Rachel's Tomb

On my MUST SEE list before I left home was Rachel's Tomb. There is a story in the Bible about a man named Jacob, whose wife dies in childbirth while they are taking a journey towards Bethleham. Jacob then builds a memorial to her. It is called Rachel's Tomb and is a very important site to Mulims, Jews and Christians. I am not sure why it is so important to them or why it seemed so important to me. But I was drawn towards it.

During our very short time in Bethleham we had a wonderful taxi driver who took us to several interesting places, including his mother's home high up on a hill with a beautiful view (more about that later.) He also tried to take us to Rachel's tomb. 4 times. At all different times of the day. We tried it 3 times from the Arab side of the wall and then on the 4th try he dropped us off so we could cross into Isreal to see it from the Israeli side. Or try to see it from the Israeli side.

There was a very high, very solid concrete fence all around where we supposed Rachel's Tomb was. Our taxi driver and everyone in Bethleham we spoke to about it, knew what it was and exactly where it was. Louis ( our taxi driver) took us there with no hesitation. He did, however, warn us it may be closed.

The situation was completely different when we tried from the Isreal side. No one seemed to know what we were talking about and sent us in one direction, through gates and fences and checkpoints and then back another way. There was a blue sign with an arrow that said Rachel's Tomb. We would point at it and repeat ourselves. But the Isrealis seemed at a loss. Several tried to be helpful and even looked at a map with us so we could visit this very important Jewish site that apparently is completely walled off. How can they consider it so important and not even know what or where it is?

Apparently all the Palestinian homes and businesses any where near this wall are closed off from the main stream of society and have gone out of business. The wall was decorated with many political sayings and pictures.

We never did see Rachel's Tomb.

This very small site seems very significant to me. Why would they wall this off? It seems there is an Israeli settlement somewhere around or inside this wall. We could not find the settlements, the empty Palestinian homes, businesses or the memorial. We did find many Isreali checkpoints, fences, police and barricades. It was frustrating to know we were so close and yet so far.

This small frustration made me think even more about what the Palestinians go through every day, many times a day.

MY Religion

My heart has opened unto every form.
It is a pasture for gazelles, a cloister for Christian monks, a temple for idols, the Ka'ba of the pilgrim, the tablets of the Koran.
I practice the religion of Love: in whatsoever directions its caravans advance, the religion of Love shall be my religion and my faith.

Ibn 'Arabi

Religions

When I first decided to go to the Middle East a little over 5 weeks ago one of my first thoughts was "I need to know something about the Muslim and the Jewish religions." I was raised Christian (Nazarene) and it took me a long time to come to the realization that the Bible was a story book and Jesus was just a man, all be it a kind and compassionate man.

I only had about a week and a half to do all the reading and research I wanted to do. So in addition to the travel books and Palestinian history books I also read a book called The World's Religions by Huston Smith. In a nutshell the conclusion (reinforced) I came to was all religions, including Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have way more in comman then they do differences. The other conclusion (also reinforced) was if all these religions stuck to what they are founded on and what they say they believe the world would be a great place.

Some facts:

Islam is derived from the word meaning peace and surrender. Peace comes when one surrenders to God.

Those who adhere to Islam are Muslims. Allah means God.

God created the world and humans.

Abraham married Sarah. Sarah could not have children so he then married Hagar. Hagar had a son named Ishmael. Then Sarah miraculously had a son named Isaac. Of course Sarah and Hagar did not like each other so Ishmael left to go to Mecca. His followers became Muslims. Isaac remained in Palestine. His followers were Hebrew and became Jews.

The times called for a deliverer. Ishmael's line led to Muhammad. He insisted all people are equal. He was ridiculed. Then in 622 there was a migration which was a turning point in history.

Muhammad's administration was a blend of justice and mercy. He died with almost all of Arabia under his control. He is considered one of the most influential figures in history.

The basic theological concepts of Islam are identical with those of Judaism and Christianity. Focus is a single invisible god. It is not proper for God to have children. They fear Allah. (God)

Muslims believe that once we come to terms with the fear of our lives precariousness, other lesser fears subside. Then comes peace.

In the Koran (which means recitation), God's compassion and mercy are cited 192 times, wrath and vengeance 17 times. They believe the material world is real, important and good. The Koran emphasizes deed rather than idea.

Infidel means one who lacks thankfulness.

To be a slave to Allah is to be freed from other forms of slavery. Surrender = Commitment.

We must live, according to our own opinion, decent and harmless lives and should not draw attention to ourselves. Islam teaches us to walk the straight path.

Every action is classified on a sliding scale from forbidden, to indifferent, to obligatory.

5 pillars -

1. There is No God but God.

2. Be constant

3. Charity

4. Observance of Ramadan - fasting makes one think and teaches self discipline.

5. Pilgrimage - it is a reminder of human equality and brings people together from various countries.

4 areas of collective life

1. economics - a societies health requires that material goods be widely and appropriately distributed, balanced and fair. It prohibits the taking of interest.

2. The status of women - forbade inficide and ensured a woman's right as a citizen. Sanctified marriage. Does allow polygamy. Veiling is a local custom, not religious.

3. Stresses equality

4. Use of force - believes in justice. A righteous war must either be defensive or to right a wrong.


Each soul will be held accountable for it's actions.

So I do not think we can find much fault in someone believing and living by those ideals, can we?


On to Judaism.

1/3 of western civilization has Jewish ancestry. Jews have often been overlooked throughout history. Many years ago they chose Canaan (about the size of New Jersey) when they finally settled down.

What lifted them to religious greatness is their passion for meaning. They believe we must not be prosaic, chaotic, amoral, or hostile.

They were monotheists from early on. They believe God is a God of righteousness, kindness and love.

They relish nature. They believe possessions are so good more people should have more of them. Judaism and it's offspring, Christianity, are the most materialistic religions in the world.

Jews are acutely aware of human limitations-moral not physical.

The word sin comes from miss the mark.

History is of towering significance because
1. the context in which life is lived affects that life in every way

2. Social action is very important

3. History is a field of opportunity. Nothing in history happens accidentally. Events, all of them important are not equally important. When opportunities pass they are gone forever.

Jews believe

1. God has directly intervened in history

2. They are a chosen people

Abraham answered Gods call and became the first Hebrew-the first of a chosen people.

Accent is on not what ought to or should be. Judaism laid the groundwork for social protest because of tension between possibilities and frustrations.

Hebrew Bible contains 613 commandments that regulate human behavior. There are 4 main danger zones:

1. force (thou shalt not murder)

2. wealth (thou shalt not steal)

3. sex (thou shalt not commit adultery)

4. speech ( thou shalt not bear false witness)


Prophet means one who speaks for God.

The prerequisite of political stability is social justice. It is the nature of things that injustice will not endure. Simply by virtue of his or her humanity every human being is a child of God and therefore in possession of rights that even kings must respect. There must be meaning in suffering. Those that remain faithful on adversity will be vindicated. In the end their rights will be restored. Lives that are willing to endure pain may help others be spared of it.

Jews are united more by what they do then by what they think. Ritual and tradition are very important.

I know this is long but I think it explains a lot.

Orientation

A little basic background information.

We entered Gaza across the southern Egypt border into Rafah. We drove to Gaza city which is where we stayed every night.

On International Women's Day my group drove along the sea to Khan Younis. The drive took us about an hour.

Gaza is about 25 miles long and 6 miles wide.

1 and 1/2 million people live in Gaza.

The other 2 sides of Gaza are bordered by Isreal.

The sea and airspace is controlled by Isreal.

Map of Gaza

What do I say?

One week ago I returned home from my "vacation."

Everyone is asking me "How was your trip? Did you have a good time?"

What do I say? It all seems so surreal now.

Did I really see families living in tents in front of their bombed out homes? Did I really meet a man and his 2 sons who live in 2 rooms the size of my bathroom with their mother and 8 brothers and sisters? Did I really hear bombs exploding all night, every night, keeping me awake for hours? Did I really see those sadly displayed memorials of bullet holes in dead children and body parts sticking up out of the ground? Did I really hold in my hands the bombs and artillery pieces labeled "Made in the USA" that had been collected from numerous demolished neighborhoods? Was I really told to wash my hands because those pieces may contaminate me with white phosphorus?

Did I actually meet warm, wonderful, giving people who fed me breakfast and danced and laughed with me in spite of what is being done to them with my country being a part of it?

I just returned from a delegation for International Women's Day to Gaza.

What do I say when I am asked "How was your trip?"

A Beginning

I just returned Friday night from my trip to Gaza with a delagation of over 60 people.

I stayed the night in San Francisco with my daughter to attend the Saturday Peace March ( my daughter's first) and then drove home to Monterey. The rest of the afternoon and most of the next day was spent in what seemed like a lot of hours with two demanding little grandbabies who missed me a lot and had way too much energy for my jet lagged body.

I slept a few hours.

Now on the eve of my fourth day back to work I must be there at 6 am. After that I plan on processing what I saw and experienced in Gaza, the West Bank and Isreal. The words that come to mind at this early hour are suffering, unfairness, oppression and murder.

But also resilience, love and hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

Many of you who know me know I am not a writer or a speaker. Nor am I technically savey. I do not know how to put my pictures on Flicker or how to create a blog. (although now I do!!!) I do however feel the urgency of getting the word out to as many people as we can about the horrific situation in Gaza and the West Bank and about the part our country plays in this situation.

So, I am going to try to be timely in my wading through all the information, pictures, and materials I collected in the little over 2 weeks I was away and present it to those of you who are interested in a somewhat coherent manner.

This blog is the beginning.