the west bank experience (part 1)

even though israel is "secular", shabbat is taken very seriously. jerusalem is probably the one of the worst places to be on friday night/saturday as a lot of the shops and places shut down and the egged buses stop running. this does not condone fun times. i think the bright sun got to me yesterday because i didn't want to sit around in my room, browsing the internet. i mean, i can do that in the states to my heart's content... but here, i have the chance to do something different and experience things that is not possible anywhere else. soo... i popped open my lonely planet guide and they recommended that on the weekends, people should visit jericho or bethlehem. so being the person that i am, these were just other cities in israel. how mistaken i was. they're located in the west bank, or what is known as palestinian lands. i know there are tons of security and travel warnings against the west bank, but being there changed my perspective.

when you first leave jerusalem, the scenery changes. to me, it seemed less abundant than what i saw in jerusalem. it's a given that the palestinian reality is drastically different than that of the israelis. but that doesn't stop them from being extremely hospitable. my friends and i were constantly rewarded with smiles and exuberant cries of 'welcome' and 'hello!' one even went so far to share his education story with us. they're humble people and it shows. it was just so fascinating to be there because the media goes beyond what's necessary to show this place as dangerous. sure this is my first time, but danger was the last thing on my mind. we arrived to bethlehem quite late so most of the 'tourist' attractions were closed. however, we were invited to an AICafe talk to discuss israel as an apartheid state and how to go about boycotting israel. it was good to get the other side of the discussion because in the states, we (or i at least was) are constantly bombarded with pro-zionist propaganda or some israeli-palestinian peace resolution. but being in the reality, it seemed peace or an establishment of equality is far off.

after the talk, we went to one of the bezalel student's apartment. we cooked vegetable curry and drank arak and talked about social issues of the day and art, of course. then we were further informed about the construction of the wall, which is pretty much finished by today, and the destruction caused by the conflict... mohammed was very frank with us and told us how he isn't allowed to go to jerusalem or israel... and how he was 24 when he saw the ocean for the first time. it's hard not to be emotionally moved by his story. i know that i should get to know both sides thoroughly but what is going on right now is just morally wrong. it's racism and cultural genocide. a bit harsh? i don't know. my friends and i are going to go around the west bank more to talk with the people and get a first hand account of their lives that is suppressed by the media. it's interesting that i went to bethlehem to see the site of nativity and etc and got altogether an experience i never expected.