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  Jerusalem, Israel
Monday, August 27, 2007

August 26, 2007

We had a relatively quiet week as the heat has been incredibly unbearable.  It was 103* on Friday & 105* yesterday.  OY!!!  Evette has been working on school work, so we spent time in the library.  We did see a few movies & go to the mall.  Anywhere we could think of that had air conditioning, as we do not have any : ( 

Yesterday, after Shabbat, we walked to the Imbal Hotel, which is a few blocks from us, to take a taxi to the Damascus gate again.  It has become one of our favorite stomping grounds.  It's such a mixed cultural experience.  Anyway, on our walk to catch a taxi, we saw an unusual sight; a man was walking in front of us carrying a urine sample in a specimen bottle.  Not in a bag, not trying to conceal it, just carrying it openly, it shaking as he walked...where do you suppose he was taking it on a Saturday evening?  We laughed & laughed

First Hebrew Scrabble Game

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Last night I played my first game of Hebrew scrabble. 

 We used all the tiles!  Evette did let me use the dictionary to check my spelling occasionally, but I did pretty well on my own. 
So, I don't want to bore you this week, and I wasn't even going to write anything, but several people told us that when I write each week, it is their way of knowing we are okay.  So, I am writing.

August 27, 2007

So, usually I try to post a new travelogue every Saturday night or Sunday.  I waited until today because we were at, what we hope will someday be a history changing event.  We attended a symposium at the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, on the Mount Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.   The Keynote speaker was Dr. Martin Luther King lll.  It was titled Realizing the Dream in the Middle East.  The focus was discussing non-violent strategies to resolve the Middle East conflict and find our way towards peace.  Among the attendees were many ambassadors from numerous countries, several Presidents of Consulates, students, teachers, clergy, everyday citizens.  For many people, it was risky to attend this function.  Jews who attended were considered traitors among other Jews.  Arabs who attended were considered traitors among other Arabs. 

One of the most powerful speakers was Maram Masarwi.  What made her presentation so moving was that she spoke from personal experience with great emotional honesty.  This awesome quality really drew us to what she was speaking about.  She really challenged women to step up to leadership roles in the peace movement.  She believes that no woman truly wanted to see a child killed.  We wish we could remember her exact quote as it was incredibly moving.  She is a Palestinian woman inside the state of Israel.  She also teaches at the Hebrew University.  She lives in Neve Shalom, a cooperative village of Jews and Palestinian Arabs of Israeli citizenship. The village is situated of equal distance from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa.  The title of her speech was "Where is the Arab Martin Luther King Jr.?"  Without saying a word to each other, Evette & I both thought to ourselves, "We are looking at her."

She says "As a Palestinian Israeli woman, I also have a dream.  My dream is to see both people living together in peace and security; for a better future for Palestinian society is a better future for Jewish Israeli society.  My dream is to see Palestinian Israelis living side-by-side in equal terms with our Jewish brothers & sisters.  My dream is to see my children & Jewish children not fighting against one another, but fighting together to build peace & a healthier society."  This quote really reminded me of this African Folktale that someone emailed me over a year ago from The Children's Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett.  It really stuck in my head & I'd like to share it with you.  It not only is relevant here, but in dealing with diversity issues across the spectrum.  
 
 Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together
Once upon a time, the child of the Frog was hopping along in the bush when he spied someone new lying across the path before him.  This someone was long and slender, and his skin seemed to shine with all the colors of the rainbow.
"Hello there," called Frog-child.  "What are you doing lying here in the path?"
'Just warming myself in the sun," answered the someone new, twisting and turning and uncoiling himself "My name is Snake-child.  What's yours?"
"I'm Frog-child.  Would you like to play with me?"
So Frog-child and Snake-child played together all morning long in the bush.
"Watch what I can do," said Frog-child, and he hopped high into the air.  "I'll teach you how, if you want," he offered.  So he taught Snake-child how to hop, and together they hopped up and down the path through the bush.
"Now watch what I can do," said Snake-child, and he crawled on his belly straight up the trunk of a tall tree.  "I'll teach you if you want."
So he taught Frog-child how to slide on his belly and climb into trees.  After a while they both grew hungry and decided to go home for lunch, but they promised each other to meet again the next day. 
"Thanks for teaching me how to hop," called Snake-child.
"Thanks for teaching me how to crawl up trees," called Frog-child.
Then they each went home.  "Look what I can do, Mother!" cried Frog-child, crawling on his belly.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" his mother asked.
"Snake-child taught me," he answered "We played together in the bush this morning.  He's my new friend."
Don't you know the Snake family is a bad family?" his mother asked.  "They have poison in their teeth.  Don't ever let me catch you playing with one of them again.  And don't let me see you crawling on your belly, either.  It isn't proper."
Meanwhile Snake-child went home and hopped up and down for his mother to see.  "Who taught you to do that?" she asked.  "Frog-child did," he said.  "He's my new friend.'
"What foolishness," said his mother.  "Don't you know we've been on bad terms with the Frog family for longer than anyone can remember?  The next time you play with Frog-child, catch him and eat him up.  And stop that hopping.  It isn't our custom."
So the next morning when Frog-child met Snake-child in the bush, he kept his distance.
"I'm afraid I can't go crawling with you today," he called, hopping back a hop or two.  Snake-child eyed him quietly, remembering what his mother had told him.  "If he gets too close, I'll spring at him and eat him," he thought.
But then he remembered how much fun they had had together and how nice Frog-child had been to teach him how to hop.  So he sighed sadly to himself and slid away into the bush.
And from that day onward, Frog child and Snake-child never played together again.  But they often sit alone in the sun, each thinking about their one day of friendship.
 
Hebrew Word of the week:  Tikun Olam-Repairing the world.
 
  ***sorry no photo album this week.

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