Daily Joys

I'll admit it. Even though I've lived here for 2 1/2 years now, I still have times where I get homesick. Now, that I'm going home in two weeks for a vacation and I'm super anxious to see my sister's new little baby, Aurora, I'm getting moments of homesickness. Mostly I think about all the things I could do in the US, that I can't do here. It's at times like these when I need to remember the little things that I enjoy.

So with that, I decided to show you guys a little bit about my daily life going to University. Sometimes I forget it, but I like the flowers and the views along the way and I took some pictures for you to see what life is like for me.

Pretty colors in my neighborhood and along the way.





Here's a view of the British Cemetery along the way, where all the British soldiers who died in WWI in this area are buried.


My favorite part is when the trees open up and I see a lovely view of the Old City and the Dome of the Rock!


Finally, some shots of the entrance to my school.

Wadi Akhartoon

I don't always want to post about politics, but want a chance to share about the beauty of everyday life in Palestine as well. Oe of those beauties is the nature. When I get a chance to hike, which isn't as often as I would like, I am reminded of the beautiful countryside in Palestine and reminded of what life could be like here if people could live relaxed and free lives without conflict.

About a month ago, I went on a hike to Wadi Akhartoon. It is a valley, located just outside of Bethlehem, near the Herodian. It is the second time I've hiked. It is a very easy place to get too, and it helps remind me of nature and the fascinating ruins that are always present in this country, even if I don't know what they are.


First of all, here is a shot of the Herodian. (I know it was one of Herod's fortresses, but I regret to say, I've never been there, so I'm not exactly sure what the Herodian is.


The gang: Janelle, Luke, Abby (volunteers with the Lutheran Young Adults in Global Mission program), Timo (a Finnish doctoral student), and Me.


A glimpse of the ruins and caves we will see along the way.


These caves littered the valley and are found throughout the Judean desert. They were created by monks looking to remove themselves from society in order to pray in the very first few centuries.


We spent a good deal of time coming up with stories for what this was.


This is what Janelle so fondly referred to as a "Village of Caves."


Another ruined structure with the Herodian in the background.


Thanks to Timo's keen eyes, we saw many creatures: Rock Badgers, Stick bugs, birds, and this lizard, which you can barely see because it blends into the rock.


Towards the end of our walk, we turned a corner where we could look down the valley and just barely see the start of the Judean desert at the end of the valley.


Enjoying our little lunch


Janelle and Luke.


Timo and Abby.


Unfortunately, even a lovely morning hike is not free from reminders of the conflict. We could see settlements on every hilltop surrounding the valley. Here is a picture of one of the illegal settlements. Remember we were hiking deep inside the West Bank.


As we hiked further, we turned a corner and could see the other side of the settlement, which is well developed with new homes, typified by their red roofs. This is how settlements work. They start of with trailer homes (as seen in the first picture on one side of the settlement) and gradually develop, building more permanent and extravagant homes. The first picture shows this settlement expanding. Soon their will be red roofed homes replacing those trailer homes.

As you can see, life here is lovely, but the conflict always seems to crop up, never letting you be free of its effects or thoughts.

The Myth of Jerusalem Day

Yesterday was Jerusalem Day. An official Israeli holiday in which people celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem after it was captured by Israel in 1967.

Why is the reunification and unity of Jerusalem a myth:
1. Because there is still a clear delineation between East and West Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is largely Palestinian, and West Jerusalem is largely Israeli. There is little cross over between the two communities, and they even have their own bus systems.
2. Now that Israel controls both sides of Jerusalem, they are responsible for the municipal services for both sides. However, East Jerusalem is largely neglected. There are few parks, no street cleaning, small roads, and lack of schools for youth. If the Israeli government really wanted Jerusalem to be united, they would give equal services to both sides.
3. The plan of the Israeli government for Jerusalem is for it to be a Jewish capital. This has led to many discriminatory laws towards East Jerusalem and the Palestinian population. Many areas of East Jerusalem are set aside as "Green Zones" over large Palestinian neighborhoods, with the plan to evict these people from their houses and create parks in these areas. For this reason, Palestinians cannot build in these areas, and thus cannot provide for their families. If they do build, their homes are often demolished. The government of Israel also allows settlements to be built and inhabited in East Jerusalem. These settlements only allow people who are Jewish to live in them. Often settlers steal land, or even forcibly evict Palestinians from their homes in the middle of the night and move in.

Jerusalem is not a united a city, but still a divided city, which suffers under laws and attitudes of racism and discrimination.

May 15th - Nakba Day

I've written about Nakba day before on my blog (see HERE). Nakba day is May 15th every year. It is the day that Palestinians mourn the loss of their homes and land during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. It marks the year when at least 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. This day is used as a day to remember what happened in 1948, and also is used to mourn the fact that Palestinians do not have a homeland to this day and are currently living under Israeli occupation.

Nakba day is usually commemorated by demonstrations and also visits to people's former villages before 1948. This year, there were many demonstrations, in Gaza, the West Bank, and even on the borders of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Many Palestinian refugees were marching to the borders of Israel to demand their right of return, with people crossing the borders in some places.

The Israeli government has termed these demonstrations "riots" and has focused on the fact that Israel's borders have been breached and claimed that the Palestinians on Sunday were not "clamoring for a Palestinian State, but for Israel's destruction." (New York Times article - Israel's Leader Outlines Points before U.S. Trip).

These demonstrations, instead remind of Martin Luther King, Jr. who encouraged non-violent direct action and civil disobedience. Luther said, "The willingness to accept the penalty for breaking the unjust law is what makes civil disobedience a moral act and not merely an act of lawbreaking." All of these demonstrations started out non-violently, with un-armed demonstrators marching towards borders that are illegal under international law. Their idea was to say that we should be allowed to go there, so we will try. As with most demonstrations, the Israel army's initial response is to shoot tear gas canisters and rubber bullets. Only after this violence were stones thrown on the part of some Palestinian youths. The Israel Defense Forces has now issued videos saying that their use of tear gas and rubber bullets was justified because of Palestinians throwing stones. There is an obvious imbalance in this view.

Many writers have mentioned the fact that the protests throughout the region have influenced the protests of this years Nakba Day, giving them a different tone than previous years. One writer noted that, "The overall makeup of the crowd, featuring older women and men as well as students, was a change from previous years." (TIME article - see below) I get the feeling as I live here, that these demonstrations show a different tone. The Palestinian Authority is building up to September, when they will issue a request to the UN Security Council for recognition of the Palestinian State, Fatah and Hamas have reconciled, and people are choosing non-violence as their main mode of demanding their rights. These people, men, women, young and old, gathered together to use non-violent direct action, and were willing to die (as some did) to show the world the injustices that they face daily. Their courage gives me hope that one day a Palestinian State will exist and that both Israelis and Palestinians will be equal.

Read more:
TIME article : Palestinian Border Protests: The Arab Spring Model for Confronting Israel

New York Times: Nakba Day Protest Videos

The first video on this link is good. It shows people from Syria marching toward the Israeli border. The border in this area, has separated people from families, leaving the same families split between two different countries, who can now not see each other. The video shows families hugging and kissing as they see each other for the first time in many years.