History Repeats

Note:  This post is out of order with our itinerary.  We got caught up in our enthusiasm for our safari adventures in Africa and had to write about them as soon as we could.  Bethlehem is a bit more complex to sum up then our animal sightings.

 Bethlehem.  This name conjures up, for us, the birthplace of Christ, the manger, shining stars, wise men and their gifts, peace on earth, goodwill towards men.  For our entire lives, in our minds eye, Bethlehem has been placed on a pedestal.  It’s the place where Christianity started.  Where a baby was born that would became the man whom millions and millions now revere and believe is the only path to heaven.  It’s got to be a very special place.  Doesn‘t it?  With anticipation of a relaxed, mellow, spiritual experience we set out to catch the bus to Bethlehem.

We were told that only ‘Arab’ buses or private cabs go to Bethlehem.  Buses are much more fun so we went to the Arab section of Jerusalem and boarded an Arab bus bound for the town we’d heard about since before we could talk.  We were aware that Bethlehem is located in the West Bank and that Israel is building a wall around it.  Even though we’d already seen the people divider from afar it was still incredibly shocking to see it up close and personal.  It is in-your-face immense; with huge concrete slabs in some areas and high barbed wire fences in others.  It’s more then a wall.  It looks like it was designed to withstand a large scale bomb attack.  Israel is definitely protecting itself as if they are at war.  Our short journey to Bethlehem, so far, certainly didn’t live up to the fantasy that our childhood bible study teachers helped to create.

The second our bus crossed the border to the West Bank, things were  poorer, dirtier and friendlier.  To our observations, Muslims make less money, don’t care about trash in their streets, but smile lots more then Jews and Christians.  We made our way to all the important sights; the cave where Christ was born, the cave where Mary nursed Jesus, and the hill where the star shined on the shepherds.

The historical and religious significance of this area wasn‘t lost on us, but it was the wall that fascinated us the most.  The obvious separation that the wall creates is what made us stop and go hummm.  The holy sights were basically churches built over the ground where certain events are deemed to have happened.  And we’d seen lots of churches in the previous 9 months.  As it was just a few days before Christmas, the passageways were very crowded, stinky and hot; not at all the peaceful and tranquil afternoon we had in mind. 

The graffiti and spray paint art on the wall (on the West Bank side) was riveting.  We read all of the English language markings and decoded the drawings.  It was blatantly obvious that the wall is not a symbol to the Palestinians as one of cooperation, communication or community. 

Passing through security back to the Israeli side was equally as surprising as the wall.  We stood in the long slow line amongst some Palestinians who told us they do this everyday to go back and forth from their homes to their work.  We only had to deal with the delays and the crowds once and were frustrated.  We felt loads of empathy for these people and their plight for  this daily hassle just to put food on their families tables.  We learned that until a man is 30 years old and has a wife and a child he is unable to cross the boundary into Israel.  (Ethnic Profiling.)  It’s such a waste not to allow a young man to try to find work in the more prosperous side of the land.   

We recognize that Israel has dealt with a major loss of life due to the suicide bombers from the West Bank and the wall is meant to protect them.  We feel for both sides.  We find it ironic, though, that just 65-70 years ago, Jewish people were put behind walls and imprisoned in their own communities.  And today we wonder why the world let it happen.  It seems now they are doing something similar to the Palestinians.  If it wasn’t right to do then, is it right to do now?

What we thought was going to be a serene day of touring Bethlehem turned into a day of odorous crowds and worse smelling political policies.  We would never deny that Israel deserves to live in peace in it’s own state.  We just believe that this wall is not the real solution to achieve this goal.  In 1989, a similar wall fall.  The Berlin wall.  40 years of keeping people separate crumbled in to a heap of rubble, marking a new dawn and the end of a tragic era.  Do we ever learn from history? Or just repeat it?  Walls don’t need be built, policies need to change.  On both sides of this issue.  No wall can replace common sense, discussion and negotiation.