Not So Holy: My Trip to Israel & Palestine
This year I was provided an opportunity to travel to Israel and Palestine for the first time. In hearing of this trip, I was very excited from the start, as I had never been to “the Holy Land.” I knew this visit would be a once-in-a-lifetime journey for me, thanks to the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers), ABC Metro Chicago Region, and a private gift sponsoring my travel. I was told from the beginning this was not going to be a “touristy” trip. The core of this delegation’s work was listening to folks on the ground. This was going to be an in-depth experience of what is really occurring in the daily lives of Israelis and Palestinians. Yes, I would see the “holy” sites, but the focus was experiencing the apartheid life of the Palestinian people.
I met many people and heard emotional stories during the nine days I was there visiting various locations. For example, in Jerusalem I spoke with a young man, 16 years old, held in home detention for over a year because he was accused of throwing a rock at an Israeli vehicle. Even after a witness said the boy was not there, he was remanded back to detention while the Israeli government tried to find a witness to say he was there. This Christian young man faces 10 years in prison if convicted. An overwhelming number of young Palestinians are placed in prisons, jails, or home detention for accusations such as these. As I walked through the old city of Jerusalem, I noted the huge presence of Israeli soldiers. It was so oppressive, the prospect of visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher or the Western Wall seemed less appealing. Viewing these sites, while lovely, did not hide the stories of Israel holding Palestinians in subjugation.
This experience reminded me of the system of apartheid in South Africa. One must pass through multiple check points, go around concrete walls and electrified barb wire fencing, and carry special ID cards. These were the same barriers in apartheid South Africa. Walls were built to keep Palestinians out of certain areas and force them to spend hours going around these barriers to shop, visit relatives, or even worship. I would learn that in a 1997 speech on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa, reaffirmed his support for Palestinian rights. He said, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
Young women tell their story of being turned away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Courtesy of Michael Ware)
Two young Palestinian women told us the story of how their family contacted authorities, requested the necessary paperwork, and prepared it so they could go to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s most holy site in Jerusalem. Even though the 14- and 16-year-olds had completed all the required documents and made the long trek from their community, they were turned away at the Jerusalem checkpoint. They were told their paperwork was no longer acceptable, so they would have to start all over again. When these two teenagers spoke about the crushing blow their family experienced, it was a hard truth to hear. Yet these young ladies told us they will try and try again. Denials by government officials at the checkpoint in Jerusalem will not deter them from their faithful desire to pray at the mosque one day. Just a few days later, our group was allowed to enter this most holy Islamic site. Those young women’s stories replayed in my heart as I walked around the beautiful Al-Aqsa Mosque. My prayers that day were for them.
The many stories shared with me from everyday folks and leaders on the ground working for their humanity have remained with me, long past the memories of sites I visited. The desire to live in peace and harmony in the land is what the Palestinians seek, alongside some Israelis. Peace and justice will only come through sharing in the land, equal protection under the law, and freedom to achieve economic power (as a start). Israel and Palestine may never have a one-state solution, but they must find a way to bring peace and justice to all of their peoples.
Israeli Defense Force soldiers follow the delegation throughout the settlement in Hebron during “the hardest day of the trip.” (Courtesy of Michael Ware)
Gas canisters are regularly shot into Palestinian villages. (Courtesy of Michael Ware)
