting names and so far they have 28,000. Their criteria for adding people to the list is the following:
-They have to have tried to help people escape (even if they didn't succeed)
-They can't have received any sort of payment or favors for their services
-They can't have been Jewish
-They must have put their own lives at risk
-There must be a testimony confirming their efforts
I heard some heartbreaking stories today. I cried. I tried not to look away. But I think the message should always be hope. Hope that you are the type of person who fights that kind of thing.
Our tour guide who told us multiple stories would say "I'm going to give you back their names". Remembering them is so important. And if you don't feel that... I urge you to try and feel that by learning more about what happened to the Jewish people and their culture.
After visiting the main museum we visited the Children's memorial. They told us a heartbreaking story about a child whose mother survived and wanted Yad Vashem to help memorialize their son. Yad Vashem decided to create a memorial for all of the children who died during the Holocaust.