Sunday, January 23rd

The emergence of the “New City” in Mishkenot Sha’ananim
Christian worship with Arab-Christian Community at Catholic St. Savior’s church
Meet with Jerusalem “Open House” director Yonatan Gher and learn about Jewish-Arab cooperation on GLBTQ issues
Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem – Rabbis for Human Rights
Including site visits (Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah)
Israel Religious Action Center, Rachel Canar
Dinner in Ethiopian restaurant

I think my head is exploding.

We started the day in a fairly mellow way, walking through the first settlements outside the City walls, which were begun not long after Mark Twain diss'ed the Holy Land in Innocents Abroad.  The area has gone through several cycles of greater and lesser popularity, since its lovely view of the city also meant that  between 1948 and 1967 it was an easy reach for snipers on the other side of the No Man's Land.  It features a very Dutch-looking windmill and small apartments which were amazingly private and luxurious for their time.

We moved on to St. Savior's Church in the Old City, and I chatted in the alley a bit with a pair of heavily armed Israeli soldiers while we waited for the Italian service to end.  Services in various languages go on all day long, and we were scheduled to attend the service in Arabic.  The homily was enthusiastic (if unintelligible to me), and the music in this magnificent church was provided by a praise band of sorts instead of the organ which dominated one wall.  All in all, it was interesting but not particularly enlightening.

From there we headed to a section of Jerusalem I had not yet seen; a modern section with an outdoor shopping center and other conveniences.  The McDonalds would have been almost unrecognizable from the menu, but featured the familiar golden arches (and a clean bathroom).  My lunch came from a great, cheap falafel joint which stuffed each pita with a choice of veggies and sauces after the fashion of a Subway, and a bakery up the block provided me with some kind of chocolate tiramasu-like concoction which was "slide down the wall" fabulous.  We also looked at a few shops during the remainder of our lunch break (including the "Kipah Man" shown here), but I am finally beginning to learn some restraint.

And then the fun began.  We met with the director of the Jerusalem "Open House," which supports the queer community in Jerusalem.  The restrictive nature of orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jewish lifestyles mean that some gay residents are limited in their ability to seek counseling, HIV testing, and the many other services offered.  I found it particularly distressing to hear that while orthodox men are sometimes able to attend meetings held off-site in discrete locations, the orthodox women "probably have 10 kids at home and can't get away."  The Jerusalem center hasn't had significant trouble with hate crimes and has been able to compromise with the local orthodox population regarding Pride parades and such, but apparently their Tel Aviv counterpart was attacked by a gunman last year who killed two and wounded many.  I remain convinced that openly gay people and the volunteers of the organizations which serve them may be some of the bravest people around, facing down prejudice and potential violence on a regular basis in search of an honest life.

Next, a representative from Rabbis for Human Rights took us on a little bus tour of some areas of East Jerusalem which have become a major front in the "settlers vs. Palestinians" conflict.  It's an incredibly complicated situation, where building permits, unrecorded deeds, dueling appeals to public opinion, money, corruption, racism and bullying swirl in a whirlwind which appears almost impossible to sort out.  We were out of the bus and looking at a site where regular protests are staged by Palestinians on the sidewalk opposite a house which is now occupied by Israelis (who have accessorized the rooftop with a huge menorah, flags and a zionist slogan).  A Palestinian activist spotted our group and walked up, politely insisting that her people's story should be told by one of their own.  While she and our tour leader jointly offered their perceptions, two young orthodox men walked up to our group and pointedly started taking photos of us in an intimidating way before walking away, singing the Israel national anthem.  We were told that cameras were regularly used by the settlers as an intimidation tactic, and it certainly made some of our group nervous.  We were then led into the courtyard of a house which was the crux of a current legal battle, with settlers occupying the front structure while Palestinians remained in the house at the back of the property.  A graffiti war was well under way, with slogans and symbols representing each point of view scattered across the walls and front of the house.  A big burly orthodox man came out of the front structure and stared at us angrily with his arms crossed, while the Palestinian continued her story and urged us to photograph the situation.  It seems our group had become a weapon in the continuing struggle, and our leaders decided it was time we disengaged from the situation and got back on the bus.  We drove back to the Rabbis for Human Rights office and had a discussion about not only the afternoon's encounter but about the other activities of the organization such as planting olive trees to replace those destroyed by the settlers and accompanying the Palestinians in situations where they might be attacked (so as to bear witness and draw attention).

We were starting to look a bit glazed over by the time we left, but still had one more lecture before dinner.  Susan had the excellent sense to feed us orange juice and bananas while we listened to a presentation from The Israel Religious Action Center, which champions the rights of the under-privileged and under-represented in the Israeli legal system.  Their work runs the gamut from ensuring private schools adhere to public standards, to assisting new immigrants, to developing a legal way for those who are not associated with a religious organization to marry.  The presenter was energetic, informative and humorous - just what we needed to end the day on a positive note.

For dinner, we were scheduled to visit an Ethiopian restaurant in the city.  There aren't many of these, and I know several people in our group were really looking forward to experiencing the authentic Ethiopian food.  It was a tiny little restaurant with irregular floors and low ceilings which quickly became overwhelmed by 22 diners who didn't know what they were ordering and didn't share a common language with the waitstaff.  The food came slowly and was highly spiced; in an act of desperation, I raided the cooler by the bar and fetched the badly needed beers myself.  Most meals consisted of a large mushroom-like grey foamy pancake with a faintly vinegary flavor and a small bowl of something to dredge it in.  Mine was an extremely spicy reddish lentil paste; Tiauna got some sort of potato and corn mixture which turned out to be pretty good; Tim had a beef concoction which he thoroughly enjoyed; and Susan somehow ended up with a pancake filled with torn up bits of pancake, tossed with meat and spices.  Not every diner was delighted with their meal, but the beer and laughter flowed freely and it was a pleasant end to the day.

Given the variety of intense experiences we absorbed today, Susan has urged us to take a break before attempting to individually process our thoughts.  Also, getting a full night's sleep might be wise.

I'm good with that.