Just minutes before departing for Israel I was talking to my oldest (from the 4th grade!) and dearest friend on the phone. After telling her our plans, she asks, “Who has friends in Israel?!” With a laugh, I answer, “Joe Wall does. Of course.” We had a good chuckle over that one.

Ironically, Joe and Stew met in the United Arab Emeritus in 2006 and developed their bromance flying over the rolling vineyards of Northern California in the KC-10 together. Sounds romantic, right? Seven years later, once again in the Middle East together, the boys enjoyed a toast and declared one another their Valentines. Now that is romance!
Elizabeth (Stew’s wife) and I just sat back and watched the hilarity.

With less than 24 hours in-country, we headed right to the heart of the matter: the Israeli – Palestinian Conflict. We spent four hours visiting different sites along the barrier dividing east and west Jerusalem and learning about the political, humanitarian, and ideological conflicts that have riddled this area since the early 2000s, the Second Intifada.

The barrier

There are people who have spent and will spend their entire lives studying this conflict and working towards a solution. I will not even begin to try and explain the details of the history and politics that brought these two groups of people to the current state they are in, for fear of oversimplifying a racial, religious, and political struggle that is seeped in thousands of years of history, yet occurring in a “modern” society. The bottom line: “It’s complicated.” Only individual research will allow anyone to begin to digest this conflict at a level which is comprehensible on a personal level and through a lens that speaks to the unique beliefs or perspectives of the investigator. The following are my personal reflections and the facts that stood out to me. Hopefully, reading a few tid-bits will inspire you to begin your own investigation into the conflict and, more importantly, how your elected government chooses to respond to and manage this conflict in the interest of American democracy.

In some of the Palestinian neighborhoods, only 20% of the residences are connected to sewage and plumbing. It is hard to ignore the piles of trash that trickle (or maybe ‘pour’ is a better verb) down the hillsides. One Palestinian neighborhood in particular did not have any garbage removal from 2007 to 2010, and currently only has pick-up once a month. In addition to the tangible wall barrier, there are ‘glass borders’ between the Palestinian and Israeli neighborhoods, where not only can you see the difference in living conditions, but also feel it. The road is suddenly smooth to drive on, the quantity of trash lessens, and the overall conditions improve. Rachel’s Tomb is controlled by the Israelis, but is located outside of the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, technically within the West Bank. The road to get there is completely isolated by the wall. There are guards controlling the entrance and signs posted in several places, stating exactly who can enter and who cannot. Despite the religious importance of this site for many people, it is not accessible by all. It makes you thankful to live in the land of the free.

Road leading up to Rachel’s Tomb.

During a bathroom stop, I engaged our guide in a conversation about the stated and un-stated messages regarding the conflict. There are still sections of the wall that are un-built, but a plan is in place to continue construction. That sends a clear message. Simultaneously, there is always talk and debate about finding a solution, be it one-state or two. This sends a contradicting message. Our guide said that finding a solution wasn’t even a major talking point in recent elections, as the people are “tired” of it. Many believe that continuing the wall is the only way for these two populations to co-exist. He also told me that by the end of the day, I will have more knowledge over the conflict than the majority of the Israeli population. That is a tough pill to swallow. What’s harder to swallow is the question: Are Americans really that different in regards to certain issues within the United States? Mull it over for a while.

Towards the end of the tour, we stood on a hill overlooking Ahu’afat Refugee Camp, a Palestinian neighborhood inside the municipal boundary of Jerusalem but outside of the wall, where living conditions are worse than any other neighborhood. As gun shots rang out, I decided that this is what really matters: we were here, we tried to educate ourselves, and we continued to deepen our understanding after the experience was over.

Ahu’afat Refugee Camp

Ultimately, I (and I think I can speak for Joe here as well) am thankful for the experience. Even though I would still classify my understanding somewhere between “confused” and “highly confused”, I am thankful to have had an opportunity that only some Americans can or choose to have. Even more so, I am thankful for our friends, the Welches, who were willing to answer questions and continue the discussion from the perspective of Americans living in Israel.

NOW…ON TO THE FUN STUFF!!!

The great part about being with friends, who can also be considered “locals”, is all the things you can enjoy, that you normally wouldn’t, if alone. This by no means covers all the things we did, but the most fun things, for sure!

After watching everyone pour out of Damascus gate on Friday afternoon after prayer…

…who is in the mood for some “Street Meat”?!

We cannot confirm nor deny which organs were included in Stew’s “street meat”, but you can make your own deduction from the options below.

Jaffa – Elizabeth gave us a great tour of Jaffa, which touts itself as one of the oldest cities, dating back to 7500 BC! There are several layers of ancient cities buried beneath Jaffa, Jonah reputedly set sail from Jaffa for his fateful date with the whale, and Andromeda was tied to the rocks outside the port as a sacrifice to Poseidon’s sea monster.

All this history aside, we saw some really interesting present-day things in Jaffa: a double Eritreaian wedding, business-in-front-dreads-in-the-back hairstyle, and remarkable modeling skills from Joe that have obviously been repressed for some time now. These are all probably “I guess you had to be there” stories, right Elizabeth?!

The square in Jaffa.

We were also lucky enough to be in town while Stew had a “gig”. As a bass and guitar player and jazz-lover, Stew plays in a local band with several Israelis. It was really fun to see a friend, enjoying something he loves, in another country that he calls home, and in another language!

We thought it was a great show, but sometimes family can be a hard sell.

Stew’s wife, Elizabeth, and sleeping son, Will.

A huge thank you to our wonderful friends, the Welches. Our experiences in Israel wouldn’t have been so fun, and so rich, without you. We look forward to the next chapter of our shared journey.