Israel August 31, 2008
Jerusalem-There is a lot of desert in Israel, but also there is a lot of Earth that is less dry, the kind of dark brown, moist after you clear away the top few layers that nurishes growth.
Since arriving in Israel a week ago, I’ve been all over. Jerusalem, Latrun, Ramallah, Shorashim, Sha’ab, The Sea of Galilee, The Golan Heights.
What I’ve seen in a country radically different then the other Middle Eastern countries, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, that I have traveled through in the past six weeks.
Israel, with its paved highways and two story houses and trees is a first world country sitting in the Middle East like a suburban bedroom community in the US. Quiet, well kept, with established laws, but allowing its citizens the freedom to dress, think, and act as they please.
The freedom for its citizen’s is not extended to it’s neighbors though.
In Ramallah, until they are engaged with some pleasant talk, the Palestinians do not smile.
Crossing into the West Bank from Jeruslem is not hard. You go through a revolving gate and walk in. The streets are broken and dirtier, there is trash everywhere, and the wall, concrete slabs standing next to each other, looms like a medieval fence. It is covered in grafitti, FREE PALESTINE, CONTROL-ALT-DELETE-PEACE, slogans like this.
To get out of the West Bank and back into Jeruslaem you have to stand in a hallway that resembles a slaughter house cage, waiting for a few people to be let through at a time.
Holiness…Back in Action August 25, 2008
Eilat, Israel-I’ve been on hiatus from all that is holy here in the Holy Land.
But no worries. What I’ve been up to could be called prospective. And prospective is one of those things that could be argued to be holy, from a certain point of view.
And now that I reconsider the above, blatantly generalized statements, I realize there has been a lot of holiness to what I’ve been up to.
All that kind of vagueness is over now though. I’ve been taking an actual class through my university, but now will be traveling in Israel until 4 September when I fly to Helsinki to prepare to relocate to Russia.
Photo editors needing a photographer in Israel until 4 September, Finland until approx. 15 September, or Russia through the end of December can email me at justinvela@gmail.com
I’ve arrived here in Israel after two months in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.
At the Eilat/Aqaba border crossing I was questioned for two and half hours before being allowed to enter Israel. Phone numbers and names were insisted upon, but overall the process was very polite and one immigration officer even offered me an air conditioned room and told me where cold water was while I was waiting.
Jordan and Israel may have a signed a peace agreement, but they are still wary of each other and the presence of soldiers along the beach in Aqaba yesterday highlighted a sense of unease.
Israel has larger enemies than Jordan however. Israeli tourists coming back from a day in Aqaba were a sign that relations between the two countries are very stable. Israel is dealing with its many internal problems at the moment and, as always, has the more imminent threats of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon over their heads.
Of course, this is to say nothing of the issue of Palestine, but, hey, I’ve just arrived. My mind is only just beginning to function again. There’s a lot to come. I’m the first bus to Jerusalem tomorrow morning.
Cairo Begger. August 15, 2008
A Break August 9, 2008
Cairo-I’ll be taking a break for the next few weeks so posts here will not be frequent.