Post-Birthright Day 3: Hebron

On this day, I took a day trip to Hebron.

A bit about Hebron:  it is a highly tense, contentious place.  It is in the West Bank, and has primarily an Arab population (around 15,000), but because of its small population of Jewish settlers (around 1,000) it is under the watch of the IDF (Israel Defense Force).  Palestinians have curfews and are not allowed on certain streets; the small population of settlers are allowed to be armed (an anomaly in Israel, where guns are illegal to the civilian population); there is a constant air of tension, memories of clashes always fresh.  Most of the religious sites are Arab-controlled, and Jews have either restricted access or are not allowed at all.

It's an important place, to many people, and so conflict over control is very high.  It is believed by some to be the oldest continually inhabited place in the world (as is Damascus in Syria), and it has one particular site that is the primary source of contention: the Cave of the Patriarchs - the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah (Rachel was buried outside Bethlehem when she died giving childbirth while on the road).  If you aren't familiar with the Torah, Bible, or Qur'an, those are considered the mothers and fathers of the modern 3 monotheistic religions - Abraham was the first to worship only the Hebrew god, and his two sons Isaac and Ishmael were eventually the ancestors of Jesus and Muhammad according to Christianity and Islam.  Hebron is also one of the four holy cities of Judaism, each associated with a different element: Tzfat = air, Tiberias = water, Jerusalem = fire, and Hebron = earth. ...so, it's kind of an important place, to say the least.

I signed up to take a tour with the Hebron Fund, a Jewish organization based in Hebron, with tours lead by a rabbi who is one of the settlers currently living in Hebron.  Obviously, this gave a very specific perspective and narrative, which I took with a grain of salt, but it was definitely very eye-opening to learn the beliefs, emotions, principles, etc. of the Jewish population in Hebron.  Unfortunately this also meant I missed out on the things the city is well-known for, such as its glass blowing, pottery, fresh fruit markets, etc., because we did not touch the Arab part of the city. Non-Jewish, non-Muslims are usually permitted in the Arab-controlled areas, but obviously as a part of this tour that wasn't going to happen.

The first stop on this tour to "visit our mothers and fathers" was Kever Rachel, outside Bethlehem.  This was a particularly interesting place to visit because it is situated literally within the border wall Israel is currently building between the West Bank and the "green zone" (Israel proper).  It was surreal, knowing that just on the other side of that concrete wall was Bethlehem, and the people on that side of the wall were not permitted to visit the tomb of Rachel, less than 100 feet away from them.  There has been a lot of controversy over the move to keep the tomb within Israel rather than Palestine, because of how important it is to both Judaism and Islam, and the tomb is only accessible now by taking bulletproof busses, and it is surrounded by incredibly ugly military outposts... the sketches and photos of it, pre-concrete-barrier, are so beautiful and picturesque, I'm sad I was not able to visit it in the 1970s.

Picturesque Palestine.

 

Rachel's Tomb, pre-barrier, pre-Israel state.

 

Inside Rachel's Tomb (Kever Rachel).

Me inside Kever Rachel.

Kever Rachel, within the military barriers - you can just see the dome peeking over the fence.

After we were given time for davining (prayer), we continued easily through the checkpoint and went to Hebron (the IDF doesn't really stop people going into the West Bank, they mostly just care about who leaves it).  Here is one of our first views of Hebron:

A quiet street in Hebron in the early morning.

Our first stop was in the middle of the part of the Jewish settlement outside the "Old City," where there are some archaeological ruins, and where there was a lot of violence with the neighbors until very recently (within the last few years).

Bronze Age city street - from around 2500 BCE.

Structures ranging in age from 2500 BCE to 500 AD, with an apartment building for Jewish settlers built over them.

In the Jewish settlement of Hebron, with the main Arab part of the city in the background, listening to the tour guide.

Gazing at a coffee canister from a coffee shop that used to be here before the last major outbreak of violence - you can see the bullet indents on the outside.

Street art in the Jewish quarter of Hebron - the Hebrew letters inside the triangle-heart star of David says "Chai" (pronounced "hi" with a throat "h") - "Am Israel Chai" loosely translates to "To Israel, Life!".

We then took the bus only a couple short blocks (we were bussed everywhere more than 2 steps away, presumably for safety reasons since the busses are bulletproof) to the Hebron Heritage Museum, which was beautifully painted and chronicled the history of Jewish presence in Hebron, particularly in the modern era and focused heavily on the 1929 massacre of Jews by the Arabs during the British Mandate.

The Hebron Heritage Museum in Beit Haddasah

Entrance to the Hebron Heritage Museum.

The Hebron Heritage Museum.

Our next stop was the Jewish Quarter of Hebron, which had been the main site of the 1929 massacre, now fully reinhabited and thriving.  We went first to the Avraham Avinu Synagogue, revived/rebuilt after years of being used as a dump near the markets, with its ancient scrolls returned.  There is a lot of significance to this particular synagogue, including Kaballic legend - read here if interested.

Our guide, showing us the ancient scrolls.

A minaret seen rising behind the Jewish Quarter

Before the synagogue, which was in use when we first tried to enter, we walked through more of the Jewish quarter, including to our guide's apartment - it was a little weird, cramming 40 people into his living room while he talked about the history of the Jewish presence in Hebron, and about the significance of the synagogue itself so we could just go down and look at it quickly before lunch... but it was random and interesting.

It was then time for lunch just before and just outside the main event, the reason for everything Hebron-related, the second most holy place to Judaism after the Temple Mount: Me'arat ha-Machpela (Cave of the Patriarchs - literally, "Cave of the Double Tombs", referring to the original layout of the caves before Jacob dug in there and added a couple more).  The base of the wall around the caves was build by Herod in the first century; after wars and destruction and such, a mosque was built on the remains, and in Saladin's time those two minarets you can see today were built. Only in recent times have Jews been allowed in to worship, and they are still denied access to all the tombs except for 10 holy days a year.

Tomb of the Patriarchs

 Myself in front of the Cave of the Patriarchs

Abraham's cenotaph.

Abraham's cenotaph.

Myself outside the tombs of Abraham and Sarah.

Inside the worship area for the cenotaphs of Abraham and Sarah.

Leah's cenotaph.

View over Hebron from the Cave of the Patriarchs.

The clashing sounds outside the Cave of the Patriarchs (video!).

This was the end of the tour; after ample time for davining, we returned to the bus, which returned us to Jerusalem.  This view outside Jaffa gate has become so familiar to me, it's like home.

Myself outside Jaffa Gate.

I highly encourage you to read up more on Kever Rachel, the Cave of the Patriarchs, and Hebron in general... it's insane how much history and contention there is over them, and even more insane that I just hopped on a bus and went there.  On my next trip to Israel I'll be sure to be an American tourist and visit the main part of Hebron, and appreciate the local Palestinian culture and art and food... but for now, it's good that I learned so much from the side most accessible to me as a post-Birthright Jewish traveler.

As always, I do not include all (or even close to all) of my photos here in my blog.  To see all my photos from my post-Birthright travels, see my Flickr album:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke/sets/72157628990457609/

Post-Birthright Day 2: Lost in Jerusalem

I started the day by moving my luggage over to the Heritage House - they have strict opening times, which is great for feeling personally secure, but it meant that I had to move in between 8-9am.  When the house is closed, everyone has to be out for the day - so from 9-5, everyone staying there has to be out.  A nice man helped me with my luggage - he was originally from Florida, where my brother lives, and had made Aliyah (when a Jew returns to Israel to live) a year earlier.  When I got to the hostel, I met the house mom, who lives in an apartment on the 2nd floor with her family - she is so sweet! And her 3 kids are adorable - more about her at the end of this entry.

After moving in and choosing a bed upstairs, I had a little time before my first scheduled activity for the day, so I took a morning walk through the Old City. I wound up in the Christian Quarter, before all the shops had opened yet - it was so peaceful and quiet, and I had to keep reminding myself where in the world I was - just wandering the old streets of Jerusalem! (Which became a common theme to my stay, actually).

A Syrian convent in what I think was the Armenian quarter.

Shops in the Christian Quarter, not yet open for the day.

The Muristan (the entire square, not any particular structure pictured) - I had no idea what this place was until I randomly found it on Wikipedia as I was writing this entry - it has an AMAZING history, you can read about it by clicking here if you like - I don't want to make this entry into a novel so won't write any more here, but I highly recommend reading about it.

That first "scheduled activity" was making pancakes with Yonit, one of our Birthright guides who lives in Jerusalem.  By some stroke of luck, I got on the same bus that my other 2 Birthright friends joining me were on, and we found our way to Yonit's apartment together.  It was a wonderful morning of drinking chocolate milk in a bag (an Israeli curiosity that is actually quite amazing), laughing, and eating pancakes, and Yonit was so wonderful to invite us over.  It was comforting having a friend in the city, and a very nice morning spent together before Hannah and Natalie had to leave (their extension was only a couple days long).

Hannah and Yonit's wonderful pancakes!

After pancakes, the three of us took a taxi to Mahane Yehuda, the Jewish Shuk (market).  Going to local markets is one of the best ways to experience local culture in a new place, and who doesn't love food? I picked up some dried fruit that wound up lasting me almost my entire extension, and a brick of halva (a sort of sesame seed cake) that unfortunately went mostly uneaten.

Dried fruits in Mahane Yehuda

Fresh fruits and Hannah in Mahane Yehuda - look at the size of those pomegranates!

Mahane Yehuda market, AKA the Jewish Shuk

After the market, Hannah and Natalie had to go back to Natalie's family in Beit Shemesh before leaving Israel in the morning, and I finally really felt like I was on my own - I still saw a couple friends during my time in Israel, but for the first time it wasn't continuously the same people, making future plans together or any sort of promise of "see you tomorrow."  I was off on my own adventure!

I started by walking from the market down Yaffo Street back towards the Old City - I decided not to take the Light Rail because I was on my way to the Israel Museum (I thought), which was (I thought) only a couple stops away.  As it turns out, when I had looked up the Israel Museum on Google, the map plotted some sort of office, not the museum itself, and I wound up wandering aimlessly around the municipal government complex looking for it.  Eventually I looked at my Jerusalem tourist's map, saw the museum plotted quite far away, and put it off to do another day.

I don't remember how I did this, but when looking for a different entrance to the Old City with the goal of doing the Western Wall Tunnels, I walked almost completely around the other side - and the gate I was looking for didn't seem to exist.  Zion Gate is somehow a tricky one to find, and I kept finding myself back on the outside of the wall.  After fending off more "helpful" local men (always eager to help a lost foreign lady with hopes she'll go out on a date with them), I walked around a great deal of the city.  I eventually found my way in, found my way back to the Kotel, and got intimidated by the "RESERVATION ONLY" signs around the Tunnels ticket window.  I still had a couple hours until I would be permitted to come back to the Heritage House, so I went to the Arab shuk (non-food markets) and promptly proceeded to get lost again.

"The Cardo" in the Jewish Quarter, near the Arab Shuk - the main street of Jerusalem in the 6th century.  Ruins like this are all over Jerusalem - there is some incredible history at every step.

More of "The Cardo" and the beginning of the markets.

The markets of Old City Jerusalem are like a maze, a vein running through the heart of that ancient stone, and connect all the quarters of the city together seamlessly.  Stall after stall of scarves, ceramics, jewelry, prayer shawls, paintings, cheap souvenirs, hookahs, spices... it all just blurs together.  The only way to tell if you've gone from one quarter to another is the language on the more permanently-structures shops/restaurants and the sort of religious iconry being sold - when the necklaces being sold were no longer stars of David and started being rosaries and crosses, I was in the Christian quarter.  When scarfs gave way to hijabs and the restaurants were advertised in Arabic, I was in the Muslim quarter.  When there was a giant Jesus tapestry hanging outside, I was either back in the Christian quarter or in the Armenian quarter.  I spend a couple hours completely lost in that maze, absorbing the smells and the languages, not planning on purchasing anything, fascinated by my constantly shifting surroundings.

Imagine a maze of this - I was lost in it for hours.

Just as it was starting to get dark and I thought it might be time to "find" myself and get back to the hostel, I stumbled upon one of the biggest landmarks in the Holy Land (from a world history perspective, obviously not a Jewish perspective): The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. For anyone unfamiliar with it, the church is built over two locations where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried. It's controlled by several different denominations in complicated agreements that have been periodically fighting with each other for centuries.  It's an incredibly holy place for Christians (obviously), and is quite beautiful inside.  The onset of twilight added to the mystique, but also made photography somewhat problematic.

Back out in the Muristan from this morning (again, click here to read about, incredible history), where I realized the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was right in front of me.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The site where Jesus's body is said to have been laid after his crucifixion (which is said to have happened upstairs to the right).

The entrance to the Holy Sepulchre - I didn't feel like waiting in line to go in... one of many things to add to my to-do list on my next trip back to Israel.

I came back to the hostel just as the house family was about to light their Chanukkah candles, so another girl staying there and I got to go up to their apartment on the middle floor (with a separate outside entrance) and sing/watch as they lit their candles - her husband lit the oil candles in the outside case (common in Israel to have candles displayed outside and protected by the wind), then we went inside her apartment to eat muffins and let her kids light their menorahs they had made at school - they were adorable! The 3-year-old had made one out of bottlecaps, and her father melted the bottom of some wax candles to stick on each of the caps for her.  Then they all danced together - including the youngest 1 1/2-year-old.  It was so precious, augmented by the knowledge that similar little families all around me in Jerusalem were spending their evenings in a very similar way.

The Hurva Synagogue and a minaret of a nearby mosque - yet another fascinating history I just learned: http://commentfromisraelblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/hurva-synagogue.html

Chaya's two oldest kids with their menorahs

 The kids' menorahs

Later that evening, any girls hanging out in the hostel were invited to a Chanukkah party at a local Rabbi's home, and we all got very excited and dressed up to go!  When we got there, it turns out "party" and "Torah discussion" have a very similar meaning - so different from what we expected, but I still learned a lot from the Rabbi's wife about Chanukkah and new interpretations of the holiday, which was neat - at this point in the trip, I was grateful for every and any new experience thrown my way.  I left with a girl from the hostel during a break later, we got some falafel, and went back to the hostel so I could FINALLY do laundry (first time since leaving America!) and sleep.

Menorahs on the ground floor of some apartments - the entire Jewish Quarter of the Old City looked like this during Chanukkah, it was beautiful.

The Chanukkah candles ablaze outside the Heritage House.  Happy last night of Chanukkah!

As always, I do not include all (or even close to all) of my photos here in my blog.  To see all my photos from my post-Birthright travels, see my Flickr album:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke/sets/72157628990457609/

Post-Birthright Day 1: The New Adventure Begins

The next morning, I woke to an empty room on a mostly empty floor in the Jerusalem Gate Hotel. Realizing I still hadn't confirmed a place to sleep that night (or any night for the next 2+ weeks, for that matter), I went downstairs to use the internet and book a hostel for the night. After a nice hotel breakfast, three fellow Birthright extendees and I went to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

The zoo is divided into two halves: the regular zoo, filled with all sorts of animals, on one side; the "Biblical" part with animals found in scripture on the other. We hit the regular zoo first, then went around the the "Biblical" part.  It wasn't that extensive, but it was still fun.  It was nice to have a small break from the constant history and amazingness of the last 10 days.

Thumbs-upping penguins!

David and Hannah fed the birds some nectar.

David and Hannah fed the birds some nectar.

David and Hannah fed the birds some nectar.

Thumbs-upping some lions!

Thumbs-upping some weird fish.

Some petting zoo goats.

Some African mammals in the Biblical half of the zoo.

Noah's Arc visitor's center - hilarious!

After the zoo, we went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and get lunch before parting ways for the day.  I took Jerusalem's new Light Rail to the Old City, and decided to hang out outside Jaffa Gate for a while before going in to find my hostel - I thought perhaps there would be a lighting ceremony for the giant menorah in the plaza.  Here is a video-blog of sorts, about a minute long:

 Video-blog from outside Jaffa Gate

Aaand if you're lazy and just want to look at pictures:

 Approaching Jaffa Gate outside the Old City at sunset.

 Waiting for the "lighting" of the menorah outside Jaffa Gate

Eventually I decided it was too cold to continue waiting, and went to find my hostel.  It was Citadel Hostel in the Christian quarter - after being so saturated in everything Jewish for 10 days, it was a little disorienting walking in the front door and seeing Christmas decorations all over the place.  The place was interesting - like winding stone caves, up and up and up to the roof.  I'd booked a private room for the night, since I wasn't committed to making that place my home.  The view from the roof was incredible - here's another little video-blog about that:

 The view from the roof of my hostel, 360 degrees, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

After getting settled, I went back out into the city to find the Heritage House, which was the original hostel suggested to me but whose number didn't work (or so I thought - I just didn't understand Israeli dial tones).

The Heritage House is a free hostel for Jewish travelers, and was suggested to me by one of my Birthright guides, Yonit.  It turned out to be a beautiful, wonderful place, and I got to know the staff and a couple girls staying there while I lit my menorah and drank some tea.  I departed for the night, since I'd already payed for the other room, but it was right down the "street" from the Heritage House still in the Old City so it was not a big deal.  I couldn't wait to move in to the Heritage House in the morning!

My menorah is the colorful one in the back - they are all so pretty there in the window!

As always, I do not include all (or even close to all) of my photos here in my blog.  To see all my photos from my post-Birthright travels, see my Flickr album:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke/sets/72157628990457609/