Israel Ironies

After ten days in Israel I am finally ready to speak about the irony I have felt since our arrival. My friend Yukia and I spent time in Tel Aviv, Nazareth, Mt Tabor, Haifa and now a week in Jerusalem, the “holy land”. The walled “old city” is divided in quarters – Armenian (which is sort of Christian), Christian (catholic and orthodox), Jewish and Muslim who share a common wall which is very sacred to both of them. To make matters even stranger, the Via Dolorosa (the theoretical path that Jesus walked on his way to be crucified – as named in the “stations of the cross” in most Catholic churches), passes through the Muslim quarter on the way to the Christian quarter. 

It was Friday (Muslim sabbath) and we happened to be in the Muslim quarter during the call to prayer. Hundreds of Muslims who live in the old city were moving toward their mosque at the same time as many large groups of Christians were walking the “stations of the cross”. Israeli police with machine guns were stationed at the intersections. The “streets” are very narrow in the old city and there was serious grid lock.

The moment epitomized my sense of irony since arriving here. Many pious people on their way to prayer having little or no respect for one another, pushing their way to their destination, come hell or high water, all under the watchful eyes of Israeli machine guns. The divisions in the old city are as ancient as the religions themselves. Religions who have at their core the principles of love for God and neighbor. 

What we have experienced, especially here in Jerusalem is division and disparity. We rented a car to drive to the Dead Sea. Hertz told us we were prohibited from driving into the West Bank, otherwise known as the “occupied territory”. As we left the lush environs of the city, heading east, barren hills of sand laid out before us for many miles. This is where the Muslims live. Forty kilometers ahead we ventured into Jericho said to be the oldest city in the world, – in the West Bank (don’t tell Hertz!). It was the first place we saw trees since leaving Jerusalem. Only a handful of tourists there and not much prosperity.

There is no doubt that this is a multi-cultural hub but it’s hard for me to experience the holiness in this Holy Land. I asked our taxi driver today why, with so many religions and religous people, there wasn’t more peace and love. He said that it was political powers who created the divisions and not the religions. I’m sure there is truth in that but it’s a pity the religions can’t see beyond the walls of their own section to care about the quality of the whole.

We have met many kind and helpful people of all faiths in our travels so far. We do our best to radiate love and light to everyone we meet, to open energetic gateways and portals so that peace can prevail. Would that it be so. Sholam aleichem, As-Salam-u-Alaikum.