Israel was a pleasure I had not expected. Most people I knew who had gone to Israel had religious or political motivations – Christians wanting to walk in Jesus’s footsteps, Jews seeking a place in their promised land, political organizations on all sides wanting to promote their agendas. I resisted Israel for a long time; I didn’t (and don’t) want to take a side on the Israeli/Palestinian situation, I didn’t (and don’t) want to defend or criticize U.S. policy there, and I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable as Jews, Muslims, and Christians went about their religious rituals in a holy land for all of them.
Raised Christian, married to a nominal Jew, and long-time former teacher of Muslim students, I’m hard-pressed nowadays to commit to any religion that holds itself up as the one and only true path to anything. But Sunday school lessons die hard, Chaim Potok’s fictional characters still resonate, and present-day Muslim friendships challenge me to understand a currently controversial faith, so being in the cradle of the three Abrahamic religions turned out to be an enlightening and enjoyable experience after all. (It didn’t hurt that the country is also a sunny, vibrant destination on the Mediterranean Sea!)
I spent much of my time in Israel in Jerusalem, dictated by a 5-day business meeting my husband had there. I wandered the city in both small groups and alone during that time. As I moved through numerous sections of the city, visiting tourist sites and interacting with local people both randomly and through our business connections, I saw a unity that surprised me in some ways and reinforced in other ways the skewed view of the world that we get through the media.
More than a few Jewish residents talked of the feeling of safety and security they feel in Israel, where they are free to practice their faith overtly, without fear of discrimination or oppression. I met Jews young and old, reformed and conservative, who had come to Israel for this feeling of belonging. Yet they lived and worked side by side with those of many other political and cultural identities – Palestinians, Ethiopians, the French, and many more – perhaps nowhere better illustrated than by the yarmulkes and hijabs and colorful headwraps I saw side by side on bus shelter benches. My hotel itself was a microcosm, staffed by Muslim Palestinians, catering to a conservative Jewish clientele, and filled during my visit with several huge Christian Bible study groups on a pilgrimage.
I spoke with Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian (to my ignorant surprise), in the West Bank, and I spent an hour as one of perhaps four or five non-Muslims on the Temple Mount at the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque one morning. I stared at huge groups of Christian pilgrims prostrating over a stone slab in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and followed them unwittingly through the stations of the cross along the Via Dolorosa. It all felt fascinating to me in an intellectual, historical way, seeing their holy shrines mashed up one against the other all over the Old City, but the overall feeling I came away with was the total normalcy of seeing these three major religious factions, and those of many different political identities as well, co-existing in an unremarkable way.
More than once, I heard a similar thought expressed, one that underscored the un-newsworthy daily reality of life in Israel. One was that people-to-people, day-to-day, many Israelis and Palestinians get along fairly well; it is their leaders and a more visible minority who propagate and perpetuate the divisiveness we all see in the press. Likewise, a Palestinian guide in the West Bank, asked by a fellow traveler if the Palestinians hated the U.S. and Americans, replied that “we do not confuse the American people with the U.S. government. We can love Americans and dislike your government at the same time.”
Am I hopelessly naïve, glossing over a turbulent underbelly? Maybe, but I don’t care; I saw peace and enough surface unity here (as I have seen elsewhere) to convince me that one-on-one, most of the world is pretty content to just go about the daily business of living and surviving. Yes, this region is volatile and potentially explosive, but the goodness and peacefulness of most Israelis and Palestinians, Muslims and Jews and Christians, and the whole beautiful mix of nationalities here, was palpable to me in the short time I had.
Moving beyond religion and politics … well, Israel totally rocks! It is modern and historic, high-tech and old-fashioned, business-savvy and beachy, conservative and avant-garde. Gallerias of luxury goods and fresh local cuisine, in shops and restaurants both quaint and grand, nestle up against the sunbaked limestone façades of centuries past. Teens in-line skate past black-hatted rabbis, and young women is strappy camis and killer suntans share the sidewalks with their fellow females in burkas. Lunch might be Moroccan, dinner French, with a nice, sloppy afternoon snack of falafel on the street.
I spent hours getting lost in all four quarters – Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Armenian – of the Old City in Jerusalem, and I rambled through the city’s neighborhoods on my way to a local home for dinner.
I spent a day visiting the imposing site of Masada, the waterfalls and natural pools of Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea, where I bobbed buoyantly in the salty water and slathered my skin with the black mud from the bottom, all in 110-degree temperatures that were entirely bearable with no humidity.
I spent a morning ambling alone on the outside of the Old City walls, seeing nary a soul until I entered through the Dung Gate and went through a rigorous security and a passport check to avail myself of the short non-Muslim visiting hours on the Temple Mount inside the Old City.
I picked apples on a farm north of Tel Aviv as part of a visiting delegation supporting the local foodbank, Leket.
I passed through sunny Eilat, on the far southern tip of Israel, on my way to Jordan, and I strolled the Tayelet, a beachfront walkway from the port of Old Jaffa to the northern port of modern, bustling Tel Aviv.
After three straight trips to the far northern and southern hemispheres, it was heavenly to be back in the middle of the globe, basking in the glow that only an ancient Mediterranean country exudes. May that warm, steady sun continue to thaw the years of tension that bedevil this beautiful land that is special to so many people.
Amy Sampson said:
I love this. Your photos are beautiful, but your story is even more beautiful.
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lexklein said:
Thank you! I tend to see things with rose-colored glasses, and Israel was no exception once I was there. Others may have felt differently even on the same trip (although most of our company group seemed to get the same feeling of cooperation this time), and I’m sure there are times when things don’t seem so relaxed. I was lucky to be there this summer instead of last.
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Shelley @Travel-Stained said:
We visited Jerusalem, but had a very different experience. We arrived the day after a Hamas Leader had been assassinated, and it was very tense in the old city, with air raid sirens and rockets launched at it for the first time. Yes, all the different religions were kind of co-existing, but there was a lot of anger, and division, which seemed to deepen, the longer we were there. Still, we loved our time there…kinda felt like stepping into the Matrix or something. 😉 Would love to go back again in more peaceful conditions…
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lexklein said:
Were you there last summer? That was a particularly tough time. And yes, I totally agree that when tensions are high, the feeling would be very different. I was going not just on my observations this trip, but on what local people told me and others about their lives. Our son was there when the rockets were flying last summer, but even he said that what we were hearing on the news here was greatly exaggerated. Thanks for your input; it’s always interesting to see how people experience places differently.
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Alison and Don said:
Oh it was so wonderful to read this, to get a sense of Jerusalem from someone on the ground, to sense the history, and also the modernity of it, and hear about the ordinariness of it – the same as everywhere – people just getting on with their lives. I would love to go there now. I think we will make sure we have the time in Amman to at least do a day trip.
Alison
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lexklein said:
Thanks – I’m glad I could inspire you in some small way! You know, I never would have believed that Jerusalem could just feel “normal,” but even last summer, amid rockets and sirens and the first airport closure in decades, my son was working there for 5 weeks and kept telling me to calm down, that nothing was anything like we were reading and that life truly did go on each day. I do NOT want to minimize the potential for trouble there; it is bubbling beneath the surface for all of them, but there is a resiliency and a realism that they all have that does not dwell day-to-day on political problems.
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estelea said:
What a vibrant post! I loved reading it, and your pictures are simply beautiful. I always had the same reluctances about visiting Israel, being a liberal non zionist Jew.. But you definitely convinced me to spend some times over there, and the pict of you at the dead see did the trick! You look stunning, I am so glad you had a blast 🙂
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lexklein said:
Haha – I hate to admit it, but one of the things I most looked forward to in Israel was floating in the Dead Sea! And it met my expectations; it was a broiling day and getting in there was a blast. (And the heat there is so nice and dry, not like your jungly heat in the Phillippines!) Thanks for your nice comments; I do hope my experience was not unique and that it convinces others to give Israel a try. I was really sad to leave and wished I could have seen more of the country.
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Tina Schell said:
I loved this one Lex – so good to hear life can be normal in Israel. I too am raised christian married to a Jewish husband and we both want to visit. I get put off as I see the news but always hope it’s overblown. Your post gives me hope. And your photos are also fabulous on this one – your curiosity and enthusiasm served you very well!
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lexklein said:
Thanks so much, Tina! If you think the photos are good, I feel quite complimented! I really hope you try to go; it’s so much more fascinating than I expected. I did go at a relatively calm time, so I’m sure that helped.
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Hanne T. Fisker said:
I relate fully and utterly to your post and reflections on Israel. I’ve been there twice. It’s never been the history of the place that attracted me (it rarely is for any place), but the land and the people. Last time I was there was in 2012 where I hiked along Shvil Yisrael (Israel National Trail) that runs from the border to Lebanon and down to Eilat. I went for the desert part only in the South, from Dimona to Eilat. Two month all in all with me and my backpack. Along the trail I met incredible generous people from beduins to israelis and they welcomed me warmly. And I saw caring friendships across the border of faith too. I saw all faiths picnicking and camping at the Dead Sea mixed with one another. I am not sure it is as black and white as it is painted in the news, being what the news is, exposing drama only. Not that it isn’t there, obviously (!), but there are many more tales to be told too. I’m a hopeless romantic wanting to see the good in people and to be fair, it’s all I saw; genuinely good people from different faiths, backgrounds and walks in life.
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lexklein said:
Ahhh, your hike sounds awesome – wish I’d had time to do something like that. Maybe it’s our wanting to see the good in people that allows us to see it. I’m a firm believer in the innate goodness of people and, interestingly, that’s what I tend to see at home and more particularly in my travels. Cynics surely find me annoying, but I am much happier this way! And don’t even get me started on the media! Thanks for reading and for your warm comments.
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Hanne T. Fisker said:
I actually don’t doubt that for a second. What we give energy grows… I think it possible to make a little difference, just with a smile instead of a frown.
“be realistic” people finds me quite annoying too, I think 🙂
Wont get you started on media, I can think we have a very similar view on this, hence why I don’t watch it really. Except John Stewart 🙂
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anna said:
I absolutely loved this. I’ve always been hesitant about Israel. Probably because of the media and all its past troubles, yet raised as a catholic (a hopeless one might I add) it would be nice to see the history one day. Your photos show history yes, but also warmth and joy and its seems, peace and safety. Maybe I should give it a go one day.
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lexklein said:
Thanks for your very nice comments! I am so happy to have perhaps inspired a few people to consider visiting Israel. If we had not been going for a meeting, I might have postponed this forever, and I’m so glad I didn’t.
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badfish said:
This was yet another delightful read. And of course, your photos are beginning to piss me off because they are just so dang gorgeous, and I’m the kind of guy who gets jealous of other photographer’s stuff if it’s THAT good. This piece makes me want to return to Jerusalem. For me, yes, it was about the people I met and talked with there. But even more so…and more so than most places I go…just being in the place because it is that place excited me. All my photos of the place, though, are on 35mm slides, and I can’t find a place that transfers them to digital (with quality).
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lexklein said:
And one more thanks for visiting my blog while procrastinating (haha) and relaxing in Bali! 🙂 For some reason, I thought you did not enjoy Israel – but maybe you meant the politics and not the place and people. (If so, 100% agreed. If not, I am putting words in your mouth; I just thought I remembered something like this from one of your past posts.) You are wayyyy too kind about my photos … the light in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel was so perfect that I couldn’t help but take a few good ones!
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awtytravels said:
Having just returned from a trip to Israel, I can really see myself in your words. I’m not an active member of any club, i.e. of any of the three religions, and it was interesting, sad and odd at the same time to see how life goes on in Jerusalem.
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lexklein said:
And you were there at a more volatile time, so it’s interesting to hear you say that. Even when I was there, there were certainly small flashpoints, but day-to-day life seemed (for the most part) cooperative. Thanks for your comments!
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awtytravels said:
My pleasure, I love your blog! Happy to have found it 🙂
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The Snow Melts Somewhere said:
What an amazing place that must be to visit. Traditions alive like nowhere else. I think most of us are peace-loving, just like you said.
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lexklein said:
It was just so pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable! I was prepared for something different, and I’m so glad I tagged along on that trip; otherwise, I might still have not gone there.
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Manja Mexi Mexcessive said:
This is beautiful. I have never been nowhere near. It must have been just fascinating. I wondered, reading your account, if someone visiting Sarajevo before the Balkan wars would have said something like this as well about the Muslims, Croats and Serbs living in the city. I know they would. We used to be in the same country and got along just swell. But over governments weren’t distinguished from ordinary people. In any way, I’m glad you had such a wonderful time and impressions. Let it last.
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lexklein said:
Thank you, Manja! You know, I was certain I had written about the religious cooperation and side-by-side life in Sarajevo before the wars, but when I look back, I see it never made it from my head to the page. I was struck during my time there by the way things used to be and how at least some people are trying to make them again.
Wishing you a very happy holiday season and a great 2020!
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