What a week in Jerusalem. We are staying in a very comfortable 2 bedroom apartment in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.
Thanks for the baby backpack because lots of steps and walking.
some youtube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEdNn33doUM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6969xDmIuk&feature=related
and we are featured in some greenie website:
http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/06/27/23310/kibbutz-lotan-eco-tour/
Hi!
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since my last post, and spending a week in Jerusalem has me ruminating - about things great and small.
Something small: Contrary to a lot of advice we received, Israel is a great place to travel with kids.
First of all, it's the home of the world's 3 great religions, all of which exhort their followers to have a lot of children. So the religious think big traveling families are great - the Arabs in the market ("rich man, 3 children!), the Orthodox Jews ("3 children, mazel tov!), the Orthodox Greek (3 children, why the Aussies lose World Cup?).
Second, because there are so many large families here, everything is sized for it. Tables for 6. Hotel rooms with bunkbeds. Taxi drivers who grumble "police fine" with baby as 5th passenger, but accept the tip later. The prams at the bottom of the apartment stairs are banked 3 deep.
Third, everyone shouts so much that nobody cares about children making a ruckus. Soccer balls bouncing down echoing alleyways. Nappy changes mid-sidewalk.
Finally, there is never any shortage of activity. I'm saying our TV time over 8 weeks thus far of this trip has been virtually nil. And the pirated version of Percy Jackson that we bought in the market 2 days ago was watched in a family movie night on my Mac with great fanfare - a real treat.
When we left Australia, I packed our bags with no less than 10 workbooks for Samantha and Elinor to complete so as to not miss out on schooling. I will admit that today was the first day in a week that we opened the workbooks. My kids over the past week have learned the short version of 4,000 years of history - from Moses to the Romans, the building of the 1st and 2nd Temples, where Jesus walked and what separates the fundamentals beliefs of Christians and Jews. They have drunk apple tea, seen incense burned in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and seen Shabbat played out in front of the Western Wall. This place is a museum in real time. We're all learning.
Something sort of big: Israel is absolutely fascinating to experience as a mature adult -- it's a shame most of us come here as teens and/or retirees (or not at all).
ReplyDeleteAt every turn on this trip, I am struck by how little or how differently I remember Israel from the 6-week program I did here as a 15 year old. I have a famously good memory, and I now realise that prior to arriving here I had subconsciously assumed that this trip would follow the path of my recollection. Stupid. Most obviously, things change in 25 years and wow have they changed here. Probably more significant is the change in my own prism - the social experience of a 15 year old girl who happened to be in Israel one summer, and the world view I bring to Israel now.
I will say that the Israeli government really must sack whoever they're using for their tourism PR and bring in a new team. This is an amazing country to tour, but where is the ad campaign? Aside from the fact that it is overflowing with world history - I mean, you can't even cover it all - the natural environment is just amazing. Med Sea, Red Sea, Dead Sea. Deserts, wadis, semi-arid desert, wine country, dairy country, mountains right up to skiing villages in the north. Amazing, healthy, cheap food. Huge diversity of population (Russians, Europeans, Druze, Yemenis, other North Africans... ) Totally accessible by car. Within a country the size of Tasmania or New Jersey.
As a teenager or backpacker, you can't appreciate it all. If you wait too long, the strenuous stuff gets too hard. I'd recommend it to anyone.
But... this is my big one.
The religious right are a real worry. They're getting away with much more than they should because the Palestinian issue attracts so much attention, here and elsewhere.
I normally do not follow Israeli politics at all. Not my country, no interest. But I didn't realise that the religious in Israel have become so powerful, and numerous, that the Chief Rabbinate and religious parties are ganging up to pass laws piece by piece narrowing the definition of who is a Jew. Secular Jewish Israelis don't care - they are already here and they define Jewish-ness as Israeli.
Check out: http://arza.org.au/?p=652 and http://www.irac.org/PublicPolicy.aspx?SubheadingID=109
Right now it's just about conversion, but that's enough for me. If the Auster-Wood family were flipped so that it was my mother who had converted, potentially I would not be considered Jewish. But forget about conversion - this is a slippery slope.
Or, to the point. Today the modesty police wouldn't let Samantha into the outside plaza of the Western Wall wearing shorts - until she put my scarf around her waist as a skirt. She is a 9 year old girl. This is not right.
The religious right in Israel believe in theocracy and they are becoming more powerful - and if theocracy wins in Israel, what does that mean for minorities anywhere? for the Middle East? This is one debate I'm going to be checking into in the future. Important not just for Jews but for anyone who desires peace in this part of the world.
xo
Amy
Is that a Jabulani ball???
ReplyDeleteYEP, it's a Jabalani ball. We 'accidently' got it from Jerusalem McDonalds. We were going to have a quick stop and the lady did not speak good english. She kinda just gave it to us. The ball goes everywhere with us.
ReplyDeleteHi to maya and leni and Jen and Jeter,
Samantha