Detained

Crossing the Allenby Bridge from Jordan to the West Bank should have been easy in our tour group of American citizens. Our tour group submitted everyone's passport information weeks in advance precisely to avoid delays. Instead, the Israelis allowed most of the 80 person group through the border, but held the passports of everyone under about 35 years old. There were 8 of us plus our tour leader and his brother.

The whole time we were detained, the Israelis did not question us or do much in the way of security verifications. We continued to wait while the rest of our tour group continued on to Ramallah.

After about 4 hours of waiting, the Israeli soldiers and workers began setting up a buffet of sorts. Sweets, cakes, cookies, croissants and all sorts of snacks. We were hungry and curious. We certainly didn't believe any of this was for us, but we were the only people in the room besides employees. Everything felt incredibly awkward as they gathered for a party while we sat there waiting to be released.

I snapped a photo with my cell phone:

Eventually we were moved to a general waiting area and the Israelis put up a screen so we could not watch their party. After they finished, a soldier brought us a plate of leftover cookies and said, "We want to make your waiting a little more sweet." Gee, thanks.

We sat there for 6 hours without news of why we were being detained or how long it would take. Eventually our tour leader, after being told "20 more minutes" for about 3 hours, demanded they either release us to enter the West Bank or turn us back to Jordan. A few minutes later we had our passports and were on our way.

Why were we detained? According to one Moroccan Israeli soldier who spoke Arabic, they do it just to mess with young people and keep us from coming back. As my friend Nader said, "We'd wait 12 hours to get into our homeland. That won't keep us from coming back."

I am proud of my fellow detainees though. We went into that situation not really knowing each other, but made the best of it by getting to know each other, sharing food and water, telling jokes, and enjoying each others' company. These detainees bonded.

How Was It?

Three weeks and two gigabytes of pictures later, I am not sure how to answer this question when asked by friends. I hesitate to even call it vacation because being in the West Bank was more emotional and intense than anything known as vacation. It was a great time traveling with my dad and enjoying Palestinian culture. It was a terrible time dealing with Israeli soldiers and seeing the impact on my people and my family.

With every day in Ramallah I could feel bitterness creeping into my heart in the worst way. I felt no compassion for Israeli soldiers who deliberately harassed us and made our lives difficult. I am angry and hurt by the deep rooted and institutionalized racism in Israel. I am angry with their treatment of my family. It's not Jews in general I am angry with, but Israel and its overt rejection of Palestinians. I don't really know what to do from here.

Incredible Frustration

We leave Ramallah tomorrow and in our time here we have received a full taste of how frustrating Israel has made life for Palestinians. The latest frustrating event is being separated from our family in Gaza. My aunt, uncle, and cousins applied for permits a while back to be able to come to Ramallah for Easter. After being left in limbo for the last few weeks, we found out this morning that everyone in the family except my aunt (my dad's sister) received a permit.

There doesn't seem to be any logic to who does and does not receive travel permits from the Israelis. Why hold back an older woman in Gaza while allowing her 28 year old son to cross Israel? Why separate our family when my aunt's only wish for Easter was to see her brother?

What adds to the frustration is that once the permits are obtained, it isn't smooth sailing. Crossing through the Eretz checkpoint takes hours and some people never get a chance to go through, even with their permit. The permits are time limited, so our relatives can only stay in Ramallah for a few days.

In the end, we are sitting here in Ramallah waiting for my uncle and cousins to make the 25 mile journey over the course of the whole day. Naturally our conversations fall to wondering why the Israelis treat people like this. We can only assume, but it feels intentional and designed to hurt Palestinians.

I am not surprised that frustration regularly boils over into anger and violence.

Big Plans for Ramallah

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Ramallah Municipality. We have been privileged to observed and participate in many of the centennial celebrations during our trip.

The Ramallah Municipality unveiled an impressive presentation about the development and renovation plans for the city. Thanks to YouTube, you can see it too. By the way, the music that starts at the 1:40 mark was commissioned especially for the centennial celebration and has captured many ears here. Hopefully we will be able to buy this song soon. It is an updated arrangement of a traditional song about returning to Ramallah.

Helpless

Never have I felt so helpless as in Israel. The gigantic 35 foot "security" barrier is just one symbol of Israel's complete domination over Palestinian life. It cuts directly through Palestinian towns in the West Bank, to the point where people who once crossed the street to get to work must now travel miles out of their way to cross through Israeli checkpoints. Since its inception in 2006, the barrier has taken on a similar character as the Berlin Wall, becoming a canvas for Palestinian expression. Click on the pictures below to see the details.



We saw a dance/drama piece the other night that brought to life several of the Handala cartoons from Naji al-Ali. His cartoons have come to symbolize Palestinian suffering and struggle. Once particular scene in the drama had dancers stuck on the ground with a black shroud over them, unable to get up in front of a "no parking" sign, which in Arabic literally reads "standing prohibited." The whole drama was powerful, but this scene in particular captured the helplessness I have been feeling here.

Food

Palestinians make great food and they are feeding us like crazy here. I've never eaten so much lamb in one week, but I am not complaining.

Easter festivities here run by the Orthodox calender, so yesterday for Palm Sunday we had Msahkhan which is chicken roasted with onions and sumac on fresh bread. It was delicious.

We've all noticed that food in Ramallah has taken on a new look. Whereas most dishes would previously have been served from a big dish family style, individual presentation is taking on a new role in Palestinian cuisine.

I'm In The West Bank

I've been in the West Bank now for about 4 days. Getting to Ramallah from Amman was a feat in itself. More on that later.

Being here has reopened my mind and my heart to the Middle East. I have been frustrated the past year or so with all things Israel or Palestine. Ramallah has renewed my passion and love for my people and my desire to see peace. However, being here also been intensely frustrating and disheartening and made me wonder what exactly peace could be like.

I almost feel like Israel's main purpose in dealing with Palestinians is to frustrate us to the point where we want to leave and never come back.

Irony abounds here and borders on hypocrisy, especially as Israel tries to cater to the religious tourism industry of mainly Christian visitors. This is a photo I shot of the barrier wall at the checkpoint on the way to Jerusalem. Note the sniper tower above the "Peace Be With You" banner...

Annapolis

This week we will see the first real peace talks concerning Israel and Palestine since 2000. I cannot help but have high hopes for this week's meetings in Annapolis.

Dozens of Middle East countries will be represented and President Bush will be leading the dog and pony show. But ultimately it is up to the Palestinian and Israeli delegations whether we talk about Annapolis in 6 months or 6 years as a milestone or a set back.

I am hopeful, idealistically hopeful, that Palestinians and Israelis can love peace more than violence and be willing to sacrifice more for real peace than we have for continued violence. I don't expect revolutionary results, but I will be praying that anything resembling humility and care for each others humanity will come from this weeks talks.

Please join me in praying for healing, humility, and courage for all of the participants. I don't think any of these politicians can heal the divide between Palestinians and Israelis, but I do believe they have an opportunity and responsibility to start that process, insh'allah. We must continue to hope that change will come, or we are doomed to the grief we already reject.

Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Recently I had the pleasure of studying Matthew 5:1-12 with our Mosaic small group. I enjoyed the new perspective on this familiar passage that my friends brought to our study.

We were inspired by a few things from the passage. First, that when Jesus says “Blessed,” He is not talking about being lucky. I think we often use the term blessed to talk about how lucky we feel. “Oh, I am blessed to have….” Jesus is talking about a Godly favor that people can count on, not material possessions or luck. He is offering the Kingdom to people who would not ordinarily receive much good or much favor.

We all liked the eternal hopefulness and eternal perspective that this passage thrives on. We saw the eternal as the reason why persecution fits so well into this passage. No one goes out looking for persecution, but Jesus seems to say that following Him may bring persecution, and that is ok. Persecution is not something to run from or to pray for God to end, but to embrace. That was a tough word for us to handle and I am still mulling that one over.

When I read this passage I tend to focus on the peacemakers part of things in verse 9. My friends gave me some great perspective on this verse, namely that peacemaking is not a passive undertaking, but rather an active and different kind of fight. We also found that peacemaking is the responsibility of the whole family of God, namely believers. This responsibility for peacemaking put the idea of persecution into perspective.

Efforts at peacemaking are often resisted, and people may be persecuted for doing good things. I see this as a regular occurrence for Palestinian Christians in the Middle East. Palestinian Christians are being pushed to the fringes, and the more they advocate peace, the more persecution they receive.

It is nothing new for Palestinian Christians to be attacked or harassed by Muslim authorities. But lately this harassment has increased in frequency and intensity. The family of God is being attacked for following Jesus. I don’t see Christians cowering or running away, but coming together and praying. I see Palestinian Christians appealing for help and embracing their roles as peacemakers. They may not be lucky, but they are blessed.

Cause For Hope

The British Army ended Operation Banner on Friday, removing most British soldiers from Northern Ireland. Operation Banner started nearly four decades ago to combat terrorism and restore order. The British soldiers of Operation Banner often served to inflame rather than calm the tensions in Northern Ireland, the most notable case being Bloody Sunday.

There is so much parity between the occupying British forces in Northern Ireland and the occupying Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank. Northern Ireland was Britains's Gaza for about 30 years. But seeing how bad things were in Northern Ireland and how bright the future now looks, I can only hope that similar resolution and reconciliation can come between Israelis and Palestinians. Twenty or thirty years ago, I am sure many British and Irish saw no hope in sight. But today we can celebrate that, God willing, things can and will get better. There is hope and we must continuing pursuing it.

Here's to reconciliation and hope.