"Gaining Perspective in the Holy Land"
A Travel Program in Palestine and Israel, June 13-26, 2011
Led By Dr. Tony Bing, Prof Emeritus, Earlham College

Map of West Bank & adjacent IsraelEntire group in At-Tuwani, South Hebron Hills (West Bank).

Back row: Tony Bing, Will Boland, Bob Broad, Dylan Hile-Broad, Janet Owen, Wil Rutt, Shirley Harriman, Bill Shaw.
Middle row: Ted Lollis, Sandra McQueen, Sandi Everts, Susan Lathrop, Sam Neff, Jim Matlack, Rebecca Pierce, Emma McGrath.
Front row: Bill Harvey, Ruth Neff, Rafat Salsa (guide), Barbara Schonborn, Marina Shaw, Sally Ahnger, Linda Clark, Stacey Keogh, local host.
Missing: David Reese (taking photos), Trayce Peterson (dropped out), Mark Amos (dropped out), Rami Yatim (later guide).


This file contains a day-to-day record of our visit to the West Bank. (Another file covers our visit to Israel.)
Each day's record has two parts: Copy of the preliminary preliminary, followed by
illustrated descriptions of places actually visited (and of many people actually encountered).
# = Names for which I have business cards. * = Names for which Jim Matlack copied business cards.
Right click any image to enlarge.

This file covers our visit to the West Bank, June 13-20, 2011.
(To see our visit to Israel, June 21-28, 2011, load the file "trip_2011_part _2.htm.")

Monday, June 13: Depart home.

June 2011 - Harper's Magazine. I buy the current copy at the airport. It happens to contain two articles related to this trip: (1) "Dust to Dust" (photos of ruined Yasser Arafat International Airport in southern Gaza) by Andrew McConnell, pp. 50-53. (2) "Salt March to the Dead Sea: Gandhi's Palestinian reincarnation" by David Dean Shulman (Renee Lang Professor of Humanistic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem [and] member of the activist group Ta'ayush), pp. 76-79. Shulman lauds Abdallah Abu Rahmah (Bil'in), Ali Abu Awwad (Bethlehem & Beit Jala) & Ezra Nawi (Israel).
Date? - PATH Train, NJ-NY (USA). Round trip from Penn Station in Newark, NJ, to World Trade Center Station in Lower Manhattan, NY. (PATH = Port Authority Trans-Hudson.)

September 11, 2001 - Ground Zero, viewed from World Financial Center (WFC), Lower Manhattan, New York (USA). View of current onstruction (right image) from WFC's Winter Garden (left image). Also saw the WFC marina (with a view of the Statue of Liberty), Hudson River ferry terminal, Irish Hunger Memorial, St. Paul's Chapel (not allowed in to see the Bell of Hope) & City Hall Park.

Tuesday, June 14 (Day one): Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod (15 km / 9 mi southeast of Tel Aviv), transfer to your hotel (El-Beit Guest House of the Arab Women Union, Beit Sahour, telephone 02-2775857) in BETHLEHEM for dinner and overnight.

C
I
T
I
E
S
 1994 - Modi'in (Israel) & Modi'in Illit (Occupied West Bank). New Israeli cities on both sides of the Green Line midway between Tel Aviv & Jerusalem. Modi'in Illit overlooks Bil'in (which we visit on June 18). It is "a Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] Israeli settlement granted city status by the Israeli government in 2008 [the only such settlement?]. As of December 2009, it had a total population of 46,200, making it the largest Jewish community in the area. Like all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Modi'in Illit is widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. The Israeli government believes that Modi'in Illit would remain within Israeli jurisdiction in a final-status agreement with the Palestinians." N.B.: Bill, Marina, Ruth, Sally & I received a running commentary from our Palestinian van driver as we passed Modi'in & mile after mile of security fences & walls, checkpoints, modern Jewish settlements & not so modern Arab villages all the way from BG airport in Lod, via North & East Jerusalem, to our hotel in Beit Sahour/Bethlehem.
H
O
T
E
L
 Date? - El-Beit Guest House of the Arab Women Union, Beit Sahour (West Bank).
- Get-Acquainted Meeting at El-Beit Guest House. In this photo: Jim, Bill Harvey, Sally, Sam, Wil, Sandi, Janet & Sandra.
- Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies, Beit Sahour (West Bank). Conversation with executive director Michael Awad. Obtain itinerary & "Palestine Road Map, 1,200,000" published by Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ), 2008.

Wednesday, June 15 (Day two): We will visit the Shepherds Field in Beit Sahour, then Church of the Nativity and the old city of Bethlehem. Visit the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between Peoples (PCR) and meet with Dr. Mazin Qumsieh. Then we will visit [Dheisheh?] Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. From there, we will meet with Badil Resource Center. Dinner with Kairos Palestine Team. Overnight at El-Beit Guest House, Beit Sahour, in Bethlehem.
P
A
R
K
C
H
U
R
C
H
S
H
O
P
 1954 - Shepherds' Field, Beit Sahour (West Bank). Visit led by #*Ra'fat Ph. Salsa. This is the Catholic field. The other two are Greek Orthodox & Protestant. Visit Holy Land Handicraft Cooperative Souvenir Shop. N.B.: Could be a peace monument. "PAX" & "Peace on Earth, Good Well to Men" inscribed in multiple places on the church & grotto. Built by Antonio Barluzzi [1884-1960] in 1954.

N
G
O
 Date? - Palestinian Center for Raprochment Between People, Beit Sahour (West Bank). Lecture by #*Dr. Mazin Qumsieh, Professor at Bethlehem University.

C
E
N
T
E
R
 July 1, 2001 - Bethlehem Peace Center, Bethlehem (Palestine). Cultural Center owned and operated by Bethlehem Municipality. Located on Manger Square between Church of the Nativity & Mosque of Omar. Pope Benedict XVI said mass in front on May 13, 2009 (right image). N.B. No exhibits. Ground floor has tourist info office, bookshop (closed when we were there) & restrooms. Upstairs has auditorium. Bill Shaw & I agreed this does not qualify as a peace museum.

T
R
E
E
 About 2005 - "The Tree Of Peace," Manger Square, Bethlehem (Palestine). An olive tree said to have been moved by construction of the Israeli Separation Wall. Its plaque reads: "EEC - SHAREK - YMCA Gratitude to those who choose to keep hope alive. COMMUNALE D'ATH / BELGIUM. I am 500 years old, I was uprooted without my permission from my original site (Th. Kamis Land) in Bir Ona - Beit Jala along with thousands of trees all over Palestine to build an apartheid wall.... I am still alive." FYI, Ath is a town in Walloon province of Hainaut, Belgium, and Beit Jala is adjacent to Bethlehem. N.B.: This plaque is only a portion of the earlier sign (left image). The tree we saw (inside the enclosure for a sidewalk restaurant) on June 15, 2011, is a younger & greener specimen (right image). Note Church of the Nativity in rear of left image & Bethlehem Peace Center in rear of right image.

N
G
O
 1998 - Holy Land Trust (HLT), 529 Manger Street, Bethlehem (Palestine). "Seeks to empower the community through mobilizing its strengths & resources in order to address the challenges of the present & create real opportunities for the future." Founded by executive director Sami Awad. Successor to Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence (founded by Awad's father Mubarak Awad in 1984). N.B.: HLT was never mentioned on our tour, and Sami Awad did not respond to my emails.

C
H
U
R
C
H
 325 AD - Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (West Bank). Including Grotto of the Nativity & the Milk Grotto. N.B.: Its tourist brochure calls Bethlehem "a city for peace."

C
A
M
P
 1948? - D'heisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem (Palestine). Conversation at Ibdaa Cultural Center with Issa LNU (middle images). Walking tour. Many murals, some same as Banksy paintings on & near the separation wall (e.g. right image). Several show Handala (image at right), symbol of Palestinian defiance by cartoonist Naji al-Ali [1938-1987]. Left image shows entrance/exit gate constructed by Israel & retained as a monument after fence removed (now hung with symbolic keys).
M
U
R
A
L
 2001 - Mural in Ibdaa Cultural Center, D'heisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem (Palestine). "A four-story mural produced in collaboration with the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA). Mural hugs stairs & tells history of Palestine one era per floor, ending with hopes & dreams for the future." "Depicts the history of Palestine from before the formation of the state of Israel, to the present period and ends with a depiction of hopes and dreams for a better future... Susan Greene of Break the Silence Mural Project (BTS) traveled to the West Bank of Occupied Palestine to create the four-story mural in coordination with Palestinian youth and artists. The mural was designed and painted by Palestinian youth and artists, Americans & American Jews." N.B.: 0n opposite wall of the 4th floor is a long writing on "Peace" by Jojo (age 11) of San Francisco, CA, who was killed at age 23.
Date? - Palestinian monument, near entrance of Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem (Palestine). Donated by Japanese government. N.B.: Bill Harvey took a photo of this monument.
M
U
R
A
L
 May 8, 2010 - Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural, 119-1/2 Capitol Way North, Olympia, Washington (USA). By mural artist Susan Greene. The Olympia-Rafah Soldarity Mural Project (ORSMP) "furthers Rachel Corrie's dream of building a sister city relationship between Rafah, Gaza Strip (Palestine), where she was killed in 2003, and Olympia, Washington, USA, where she grew up and attended The Evergreen State College." See video.

C
H
U
R
C
H
 Date? - Kairos Palestine Team. Lecture at Siraz Center by Nora Karmi (Sabeel?) from Jerusalem. Obtain "Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth" ("Christian Palestinians' word to the world" signed by 13 patriarchs & heads of churches), December 15, 2009, pp. 18.

P
A
R
K
 Future - Oush Grab Peace Park, Jerusalem-Eastern Gush Etzion Highway, Beit-Sahour (Shepherd’s Field), east of Bethlehem (Palestine). Also called Ush Ghurab. A development (fully funded by USAID in 2006) for a children’s hospital, youth center, public peace park, environmental center, recreation center, cultural center & and parking lot, but halted (indefinitely?) due to a counter proposal by "Women in Green" for a "Jewish Shdema" (settlement) on the same site (which is an abandoned IDF army camp). Click here for update & many photos (as of March 20, 2010?). N.B.: Nothing was said about this park, and we did not visit it.

D
I
N
N
E
R
 2010? - Dinner at Grotto Restaurant, Beit Sahour (West Bank). Click here for video.

Thursday, June 16 (Day three): Visit the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) in Bethlehem and continue to Bethlehem University; meet with faculty and Students. Lunch in Bethlehem University. In the afternoon, walk around the [barrier] wall in the Bethlehem area and visit the Tent of Nations outside of Bethlehem. Meet with Alegra Pacheco at the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between Peoples (PCR). Spend the late afternoon & evening with host families in Bethlehem areas and overnight with families.

N
G
O
 Date? - Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ), Karkafeh Street, Bethlehem (Palestine). Slogan: "Toward a Sustainable Palestine." Presentation by director general #*Dr.Jad Isaac. Later receive copies of ARIJ's new map, "The Geopolitical Status of the Palestinian Territories, May 2011." Isaac or somebody else recommends the website WhoProfits.org.

U
N
I
V
 1973 - Bethlehem University (BU), Bethlehem (Palestine). Presentations by guest relations officer #*Demitri Awwad & three students. Walk around campus. Lunch in university cafeteria.


W
A
L
L
 August 2005 & Ongoing - Peace Grafitti on the Israeli Separation Wall, Bethlehem (Palestine). "A silhouette of children riding an escalator up and over the wall is one of many pieces of artwork painted on the barrier wall between Bethlehem and Jerusalem." "In August 2005, [anonymous British grafitti artist] Banksy painted nine images, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall." /// "Some locals found [the donkey mural] offensive and painted over it [in December 2007]. 'We're humans here, not donkeys. This is insulting. I'm glad it was painted over,' said restaurant owner Nasri Canavati. 'Comparing someone to a donkey in Palestinian society is like calling them an idiot.'" Click here for a gallery of Separation Wall peace art.

M
U
R
A
L
 About 2005 - Peace Mural, Bethlehem (Palestine). "Famous mural in Bethlehem." Shows gunsite aimed at dove of peace in armored vest. By anonymous British grafitti artist Banksy. N.B.: In East Jerusalem I bought a book showing the wall paintings of Banksy & other artists.

G
A
T
E
 May 8, 2008 - "Gate of Return," Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem (Palestine). "Palestinians watch as a huge 10-metre long iron key is placed atop the symbolic "Return Gate" during a gathering to mark the 60th anniversary of the "Nakba" (catastrophe). Several hundred Palestinians chanting "the right of return is sacred" staged a march today around a truck carrying a 10-tonne metal key symbolising the homes people lost in 1948 when the Jewish state of Israel was created."

F
A
R
M
 Date? - Tent of Nations (TON), Daher's Vineyard, near Bethlehem (Palestine). Presentation in cave by Almer Nasser (right image). Walk around various facilities. View Israeli settlements on two sides. Daoud Nasser is currently on tour in USA.

R
O
C
K
S
 Date? - "We Refuse To Be Enemies" & "Learning Hope / Planting Peace," Tent of Nations (TON), Daher's Vineyard, Bethlehem (Palestine). Sign at gate painted "We refuse to be enemies. Wir weigern uns feinde zu sein.." "Today, the Tent of Nations is housed under the Bethlehem Bible College umbrella with support from Friends of Tent of Nations." N.B.: I asked Daher Nasser to show me the second rock which he did.

S C H O O L
1984 - Hope Flowers School (HFS), Al-Khader, Bethlehem (Palestine). "A unique institution where students receive a human-rights based education alongside the formal national curriculum. Founded by Hussein Issa, a Palestinian man whose family was forced to flee their home in 1948 following the violence that marked the inauguration of the State of Israel. Since 2001, the school has been run by his son Ibrahim Issa, who continues to ensure that the 250+ pupils at the school receive peace education alongside the mandatory school curriculum. The school is open to pupils aged 4-13. N.B. We drove by this school, but nothing was said about it.

N
G
O
 January 1998 - *BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Karkafa Street, Bethlehem (Palestine). Presentation by Akram Salhab.
- Dinner & first overnight with local families, Beit Sahour (West Bank). Photo shows view from our bedroom window.

Friday, June 17 (Day four) - Muslim Day of Prayers: Today we will go south to visit the people of HEBRON, visit the Tombs of the Patriarchs and the old city of Hebron. We will meet with the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC) and Then we will visit the Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) in the south Hebron hills. Back to Bethlehem meet with Palestinian officials. Dinner and overnight at El-Beit Guest House, Beit Sahour, in Bethlehem.

N
G
O
 Date? - "Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron" (TIPH), Hebron (West Bank). TIPH member countries are Norway, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland & Turkey . N.B.: I talked to a single uniformed TIPH rep (left image) while he watched Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint between the souq & the Haram Al-Ibrahimi Mosque. The whole team is shown at the mosque in the web image on the right. Later obtain "Hebron: History, culture and tourism" by Hebron-France Association for Cultural Exchange & TIPH, about 2010, pp.90.
N
G
O
 1996 - Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC), Hebron (West Bank). Presentation by public relations director *Walid S. Abu-Alhalaweh. HRC has restored many run-down buildings & streets in an effort to resptore pride and help retain Arab population in the Old City of Hebron.

N
G
O
 1998 - *Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), Hebron & At-Tuwani (West Bank). Conversation & tour with Franciscan Sister Paulette Schroeder. Conversation with Matt Chandler (CPT) & ______ (Italian Operation Dove) & tour of At-Tuwani village. See small one-room Museum of Non-Violent Resistance (mostly photographs). See Israeli soldiers & Ma'on settlement on nearby hilltop.

N
G
O
 Date? - Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP), Beit Ummar (West Bank). 7 km north of Hebron. Rooftop converstion with #*Musa Abu Maria about encroachment of an Israeli settlement into his town.

P
A
R
T
Y
 Date? - Lecture by local politician Faud Kokaly at Siraj Center, Beit Sahour (West Bank). "Born in Beit Sahour. Arrested & imprisoned several times by Israel. Mayor of Beit Sahour for many years. Current head of the Fatah party in Bethlehem. Now a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament)."

September 7, 2009 - "In Sorrow and Shame" Plaque, Jewish Cemetery, Hebron (Palestine). "Points to a new trend among British Christians -- repentance for their country’s conduct during the Palestine Mandate. Close to the graves [left image] of Jews killed by an Arab mob in the 1929 Hebron Massacre, the plaque [right image] declares in Hebrew & English: "In sorrow and shame. We recognise that officers of the British administration neglected their duty to protect the Jewish citizens of Hebron during the Arab uprising in 1929. 'Father, Forgive us,' we pray. Love Never Fails Network of UK Christian ministries, September 7, 2009." Installed by an interdenominational Christian umbrella organization that represents 20 British ministries & has a total membership of 30,000 [Chrisian Friends of Israel]." N.B.: Not seen.
- Dinner & second overnight with local families, Beit Sahour (West Bank). Photo shows Bill Harvey with our host, hostess & one of their three daughters.

Saturday, June 18 (Day five) - Jewish Shabbat: Trip to RAMALLAH: Meet with Defense for Children International (DCI). Visit the Quakers house in Ramallah (FIRC) and meet with #Kathy Bergen and Jean Zaru. Meet with the PLO Negotiations Support Unit and visit Arafat Tomb. Drive to BIL'IN, hear about the on going Non-violent struggle and enjoy dinner and overnight with local families in Bil'in.

R
O
A
D
 Date? - Drive from Beit Sahour on Palestinian roads around east side of Jerusalem on the Valley of Fire Road (right image) & past the Qalandiya checkpoint (left image) to Ramallah. We see one Mar Elias Monestery, bedouin camps, several IDF bases & an intersection around which many olive trees were reduced to stumps. Several sections of the road were constructed with USAID assistance. We never not pass through the infamous Bethlehem checkpoint.
N
G
O
 Date? - Defence for Children International (DCI), Palestine Section, Al-Sartawi Building, Al-Khoulafa' Street, Al-Bireh/Ramallah (West Bank). Presentation by lawyer #*Gerard Horton (Australian) about arrests of children. Presentation by Anne Marie ______ (Irish) on settler violence. Obtain "Palestinian Child Prisoners 2007 (December 2008, pp. 47)," "Under Attack: Settler Violence against Palestinian Children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (July 2010, pp.89) & other brochures.

N
G
O
 Date? - Friends International Center, Main Street, Ramallah (West Bank). Conversations with program coordinator Kathy Bergen, presiding clerk Jean Zaru & author Neta Golan. Golan is a co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
B
O
O
K
 2008 - "Occupied with Nonviolence: A Palestinian Woman Speaks" by Jean Zaru, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, pp. 144.

M
T
G
 March 6, 1910 - Friends Meeting House, Ramallah (Palestine). One of the very few Friends meeting houses in the Middle East. In 1948 the buildings and grounds became the home to many Palestinian refugees. On March 6, 2005, exactly 95 years to the day after the dedication, the restored Meetinghouse and Annex were rededicated as a Quaker and community resource. Friends meet every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. for unprogrammed Meeting for Worship. Everyone is welcome to attend.

M
T
G
 2008 - "The Middle-East Dialogue Quilt," Friends Meeting House, Ramallah (Palestine). Now hung on the front wall of the meeting house. Created in Boston & transported to Ramallah by Jim Harb of Knoxville, Tennessee. /// Right image shows Marina Shaw, Bill Shaw & Kathy Bergen holding literature from the Dayton International Peace Museum, of which Bill is president. Both images show presiding clerk Jean Zaru at left.

S
C
H
O
O
L
 1869 - Ramallah Friends Schools, Ramallah (Palestine). The Friends Girls' School was inaugurated in 1869; the construction of the Friends Boy's School began in 1901 and opened in 1918. Presentation by director Joyce Ajlouny (right image). N.B. Ajlouny did not remember Jim Harb's introduction.

G
A
R
D
E
N
 April 2004 - Peace Garden, Kaykub Gardens, opposite Friends High School, Ramallah (Palestine). "An initiative of observers from Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine & Israel (EAPPI) who were living at Swift House." Contains boulder inscribed "In rebembrance of Susan Rhodes and all who live and die for peace." (Rhodes was a Quaker & a Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) member from the UK who died recently of cancer.) N.B. The student who guided us to the larger garden had never heard of the Susan Rhodes memorial, but Ruth Neff and I finally found it in a distant corner of the garden.
C
O
M
P
O
U
N
D
 March 29, 2002-October 2004 - Mukataa, Ramallah (Palestine). Unintentional monument. "Also known as Arafat's Compound. Raided by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) & placed under siege on 29 March 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield. The siege was lifted in May 2002 after 6 men wanted by Israel for the killing of the Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi were handed over. Mukataas were mostly built during the British Mandate as Tegart forts & were used both as British government centers & as dwellings for the British administrative staff. After the British left, the buildings often functioned similarly under the Jordanians, then the Israelis. After the Oslo Accords, the Mukataas were used as governmental offices & headquarters for the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Mukaatas in Ramallah & Gaza, the two major Palestinian cities, were also used as headquarters to the High Palestinian Authority leadership, including as office for Yasser Arafat, long-time PA president." The compound in Ramalla was again placed under seige in September 2002. Arafat remained under house arrest until his departure for medical care in Paris in October 2004 (followed by his death on November 11, 2004). N.B.: Never mentioned, and we did not see. So I still wonder what's left of the Mukataa and where the Palestinian Authority now has its offices.

T
O
M
B
 November 11, 2007 - Mausoleum & Minaret honoring Yasser Arafat, Al-Muqata'a, Ramallah (Palestine). Dedicated on the third anniversary of Arafat's death in Paris. Right next to the presidential headquarters where Arafat spent his last years. Yasser Arafat [1929-2004] received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 with Shimon Peres & Yitzhak Rabin. N.B.: On our itinerary, but we did not go there due to a supposed lack of time.

V
I
L
L
A
G
E
 Date? - Bil'in (Occupied Palestine). Presentations by Ahmed Samara, Abdallah Bietello, Radwan Yasen et al. Video "Curfew in Bilin." Right image shows Barrier Gate at Bil'in. "The gate is the only means of entry for the villagers who have been separated from their farmland by the Israeli West Bank Barrier." "The barrier's section in this area was built to separate the Modi'in bloc settlements of Mattityahu, Modi'in Illit & Hashmona'im from Bil'in & other Palestinian villages." On June 19, Tony Bing recommends the Friends of Rani website about Bel'in. Dinner & overnight with local families in Bil'in & nearby Harbatha.


T
R
E
E
 Ancient - - Olive Tree named "Mahaseem," Bil'in, West Bank (Occupied Palestine). Believed to be 1,000 years old. On road between Palestinian village & Israeli apartheid fence where Bil'in residents hold a protest every Friday (sometimes accompanied by "internationals"). Left image shows the tree & the tree's owner Radwan Yasen (some of whose olive trees have been destroyed by Israel). Right image shows Israeli troops through the fence. Both photos taken June 18, 2011. Click here for AP story dated June 27, 2011, about partial removal of the fence at Bil'in (as published in the Boston Globe).

Sunday, June 19 (Day six) - Christian Day of Worship: Full day trip in NABLUS. Visit the Old city, traditional Soap factory, visit Jacob's well and Tel Balata. Meet with the Samaritan Community. Dinner and overnight at #Al-Yasmeen Hotel (telephone 09-2333555) in Nablus.
T
O
M
B
 Date? - Joseph's Tomb, Nablus (West Bank). Image shows the tomb when the Palestinian Authority took control in 2000.
S
I
T
E
 Date? - Tell Balata Archeological Site, Nablus (West Bank). Also known as "Shechem." Tour on foot. Talk to archeologists from University of Leiden (Netherlands). Click here for Wikipedia article.

C
H
U
R
C
H
 Date? - Greek Orthodox Monestery of Jacob's Well, Nablus (West Bank). Jewish, Samaritan, Christian, and Muslim traditions all associate the well with Jacob, third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.

C
H
U
R
C
H
 Date? - Samaritan Museum, Samaritan Community (Kiriat Luza) on Mount Gerizim, near Nablus (West Bank). Presentation by priest & museum director *Husney W. Cohen (left image). Visit to Har Bracha Tahini factory. Saw Mount Gerizim International Peace Center, but it is closed temporarily according to Cohen. Right image shows Nablus with Mount Gerizim in the background.
H
O
T
E
L
 Date? - Al-Yasmeen Hotel, Nablus (West Bank). "In designing Al Yasmeen Hotel, we were extremely keen to restore the existing six hundred years old building and connect it with the new building. Using Eastern architectural designs were utilized to reflect the spirit of the Old City of Nablus."

Monday, June 20 (Day seven): After visiting Sabastya, drive to area of JININ. Visit Jinin Refugee camp and tour the Freedom Theatre. Meet with the Popular Committee of Services in Jinin camp and hear about the Massacre [of April 1-11, 2002]. After visit Burqin village, where Jesus healed the ten lepers, drive to NAZARETH, for dinner with Taha Mohammad Ali, and we will hear about his poetry. Overnight at St. Margaret's Hostel (telephone 04-6573507) in Nazareth.

R
U
I
N
 Date? - Sebastia, near Nablus (West Bank). Roman ruin, including theater (shown in images). Right image shows David Reese singing an Italian aria in the theater.

T
H
E
A
T
E
R
 2006 - Freedom Theatre, Jenin Refugee Camp, Jenin (Palestine). Presentation by acting school coordinator #*Rawand Arqawi. "The only professional venue for theatre & multimedia in the north of the West Bank in Occupied Palestine... Enables the young generation in the area to develop new & important skills which will allow them to build a better future for themselves & for their society." Founded by actor & filmmaker Juliano Mer-Khamis [1958-2011] - image at right - who was assassinated in the street very near the theatre on April 4, 2011. N.B.: I gave two TVUUC t-shirts to Arqawi.

H
O
R
S
E
 2003 - Horse, Jenin Refugee Camp, Jenin (Palestine). By German sculptor Thomas Kippler, along with 12 Jenin teenagers. "A very artistic entrance into a seemingly grim place. But like many images here, what you see is not necessarily all there is to the story. The horse is made up of scraps and pieces of cars that were blown up when the Israeli army invaded April 1-11, 2002. And when you look at the right side of the horse, you are able to make out a sign that reads 'ambulance' indicating that no vehicles were off limit." N.B.: Plaque credits the sculpture to the Goethe Institut.

N
G
O
 Date? - Popular Committee of Service, Jenin Regugee Camp, Jenin (West Bank). Presentation by chairman Abu _____ (interpreted by Rami). Presentation of the film "Jenin...Jenin." Walking tour of the camp. Many buildings rebuilt since the massacre of 2002 with money from the UAE. Several interesting murals (though not as many as in Bethlehem). Click here for an interesting photo essay about Jenin & vicinity (in Spanish).

C
E
M
 2002 - Martyrs' Cemetery, Jenin (Palestine). "But a few meters from Jenin Refugee Camp. On a warm, sunny day I stood in front of the memorial to the victims of the massacre of 2002 and remembered them, as I had long promised to do. I remembered the forgotten. It is not an imposing monument; had the victims been Israeli, a more grandiose memorial would have been built, perhaps with a museum, perhaps with a carefully-maintained eternal flame. I was disappointed at first. Is this what I had travelled from Occupied Jerusalem to see? Through Ramallah, Nablus and those checkpoints manned by bored, surly adolescent soldiers?" N.B.: We did not visit this cemetery, although someone at the camp happened to say that Janin has more martyrs than any other city in the West Bank.

N
G
O
 Date? - Presentation by Dr. Kamal Abdel Fatah in a sweets shop, Jenin (West Bank).
N
G
O
 Date? - Canaan Fair Trade, near Jenin (West Bank). Showroom & olive oil processing plant.

B
O
R
D
E
R
 Date? - Israeli Checkpoint on border between West Bank & Israel. Just south of fertile Jezreel Valley (seen in map & photo). About half of our group had their baggage searched, but we got through without incident.

H
O
T
E
L
 1874 - St. Margaret's Hostel (or Hospice), Nazareth (Israel). "Built in 1874 by a Prussian architect, in purpose of serving the Greek Orthodox monastery, as it did for many years." Now owned by the Anglican Church. Left image shows dangerously steep two-story staircase leading to most of the guest rooms.

This is the end of file covering our visit to the West Bank, June 13-20, 2011.
(To see our visit to Israel, June 21-28, 2011, load the file "trip_2011_part_2.htm.")