ALL EYES ON JERUSALEM Delegation

Even though the cities and villages have varied, as have their respective statuses as part of the occupied Palestinian territory or across the Green Line, the stories have been similar. Natural resources, and their importance to the economy, have been central to the colonization of Palestine, be it in Jaffa or in the Jordan Valley.

The architecture of these buildings is incredible and consist only of earthen material. I am reminded that our ancestors indeed recognized the importance of architecture fitting in with the natural world, rather than the complete manipulation, pollution, and destruction of it. How did we get so far removed from this sense of responsibility to live harmoniously with our environment?

We enter the so-called City of David – a glistening, modern stone edifice built on multiple levels in the hillside, with open vistas onto the town of Silwan – amidst a deafening cacophony of children’s voices, shouting, laughing, shrieking with joy. Even though we are on the south end of occupied East Jerusalem, a supposedly Palestinian area, these are not Palestinian children.

Lack of sustainable and accessible drinking water continues to plague Palestinian citizens, complicates their already arduous lives, and presents a critical block in economic development. As our tour guide Said discussed on our second day of the trip, access to water was one of the main negotiation points that PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat advocated for during the 2000 Camp David negotiations.

On this delegation we’ve learned so much that’s reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984. The most Orwellian expression is: “Present Absentees” that refers to Palestinians who fled from their homes during the peak hostilities in late 1947 and 1948 but moved only a short distance to a safer Palestinian village or town. Israel counted them as absentees who could not return to their homes, even though they remained within the border of the new state of Israel.

Everything begins and ends here
All make their holy pilgrimage to
The heart of the world
Their souls call to the land of sacrifice

The Black liberation holiday of Juneteenth was on my mind when we drove past a platoon of Israeli occupation forces as they marched into a Palestinian village, black automatic weapons in hand, likely about to execute a raid. As our bus drove past the handful of military vehicles parked alongside the road, a deep sense of rage, sadness, and powerlessness swelled up within me.

We eagerly awaited our visit to the Musrara neighborhood in East Jerusalem, as it held very special meaning for a couple of members of our group. Their families had lived there before they were forcibly removed as a result of the Nakba in 1948. Hearing authentic first-hand historical accounts of what life was like for the Palestinians who once lived there, it was heartbreaking to imagine the complete loss of home and community.

Sumoud or steadfastness. An underlying theme or value that infuses all of the people we have spoken with throughout our time in occupied Palestine and Syria. This concept was familiar to me before our trip, but only as an abstract concept. Now, I have had the privilege to bear witness to the individuals and organizations who truly embody sumoud in their work and everyday lives.

We learned about a portion of the fence known as the “Shouting Hill,” or the “Valley of Tears” where separated families would meet and communicate via megaphone. This image was vivid in my head as we hiked along the border fence, passing grapevines, pomegranate and quinces trees, and in-season cherries that were graciously offered to us by local farmers.

The Golan is a beautiful plateau in the historical region of Syria that is rich with fertile soil and abundant water sources. Israel has recognized it as another opportunistic area to occupy and has been building settlements since 1967 and termed the region as Golan Heights. Much of the Syrian population fled during the Six Day War in 1967...

Our guide from the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan explained all the ugly ways— blatant and subtle— that the Israeli authorities and extremist settler groups are using to confiscate the land of Palestinians in Silwan and drive away as many people from their homes as possible. He and young Silwani activists also explained the Israeli plan for creating a Disney-like version of the “City of David” in the area of Silwan.

My peers in America talk about storytelling as an important tactic, but here in Palestine I've heard time and time again that personal stories are a critical tool for the work of ending the occupation. For one group of brave resistors, telling stories has become an integral part of their work to dismantle the occupation. Khaled Faraj is a member of the Druze community…

On Friday, I had the chance to visit the Lutheran Church of Redeemer courtyard in Jerusalem. My extended family— 17 people— were given shelter there, crammed into one room, when they fled from the Musrara neighborhood in what became West Jerusalem in 1948. In 2017 I saw my Mom’s former family home nearby. This time I couldn’t find it.

I expected to hear the explosion when the missiles struck Gaza Thursday morning. I expected my grief to be as a mighty wave whose undertow dragged me through the depths of despair. I expected to know when a life was lost. Instead, less than fifty miles from the Gaza Strip, I had no idea that Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile system had been used…

I have been reflecting about how so many fellow Christians visit the holy sites and either ignore the realities of the occupation or wholeheartedly embrace Christian Zionist theology. Visiting both the holy sites in Bethlehem and the border wall challenges Christian theology that is complicit in racism and settler-colonialism.

Walking through Bethlehem yesterday, I started thinking about our time in Jerusalem. Israel’s strategic planning for the future of its illegal annexation of Jerusalem is a vision of a Jewish-majority city, in which a high tech city is developed, diverting transportation and tourist attractions away from Palestinian villages.

I’ve learned about the debates in Biblical interpretation and archaeology in several seminary classes but I never realized just how politicized this debate is until visiting the Palestinian village of Silwan today… At Silwan, we learned of the continued attempts to deny the full history of the region, resulting in the destruction of Palestinian homes and communities in Israel’s effort to lay historical and religious claim to the land.

Close your eyes and image your favorite park. What do you see?

The lush, ancient redwoods of California towering over you? The awe-inspiring vastness of the Grand Canyon? Maybe you envision your favorite place to hike around the corner.

The landscape holds and represents the very essence of identity. It speaks volumes about the values and perspectives we hold and the foundations in which we build upon. However, upon visiting an active Israeli archaeological dig in the Palestinian village of Silwan. . .