E.C.R. & M.H. | Summer Camp Volunteers
Today’s writers are working on the Jerusalem construction site, beside the Israeli “separation barrier”. Tuesday was a great day; we worked hard but still had fun by all singing together. Our group works well together, and we understand each other well. We have begun constructing an outside garden, cleaning up surrounding stones and digging to build stairs.
We began our excursion to the Old City of Jerusalem on a bus, with no problems at the checkpoint. We were not even asked for our passports! Then we picked up Meir Margalit, a member of both ICAHD and the Jerusalem City Council, who guided us through the city. We began the tour at “New Gate,” which was built for the Franciscans, to avoid walking around the city wall to access their buildings. We observed Ultra-Orthodox Haredim Jews, and learned the meaning and purpose behind their traditional clothing. We entered the Palestinian zone, and learned about the history of a radical Jewish group from the 1960’s called the “Black Panthers”. We drove across the old 1967 frontier toward the Mount of Olives, and saw the old checkpoint where observers still watch for the former frontier. Then we saw Israel’s Hebrew university, located on occupied territory.
On the Mount of Olives, we observed a settler house, occupied by political settlers just in the middle of a Palestine zone, at a strong strategic place. Then we began with the old city, discussing “the Dome of the Rock” and Al-Aqsa Mosque. We learned about the conflict between Jews and Muslims over the rock’s meaning, revolving around Abraham, Mohamed, and the Old Synagogue underground.
From the Mount of Olives, we could see E1 (the highway separating East and West Jerusalem), Beit Arabiya, and settlements, learning about plans to join them with Jerusalem.
After that we stepped through Damascus Gate and into the heart of the Old City. We walked through a complicated crossing of little streets full of shops holding everything you can imagine; but for Palestinians themselves, not just for typical tourists. It was really squished and crowded. In one of the shops we could see some uniformed men. On top of the shops, you can still see people living in their homes. Just before we arrived to the Holy Sepulcher Church, we could see an Israel flag waving in the wind. Just in front of the main door, a man with his weapon was sitting, watching the house. We discovered that they are paid by the state, and stay the whole day. Then we entered the Sacred Sepulcher, divided between the Armenian, Greek Orthodox, and Catholic Churches. Then we took again the bus to the Spanish consulate, to thank them for the economic help to our trip.
We had the opportunity to speak with our ambassador. We put our cards on the table, because the consul spoke about the good relations between Spain and Israel. Some of us asked for Spain to press the Israeli government about the conflict. He answered that Spain alone is not able to decide about such a big issue, especially since it strongly depends on the EU. Apparently, they send regularly messages to Israel, alone or together with other countries, to give their opinion, which differs from EU’s. After that, someone suggested Spain cutting off its supply of weaponry to Israel, and he did not quite answer our question, speaking like a diplomat. After that, putting aside Spain, we asked about his opinion on the way to resolve the conflict, and proposed working with other countries on an agreement. He discussed his view on existing agreements, and how they could be translated into reality. After a positive meeting, we said goodbye and left the consul.
