Plans have been slightly changed. I will be in Jerusalem one more day and night.
The Old City of Jerusalem is indeed an interesting place. There is a slight air of unspoken tension, but people- Musilm, Jewish, Christian, Internationals alike- interact with each other with an ease you won't see in other parts of the country. It boggles my mind to see T-shirts being sold next to each other in the marketplace, where one says "Peace in Jerusalem" in English, Arabic and Hebrew, and the other says "Don't Worry, America- Israel's Got Your Back!" with an enormous jet fighter on it. But in many tourist shops- and indeed, which shop isn't a tourist shop?- relics and souvenirs of all three faiths are sold side-by-side, although the shopkeeper may be Israeli or Palestinian.
I woke this morning to a combination of church bells, the call to prayer, and the blowing shofar. It was a bittersweet mix.
This morning I walked up to the guesthouse at St. George's Cathedral, to see if there was a CPT cell phone left there, which it was rumored to be, and wasn't.
To get there, I went through the Old City and out the Damascus Gate, which seems to have been turned into one big checkpoint. The Damascus Gate goes into the Muslim Quarter of the city, whereas the Jaffa Gate, where I arrived, is right on the line between the Christian Quarter and the Jewish Quarter. People were exiting the gate with ease, but they were stopping almost everyone trying to get in. I don't know if it is because of the holidays, or if there is a new threat- either perceived or real- that has popped up.
To get to St George's, it is an easy walk up Nablus Road from the gate. Along the way, you must pass the US Consulate. It was open, and there were about forty people waiting to go inside. Here, you could see discrimination starting to take shape; Israelis were waiting in line, Arabs were sitting on a low wall across the street.
Up at the guesthouse, the phone was indeed not to be found. However, while waiting to find someone to ask, I bumped into Mordechai Vanunu, and introduced myself as a new CPTer. I wasn't sure if he was flattered, amused, or embarassed when I laughed and told him, when he shook my hand and gave me his name, that I had recognized him already. I teased him a little saying "I think maybe you're famous!" He responded that maybe, but probably over here only, and not so much other places, except by people working for peace. I said "yes, us crazy people." Luckily, he seemed to know I was joking, and laughed, and said "But good people."
On the way back down into the city, security seemed to have tightened at the Gate. There were police barricades in place, and every single person entering was subject to scrutiny. A woman and her son were directly before me. They checked her ID, and let her go, but the policeman standing there began harassing the child a little bit, like you tease a child in the way you don't mean to be friendly, not letting him pass. The child couldn't have been older than six or seven, but he had his wits about him. It probably wasn't the first time. Seeing this, I stepped forward so I was directly behind the boy, and smiled at him. Seeing me, the policeman let the child through, put his hand up towards my chest to stop me, and barked at me harshly. I looked at him and simply said "I'm sorry, I don't speak Hebrew". He then said "passport!", which I gave him. He looked from the passport to me, and asked me where I was from. I replied "Chicago. United States." He didn't look like he entirely understood, so I said "America". He nodded, as if I had cleared up a great mystery, handed me back my passport, and let me pass.
The shops in the Arab Market, in the streets down from the Damascus Gate, are not anywhere near as busy as they were last time I was here. I know these things can change suddenly, and drastically. Perhaps one quarter to one third of the shops simply are not open. I don't know if this is due to the holiday, a slipping economy, or whatever else may have happened in the last eleven months. I miss the frantic feeling of the packed market. And although the market isn't as busy, the merchants certainly make up for their absent neighbors in trying to woo people towards their shop. I have learned to look straight ahead with a friendly half-smile on my face and say "no thank you, I'm not shopping right now" and keep walking. If you stop for a second, you're sunk.
This morning, I had breakfast from a stand, three small pastries with a chocolate-flavored sesame paste inside. Now, for a bit of lunch I'm going to stop by a fruit stand, and later, for dinner, there is a small restaurant we ate at during our delegation last fall, where I will get a small dinner, perhaps my last piece of meat for several weeks. All these carbohydrates are giving me a headache.
This afternoon, while I have some free time in the city, I am going to go up to the Garden Tomb. It is also on Nablus Road, and I passed it this morning. It is open to visitors from 2p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Then I will have seen the second place Jesus is said to have been buried. I think there is a third, but I don't remember what it is. And then, perhaps, if I have the time, I will either go up tothe Western Wall, or I will try to find the Via Dolorosa. Mind, this all depends on whether or not I get lost. I suppose I should get a map. And bring my phrase books with me.
Until later, peace.
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