Bet Jala - between Gilo and Har Gilo

Another farmer who asked for our help lives in Bet Jala, but his olive and almond trees are in the valley between Gilo and Har Gilo - now on the other side of a checkpoint fence. He lives in the small shelter there to keep his access to the orchard and to ensure that no more of his land is taken over by the settlements all around. They cut off his access to water and electricity, nor allow him to add on to his shelter. It took two hours of waiting, and cricket play, but we were able to get through the checkpoint to harvest olives for the day.

While we waited outside Beitar Illit

We waited around outside Beitar Illit for a while to see if they would change their mind. See how the Norwegians in our group passed the time!

Beitar Illit Settlement and the confiscation of olive trees

A farmer thought that he might have an easier time harvesting his olive trees that have been fenced inside the illegal settlement of Beitar Illit, southwest of Bethlehem, if he had the help of internationals to help. He had all of the permissions signed, but we were not let inside the settlement to do so. Another farmer who is no longer given access to his orchard now attempts to work as a day laborer inside the settlement just to make ends meet. Because of our presence there that day, all of the day workers were not allowed in. Here what he has to say.

Abu Dis

This neighborhood in East Jerusalem has been divided by the wall that separates families and businesses from one another. More illegal settlements continue to be built in East Jerusalem despite this violation against Oslo and the "Road Map."

Hebron - a view inside the occupation

Hebron is the ancient city in Southern Judea where Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac are buried. It is also a place of contention, with extremist Israeli settlers attempting to take over the old city. We met a man whose home was being squatted by settlers, despite the Israeli Supreme Court decision to evict them. 2000 soldiers work here to protect 400 settlers that the government is considering removing because of their violence against Palestinian children on their way to school and civilians who live there.

Tel Megiddo

Tel Megiddo is one of the most ancient cities in the world, having first been inhabited nearly 9,000 years ago and being rebuilt 28 times after successive sieges and processes of rebuilding. Because of its strategic position on the trade routes between Assyria and Egypt, controlling this city meant controlling trade throughout the entire region.

Picking Olives in the West Bank

Keep Hope Alive is the Joint Action Initiative of the YMCA and YWCA in Palestine. They invite internationals to come plant trees and harvest trees each year. The Bay Area, CA Keep Hope Alive group sends two groups each year: a planting team in February and a harvest team in October. Harvesting on land most under threat from confiscation by settlers and the wall is an important part of this work of solidarity.

Elias Jabbour - House of Hope - Shefar Am, Israel

Elias Jabbour is a Christian elder in the Galilean village who helps teach and lead the process of Sulha - Arabic for reconciliation. In our time with him, he describes the process and his hope for peace in Israel-Palestine.

Day 15 and Beyond

Dear Friends,

Allan and Nancy said goodbye to Alvin, Bill and Will in Paris airport on Monday night to meet up with their daughter Karen for a week in France together. Late the next night, Alvin, Bill and Will arrived safely at SFO tired and still considering how we can best tell the fullness of what we experienced. Max went on to Spain (and caught some great waves!) and made it back on the 5th. Zelda remains to volunteer in various schools for the next few days. Do email Will at willymac4@comcast if you would like to schedule a presentation sometime after Thanksgiving.

Day 14 - More pictures while we wait for the taxi

The Olive Press Co-operative in the Bethlehem area. Farmers bring their olives in here in a big bag, and walk away with large plastic jugs of pure olive oil. Then the next farmer comes in to have his family's olives pressed. We saw one man standing on the street selling his oil as soon as he was finished. Tasty stuff!

Day 13 - Worship in Jerusalem and Saying Goodbye

Today we took a trip into Jerusalem to worship at St. George's Cathedral, the seat of the Arab Anglican Bishop of the region, Bishop Suheil. A bishop from England, Bishop John Parker gave the sermon and we participated in holy communion. The organ there was quite something to here, and it was good to be among other pilgrims from around the world worshiping together.

We had lunch in the old city, at a rooftop cafe overlooking the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Dome of the Rock. We then went to the Wailing Wall one last time, before making our way back to the bus. Boy was the bus crowded, with standing room only. You can't beat six shekels for a trip back to Bethlehem, having been taken advantage of by the taxi driver on the way in, but it was quite crowded for the locals who take this route everyday to their jobs in East Jerusalem.

Tonight we had an evaluation of the trip and a musical concert and celebration of our time together with the other internationals. The Al Arabia reporter that followed our groups showed the clips that she send in to Dubai about the olive harvest. A couple of them included interviews with us, including one clip about this blog, but the audio tracks weren't playing correctly so we couldn't hear part of it. Hearing Arabic for part of the clip, then nothing at all, made it all pretty funny to watch. We hope to get an English version of the clips sometime soon, but if you have satellite, look for us on Al Arabia. Some people left early in the morning, but our flight doesn't leave until Monday afternoon. See you all soon.

Day 12 - A Peaceful Day Near Nahalin

Today, we went to a farm nestled between two hilltop outposts, makeshift settlements of trailers and small buildings placed on Palestinian land, where extreme Israeli settlers hope to further their expansion of other major settlements in the area around the small Palestinian villages of Jaba' and Nahalin. Once these settlers move in, however, the Israeli government runs roads, water, and power to these outposts, and then helps protect them with the military. Once these "facts on the ground" change, it is easier for politicians to include such areas within the Separation Wall that will run through this area. The farmer told us that the wall is planned to go around his village, separating him from two of his three fields, and the wall will go right through Jaba' separating neighbor from neighbor.

Despite this reality, this Muslim family goes about their work, harvesting their 200 olive trees and working to protect what is left of their land. Today's picking was more joyous and celebratory, as we have heard of past harvests, without the interruption of either soldiers or settlers. Since this was a Saturday, the whole family came out to pick olives, and kids were quite hilarious. Will's stomach was upset most of the day, and the father made an herbal tea for him. Here are some of the pictures that the children took of us today.

This afternoon we went to see the Olive Press co-op, a series of machines that clean, press, de-pit, and then compress the oil out of the mash. Quite a process.

Day Eleven - More Pictures

Olive picking pictures.

Day 11 - A Full Day of Olives

We left the hotel early to drive to Bet Jala, a suburb of Bethlehem, where we were to pick olives today. We arrived and met the farmer at a checkpoint that separates his land from the historic municipality of Bet Jala. The Israeli Defense Force placed the fence in between the farmer’s house and olive groves, and basically included him and his family in the jurisdiction of Greater Jerusalem. This means that only he and his family can help with the harvest of over 300 trees. Their neighbors up the hill left Palestine to move to Chile, where they could more easily make a living. When they are gone for three years, the Israeli government will claim the land and add it to the Gilo Settlement on the top of the hill – the reason presented as to why the family is separated from their neighbors in Bet Jala. Because his house is now on the other side of the wall, they will not allow him to drive his car through the accepted district of Jerusalem in Israel to his home. His only means of transportation is now a motor scooter, or the option to walk half a mile to the fence and then call a taxi from Bet Jala.

When the soldiers wouldn’t let us in, the farmer appealed to their superior, and we waited around in the sun for two hours. While we waited the British and Australians played cricket with some makeshift sticks and a hackysac. Zelda and Allan organized a litter pick-up in the adjoining olive tree field. The mother came out with tea, and we got to know the family better.

Eventually, they let us in after checking all of our passports, and drove back to check on us at regular intervals. Sometimes they waved, and once they gave us the “thumbs up.” It was a full day of hard labor. Will says, “My dad always told me that if I went to school I wouldn’t become a ditch digger.” So why do I keep finding labor-intensive service projects like building labyrinths and picking olives?

The family was very hospitable. They joined us in the picking and provided a great lunch under the shade of the olive trees were picking. We guess that we picked about 10-12 trees or 200 to 250 lbs of olives. Needless to say, we are all pretty sore and achy right now. 12 trees out of 300 isn’t a huge contribution, but we could tell that our presence and solidarity with the family meant a lot to them and their neighbors. The mother does handmade Palestinian embroidery of scarves, shirts, dresses, and purses. She invited everyone to come in and see what they would like. She is quite talented, and it looked like her quality was greater than that at the shops in Jerusalem. We took a brief tour of the area, driving to the Cremisan Franciscan Winery, which has been moved from the city of Bet Jala to the Greater Jerusalem district. The proximity of the massive settlements, built on their Palestinian neighbors land, continues to push those who remain to the margins of survival and separates them from their historic neighbors.

Day 10 – Conference in Bethlehem

The YMCA and YWCA and the Alternative Tourism Group sponsored their first international conference our group went to today. Will was on a panel with Kristel Letchert of the Dutch Olive Tree Campaign who talked about strategies and Connie Hackbarth who spoke about what is going on in Jewish peace communities and justice for Palestinians. People from all over the world were there to talk about how we can work for a just peace between Israel and Palestine. Will spoke on the role of the church in this peace work.

Very serious and somewhat sad Palestinians and Syrians discussed the ongoing occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. They gave numbers and statistics on what different advocacy groups are doing and can possibly do together to bring an end to the illegal occupation. It was well thought out, and the moderators kept the conversation focus. Over lunch, we were able to informally interact with other internationals and even met some good folks from Sacramento. It was a good time. We got a lot of ideas about what we can do when we come home, and we will be looking for churches, synagogues, mosques, and service organizations to show what life is like in the Occupied Territories. Do you want to host such a presentation in late November through January? Email Will at willymac4@comcast.net



We had dinner at the Grotto Restaurant with our friend Christy Reiners, who was Will’s teammate on the Peacemaking Program’s group of 100 in May of 2006. Good food, and good to catch up with Christy’s service projects here.

Day Nine - Palestinian Hospitality

A fellow Presbyterian from Minnesota, who was on the Keep Hope Alive olive harvest last year, loaned Will McGarvey a cell phone for our use in Palestine. He also called a Palestinian businessman (Majdi) here in Beth Sahour to let him know we were here. While we were working on our blog Tuesday evening in the hotel lobby, we heard someone ask at the desk for Will. He came over and introduced himself and before we knew it, he had invited us (all 6 of us) to his home for dinner the following night. He brought us to his Bedouin gift shop where we met his oldest son and a couple from Minnesota---the Palestinian husband grew up with Majdi and met his wife in Minnesota some 26 years ago and come back often to Bethlehem. His family owns a garage not far from Majdi’s.

Majdi’s home is close to his shop so some of us could walk while he drove to park his car in the carport. He introduced us to his family; 3 sons and his wife. His wife prepared an excellent dinner but did not sit down to join us, apparently embarrassed about her English. Zelda mentioned that we had the custom of giving thanks before a meal and Majdi led us in an Arabic grace. We ate without cutlery but had enough Pita bread to move the food around off the small plates and into our mouths. The hit was his own prepared olives with broiled chicken, tomato salad, humus, cucumbers, vegetables and pickles. He showed us how to dip the bread in olive oil and a dish of zaater, a dry mixture of thyme and sesame seeds. Ummm. We have found the Palestinians very friendly and hospitable. Majdi told of his concern for his sons and his willingness to make a special sacrifice to send them to private schools to ensure a good education. He also takes an active part in their activities and their friends. When his sons meet new friends, he tells how he casually gets them to bring them to the store so that he can meet them and how he checks with his friends to find out about their families. He wants to make sure they don’t get in with a bad crowd and drugs.

While we were finishing up dinner, we heard 3 loud bangs and we all decided it was time to go home. Majdi drove Nancy, Zelda, and Bill back to the hotel, while Will, Allan and Alvin walked up to the main street, only to find the stores quickly closing up. While walking to the street, our eyes stung a little and we squeezed into the grocery store while they were closing. The proprietor was closing so we went out to the street and ducked back into a driveway between 2 buildings. We could see the Israeli solders coming down the street with their searchlight scanning the buildings. A taxi drove in front of us and we didn’t hesitate to jump in for a ride back to the hotel. Naturally, Majdi was worried about his oldest son in the shop and we felt relieved that he didn’t have to make a special trip back to the hotel for us and that he could go check on his son. Talk about hospitality.

The next morning, we learned from our guide that the Israeli army regularly harasses and encroaches on Palestinian territory (in this case, Bethlehem). We also learned at dinner this evening with an American from Walnut Creek that it is quite common for the Israeli army to arrest anyone they want. She told us how the Israelis went into the University and arrested 20 students who were in the 98 percentile and held them on administrative leave, meaning that no charges were filed but still they were detained. How ironic it is that we only hear about how dangerous the Palestinians are when in fact it is the stronger, better equipped (with US taxpayers money) Israeli’s that are causing a whole nation to live in fear and anxiety. Being in Palestine and seeing the roadblocks, high Walls, Israeli soldiers all carrying their guns with their finger ready to pull the trigger, one quickly realizes the real cause for the lack of peace in Palestine is the military’s quest to drive the Palestinians from their country.

Day Nine - More Pics

Here are some more pictures. We caused quite a stir in the little village of Husan today as a group of 50 internationals. The children wanted to practice their English with us, and figure out what we were doing. It was a little hard to communicate with some, but they love to play games with us in the street. They loved to play the instruments of the Olive Picking Circus that are traveling with us. The teenage girls were pretty shy, but the younger boys and girls loved to take pictures with our cameras. As always, the highlights include meals shared by the families in back yards and the fields.

Day Nine - Twin Cities of Beitar and Husan

Our olive picking today was scheduled to be at a Palestinian olive grove that is now within the fence of a settlement in Beitar Illit, a half an hour south of Bethlehem. There are 38,364 settlers living in this settlement in the heart of the West Bank. The owner of the olive grove had talked to the private security guards earlier in the week to schedule the harvest of the grove, but when we arrived in the bus the guards didn’t know what to do. First they said no, then the captain came and said yes, then the police came and said no, and then the Israeli Defense Forces came and said yes to harvesting some of the farmer’s trees outside the fence, then said no and made us get back on the bus, and then after discussing it some more they did let us harvest outside the fence. And so we sat on the bus for a couple of hours, getting off when they said yes, only to return when the said no a few minutes later.

Settler’s from the settlement came out and watched the proceedings at the checkpoint. A journalist and camera crew from Al Arabiya News has been with us this week following our harvesting tour. They kept the cameraman busy with questions about what was on his tape, and told him he could go in if he erased his tape, including the previous interviews on them. Of course, he said no. Some of the settlers came over and watched us do the harvest along with the soldiers. Some of the settlers gave interviews to the journalist while we did the harvesting, giving their views about how the land belongs to the settlers, even though their houses have been built on privately owned Palestinian land. One settler mentioned that the Palestinians will all be expelled from the state of Israel, to Saudi Arabia or Iraq, even those who own their homes and orchards across the street in the town of Han. When the Palestinians leave, this land will be ours as promised in the Torah. Another settler said that “the settlers inside there are out of their mind, so don’t send the harvesters in there or the settlers will kill them.”

Abu Najy, the landowner has been assaulted by settlers four times while working on his trees within the settlement. Another time settlers have come and broken the windows and dented the sides of his car. Abu Najy was offered some 15 million shekels (over $4 million) for his land, but he refused. Still, the settlers treat his land as their own. Some of his Arab neighbors who own part of the land that the settlers have built upon are now day laborers, working for the people who have stolen their land. One such worker came over to the bus to thank us for our witness, but shared his sadness that our presence cost him a day’s work because they closed the checkpoint to all day laborers. Despite the fact we couldn’t help the farmer with his harvest, we found that our presence reminded those around us, both Israeli and Palestinian, of the injustices happening on a daily basis. It seems that there is no such thing as respect for the rule of law here, and no implementation of International Law. The Israeli Civil Administration has established two set of laws: one for Jews and another set that is far more restrictive for the Palestinians.

Day Eight – Jerusalem, more pictures

Day Eight – Jerusalem, the rest of the story

After lunch, we took a driving tour of the political situation going on in the holy city. We drove around the Old City east to Ma’ala Adumim, the large Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem. We drove through the tunnel and then through the desert to what looks like an expensive suburb with green grass, mature olive trees, and strip malls. In many ways, upon entering this city one is reminded of other affluent neighborhoods, with pools, and gyms, and upscale California Mediterranean housing and industrial parks. But after learning a bit more from Angela Godfrey-Goldstein of the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition, it seems that looks deceive.

These homes for 40,000 newcomers to Israel were built on land that 86% of which was privately held and confiscated from Palestinian Arabs. A number of Bedouin families have been forced to evacuate from the Negev and relocated in the area that is now the site of a new outpost that settlers hope to expand into a full blown city. The homes for these settlers have been built on a site that surrounds the water access formerly available to the Bedouin families. The ancient olive trees within the settlement have been uprooted from Palestinian farms and replanted within the settlement’s squares to give the impression that these settlements have been a permanent part of the landscape.

In addition to the settlements that are expanding the reach of Jerusalem to the east, there are a number of mini-settlements and compounds growing within Arab East Jerusalem, the suburb next to the Old City that Palestinians have hoped would be the capitol of a Palestinian State in the future. Further complicating life for the residents within East Jerusalem is the presence of a 28 foot tall concrete “Security Barrier.” Rather than separating Jewish and Arab neighborhoods, this wall is situated in a way that separates Arab from Arab neighbors, and cuts off the historic road from Jerusalem to Jericho mentioned by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

We also saw the effects of the Israeli policy on home building permits. While Jewish Israelis regularly receive building permits, Arab Israelis and citizens within the West Bank are regularly denied. After waiting years for an unavailable permit, people often go ahead and build on their property, even though the can expect to receive a demolition order. Since 1967, there have been 18,600 demolitions of such homes, and there are currently hundreds of demolition orders placed on other homes and apartment buildings. This is another way the Israeli government is making life hard for Palestinians and encouraging them to leave their ancestral homeland. This policy makes it easier for Jewish settlers to squat on the land and take it over.

If the wall were being built along the Green Line, the accepted boundary according to International Law in 1967, then the wall wouldn’t be twice as long as the boundary line. Instead, the wall cuts deep into the West Bank to claim a significant amount of the most arable land and water resources. Here, like in other places, the wall isn’t about securing Jewish safety within Israel but increasing the process of ethnic transfer and a land grab to make even Arab East Jerusalem a part of a Jewish “Greater Jerusalem,” extending from West Jerusalem to the furthest settlements beyond Ma’ala Adumim. This effectively cuts any future Palestinian state in the West Bank into two cantons, making a two state solution to the conflict that much more difficult to achieve.

Day Eight – Jerusalem, city of peace

We spent today in many parts of Jerusalem. The sheer conglomeration of the city can be too much. History stacks on top of history. The shopping, both among tourists and locals: Christians buying incense. The owner of the coffee shop yelling at his teenage sons upstairs. The women trying on bras over their clothes. The smells, the bells, the prayers in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Armenian, and even English. No matter who has sacked the city in the past, the city comes back.

We were walking down an alleyway in the Armenian Quarter after visiting the Wailing Wall, and looking up there was a tree growing out of the side of a building. Life, anew, growing out of the barren sandstone of a building hundreds of years old.

In the streets it was organized chaos. Pilgrims, worshippers, tourists, all walking around, and there we were in the holiest place for multiple religions. People bumping into you as you walk, slippery stones, and yet it was pleasurable and inspiring at the same time. Quite a dichotomy, yet wonderful.

Some of us connected with the holy sites, and others did not. It is hard to fully connect to other people’s faith tradition. For one person, little connection - it was one thing to pray at the Wailing Wall knowing that some of those around you are praying for the destruction of the Dome of the Rock so the Temple can be rebuilt. For another, gratitude in praying - remembering past prayers made there, for a mother who was independent and in good health at the time. For still another, holy site envy – envy for the historicity, impressiveness, and attention given to the sites of others – until he walked into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for the first time. Then awe. The beauty of the architecture and iconography, the mix and match of the buildings added on over the centuries, and the aromatic prayers breathed in and out of pilgrim’s lungs. We missed the Dome of the Rock, since it was closed because of concern of settler violence.

No matter where one is at the time, going to Jerusalem is an awesome experience. Whether one connects with the layers of history, the shopping, the holy sites, or just people watching, it can take one back to the sacred in a way not experienced in other places.

Goats heads and not so holy gates - Max

Stream of thought here, pitching in while others are out. The tourist industry is just that, an industry. They have it wired to shuffle you through the various religious sites and onto the restaurant that give kickbacks. The "Jesus Boat" took the cake for cheesy, playing the riders national anthem, as if that somehow had something to do with Jesus and the sea of Galilee. They even gave out certificates saying, "you rode this replica of a replica of a boat Jesus might have sailed on," or something like that. Still, I loved the water and the boat. My next favorite comedy of the trip was the chain smoking tour guide for the Church of the nativity. He had learned his shtick at the cafes in France, and translated it into an angry tour guide pointing at Holy sites with a cigarette butt. Third place prize for most absurd is the "wilderness" experience where four hundred tourists are funneled into a narrow parking lot,shuffled like lemmings through a turn style...when for miles in every direction there is actual wilderness with not a soul to interrupt ones spiritual contemplation.

Both the tour of the refugee camp and the tour of Hebron were "real". And while depressing for real reasons, refreshing for our immersion in actual life in the Holy Land. Israel proper is so European and developed the Christian sites often feel about as Holy as riding a fake cable car over the Golden Gate, but old Hebron is alive, even in its death. Fresh goats heads, complete with blood, hair and teeth, resting outside the shop in front of the closed cave like road that should lead to the vegetable market. The steal gate, metal detector and soldiers reminding us that the Grave of Abraham and family is not quite as Holy as we might hope. Then again, the tourist is the outsider here, and the seriously religious the norm, indicating perhaps, that we Christians don't quite share the same theology of space. Recall the response of Jesus to the woman at the well, "One day we will not be concerned about whether to worship God on this mountain or that (on this side of the temple or that) but we will worship in Spirit and in Truth." Maybe, since for Christians the "Kingdom of God is within you" means our "Holy Sites" are doomed to be shallow, or to put it differently, our real Holy sites are to be found deep in the heart of live human beings, in the harvest of olives and the breaking of bread with a farmer and his family.

Day Seven - Hebron

Today, we went to Hebron and met with the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee. This is an NGO that raises funds internationally to rebuild old Hebron. Historically, there was a small Jewish community in Hebron, which both Jews and Muslims mark as the burial place of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs – Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac are entombed inside the historic mosque. There has been conflict between the Jewish and Muslim community here over the ages, with the Jewish landowners leaving their homes. Since 1968, different groups of Jewish Settlers have snuck into the Hebron and established settlements, with an official settlement being established just over the hill. There are five small zones near the heart of Hebron where hard-core settlers have built buildings, even in places without permissions. They are trying to expand these five small settlements, with only 400 settlers, to take over all of the old city. The old school has been transformed into a Sheva. Homes that Palestinians hold deeds to are now in the hands of these settlers. And the mosque has been separated into both a synagogue and a mosque after a Jewish settler opened fire on Muslims praying there a few years. This city of 185,000 Palestinians is being held hostage because of 400 settlers.

There continues to be much conflict between the two groups, despite the presence of over 2,000 IDF soldiers guarding the 400 settlers. There have been instances where settlers have assaulted local Palestinians with the soldiers looking on. While the Christian Peacemaking Team does not have an active presence on the ground, the Ecumenical Accompaniers still remain. Despite all of the harassment and inconvenience, life goes on with vigor in this, the largest city in the West Bank.

Day Six - additional pictures

We had a "wild and crazy guy" for a tour guide through Bethlehem. We wonder what kind of Saturday Night Live skit they could make with a guide pointing to everything with his cigarette. More pictures from the Refugee Camp.