Jerusalem: Political Divisions

Today's focus was very serious and enlightening for the entire group.  We began with a lecture by Neil Lazarus, who took us through a historical perspective of the political divisions in Israel and Jerusalem specifically.  He began with a film that opened with Yerushalayim Shel Zahav and focused on how much of Jerusalem do we really know, and how much do we want to know.  Are we satisfied with the beauty of the song and the vision of Jerusalem, or do we need to include all the warts?  Jamie, our guide, then took the group on a tour of the security fence, raising questions throughout the tour of the location of the fence, who wanted it in the first place, and how it affects both Israelis and Palestinians.  He elaborated on the difficulty Palestinians have traveling from one side of the fence, or is it called a wall, to the other.  The side that they live on to the side where they work, grow their crops and so on.

We then met up with one of the Rabbis for Human Rights, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, who reviewed for the group the overall goal of RHR and the experiences that he has had reaching out to the Palestinians who HE felt were being oppressed by Israel.  He raised many questions about the need for Israel to assume such a role or whether their goals could be accomplished in a more humane fashion.  He believes that as Jews we have an obligation to treat others with dignity and respect and sees that as a way of building bridges.  Rabbi Ascherman then took the group to a Palestinian Village where we met a Palestinian man in front of his home.   The overriding issue was ownership of land. The Palestinian man concluded that the Israelis only want war and although he is friends with Israeli Jews, he does not any faith in the government.  He told stories of harsh treatment, which included several nights spent in Israeli jails.

As we were leaving, we met up with his next-door neighbor, an Orthodox Jew.  He spoke briefly and very emphatically claimed that all the land was Jewish and that Palestinians have absolutely no claim to it.  What he had to say made most people very uncomfortable but showed the extreme views held by many settlers.

We boarded the bus and headed back to Fuchsberg (the USCJ base in Jerusalem),  where we listened to two members of the Parents' Circle, an organization of Israeli Jews and Palestinians who have lost close family members. Both spoke of the grief but their need to reconcile this grief and begin to speak with people from the other side.   Avraham spoke about a son he lost over 30 years ago and believes the effort that he is making to establish bonds with Palestinians is the best way to heal.  The Palestinian woman, Siham, spoke of her losing her brother as he was shot at close range by an Israeli soldier who she knew.  After a period of grief and anger, she felt that the best way to heal would be to meet with this soldier and have him come to her home and meet her family and learn what they had lost.  This has yet to happen. This session was a highly emotional and enlightening experience for the entire group.

Poster's Note:   at this stage we are having difficulty posting pictures and videos at Fuchsberg.  We hope this can be resolved soon.