N G O

Date? - Mary's Well & nearby church, Nazareth (Israel).

N G O

Date? - Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth (Israel). Right image is "Immaculate Conception" by Charles L. Madden of Maple Glen, Pennsylvania (USA).

N G O

Date? - Committee of Displaced Palestinians. Presentation by Daoud Bader (Arab citizen of Israel) - right image. Tour of his Village of Al-Ghabisiyya near Nahariya (Israel) & close to the Lebanese bordeer (long drive from Nazareth). Village (also called Samniyya?) was ethnically cleansed during the 1948 war. All houses later destroyed. Ruined mosque (left image) is only remaining building. Click here for Wikipedia article.

M U S E U M

1949 - Beit Lohamei Hagetaot / Ghetto Fighters' House Museum, Coastal Highway (#4) between Acre (Akko) & Nahariya, Western Galilee (Israel). "Founded by members of Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, a community of Holocaust survivors, among them fighters of the ghetto undergrounds and partisan units. The museum is named after Itzhak Katzenelson [1886-1944], a Jewish poet who died at Auschwitz. The world’s first museum commemorating the Holocaust & Jewish heroism. Represents the highest expression of its founders’ commitment to Holocaust education in Israel & the world. The museum tells the story of the Jewish people in the 20th century, and particularly during WW-II and the Holocaust. At the center of the narrative is the individual, and the many expressions of Jewish resistance in ghettos, concentration camps, and partisan combat." (One of only two Holocaust museums located on a kibbutz (the other being at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai.) N.B.: We did not visit this museum even though we came within 2-3 kilometers. On June 25, Ruth Heller said in Tel Aviv on June 23 that this museum is balanced (in contrast to Yad Vashem).

M E M O R I A L March 30, 1978 - Land Day Monument, Sakhnin, Galilee (Israel). By Abed Abdi & Gershon Knispel. "First time that a symbol of Palestinian nationality appeared in the public sphere [in Israel]. From 1978 to this day, on every March 30 the monument is a central marking point of remembrance ceremonies for the Land Day events in Galilee." Land Day is an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of events on March 30, 1976, when the Israeli government announced a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of land for "security & settlement purposes," a general strike & marches were organized in Arab towns, & in ensuing confrontations with the Israeli army and police, six Arab citizens were killed, about one hundred were wounded & hundreds of others arrested. N.B.: This was several kilometers off our route & impractical to visit, even if our leaders had wanted to do so.

N G O

Date? - Union of the Arab Community-Based Associations (Ittijah), Nazareth (Israel). Presentation by *Sobhi Sgier, general director of Center for Commuinity Development (Ahali).

T H E A T R E

2009 - Open-air Theatre, Mount of Precipice, Nazareth (Israel). A "gift for peace" constructed in time for Pope Benedict XVI to say mass here on May 14, 2009. "On the less steep side of the hill facing northwards is a TV aerial shaped thing at the front with a series of concrete steps to sit on which looks like a pleasant place to watch a concert or (small) sports event. It looks unfinished & rushed to be honest." /// "No visitor to Nazareth should miss the breath-taking panorama from the city’s highest point, about 2 km to the southeast of the city. The Mount of Precipice, also known as the Mount of The Leap of the Lord & Jabal Kufsi in Arabic, is traditionally the place in the Bible where the people of Nazareth took Jesus to hurl him into the abyss below. The Mount has been developed into a tourist area, with a viewing platform, which overlooks the whole of the Jezreel Valley, from Jordan & the Gilad Mountains in the east, past Mount Tabor (the site of Jesus’ Transfiguration) to Mount Carmel, Haifa & the Mediterranean Sea in the west." N.B.: Not visited, but visible from St. Margaret's Hostel.

1938 - Roman Catholic Franciscan chapel, Mount of Beatitudes, between Capernaum & Gennesaret, northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee (Israel). Also known as Mount Eremos. Stained glass windows around the dome depict "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" [Matthew 5:9] & the other Beatitudes.

C H U R C H

Date? - Church of the Multiplication, Tabgha, Galilee (Israel). Also called En Sheva. Celebrates Jesus' multiplication of fishes & loaves.

S I T E

P O L E

Date? - Peace Pole, Capernaum, Sea of Galilee (Israel). Also called Kefar Nahum. "The town is cited in the Gospel of Luke where it was reported to have been the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James & John, as well as the tax collector Matthew. In Matthew 4:13 the town was reported to have been the home of Jesus. According to Luke 4:31-44, Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum on Sabbath... In March 2000, John Paul II visited the ruins of Capernaum during his visit to Israel." N.B.: We saw the two stones, but the peace pole was missing! (middle image).

L U N C H

Date? - #St. Peter's Restaurant, Kfar Nahum (Israel). On Sea of Galilee. Dip in Sea of Galilee. "Beach" is very hot & sharp volcanic rocks. Water is calm & dirty but relatively cool. Lunch of whole tilapia (aka St. Peter's fish) for 70 NIS. Fish said to be fresh caught but reported later to be farm raised.

S Y R I A

Occupied in 1967 - Golan Heights (Occupied Syria). We drive on east side of the Sea of Galilee from the Jordan River inlet in the north to the Jordan River outlet in the south.

S I T E

Date? - #*"Yardenit," Kibbutz Kinneret, Jordan River, Galilee (Israel). "The Baptismal Site on the Jordan River." N.B.: Peace pole not far from Jordan River overlook with World Peace Prayer in English, Hebrew, Arabic & Spanish.

N G O

1908 - Kvutzat Kinneret, Galilee (Israel). Conversation at Yardenit with Emma _____ (from England, 30 years in Israel) who also accompanied our bus on a short tour of her kibbutz, Kvutzat Kinneret.

C E M

1908? - Kinneret Cemetery, Galilee (Israel). Contains graves of Zionist pioneers including poet Rachel Bluwstein [1890-1931] -- famous according to Tony Bing.

B O A T

Date? - Boat ride, Tiberias, Galilee (Israel).

S C H O O L

1977 - Peace Center, Mar Elias Educational Institutions, I'billin, Northern District (Israel). Founded by Archbishop Elias Chacour, author of "Blood Brothers" (which contains this date). Arab students from all over the Galilee gather at the institutions regardless of their origins, ethical & political views. "Father Chacour began with a kindergarten founded in 1970, an elementary school in 1997 (a new elementary school is currently under construction), a high school in 1982, a two-year technical college in 1994, a regional teacher training center in 1996, & in 2003, the Mar Elias University Campus opened. Mar Elias Peace Center is now a reality on the campus. Initially the Center will bring academics in the field of Peace Studies to campus for support of cooperative programs between Arab and Jewish schools and teachers' centers." N.B.: Chacour was out of the country. So we skipped I'billin.

M U R A L S

Date? - Peace Murals, Mar Elias School, I'billin, Northern District (Israel). School founded by Archbishop Elias Chacour, author of "Blood Brothers." N.B.: Not seen.

S H R I N E

G A R D E N

March 21, 1909 - Shrine & Gardens, Baha'i World Centre, Mount Carmel, Haifa (Israel). Many of the locations at the Baha'i World Centre, including the terraces and the Shrine of the Bab (right image) which constitute the north slope of Mount Carmel, were inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2008. There are also many Bahá'í holy places in and around Acre (27 road km north of Haifa). They originate from the imprisonment of Baha'i founder Bahá'u'lláh [1817-1892] during Ottoman Rule.

P A R K

1978 - Mitzpor Shalom / Vista of Peace Park, between : Zionism Avenue 112 & 2nd November Road, Haifa (Israel). "A beautiful, serene, and peaceful park with a fantastic view of Haifa and the bay. The first public sculpture garden in the world dedicated solely to the works of a woman sculptor. Sculptress Ursula Malbin [b.1917] created all 29 of the statues in the Peace Park as well as some in the Ein Hod artist village. Sculptures include ______, Cat Lady, Trilli & Susi galloping to Mongolia, Guitarist Anonymous, Trillian & boy-friend Anonymous (because his clothes are off). N.B.: We were close, but we did not visit this peace garden.

C H U R C h

1883 - Muhraqa Monastery, Discalced Carmelite Order, Mount Carmel (Israel). Celebrates El-Muihraqa or El-Muhraqa (The Sacrifice). View of Jezreel Valley from roof. "Statue reflects the Lord's victory over the prophets of Baal. Shortly after fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, altar and even the water, Elijah had the prophets of Baal slaughtered at the Brook Kishon - something which should have happened long before!"

V I L L A G E

Date? - #Habait Restaurant, Ein Hawd, near Haifa (Israel). Palestinian village "unrecognized" for many years (as other villages still are). "In 1988 Ein Hawd joined the Association of Unrecognized Arab Villages in Israel & was recognized by the state in 1992. In 2005, it achieved full recognition, including connection to the Israeli electric grid." Film & lunch. N.B.: As indicated by road signs, the Arab town of Ayn Hawd is not to be confused with the Jewish town of En Hod.

C H A I R

July 15, 1995 - The Surreal Peace Chair, Village Entrance, Ein Hod near Haifa (Israel). Bronze 320 cm high. By American artist Dorothy Robbins [1920-1999]. (After a failed attempt to create a moshav on the site, Ein Hod became an artists' colony in 1953.) "Great Travel Moment: During our visit to Ein Hod, my sister took a brief rest in the "Surreal Peace Chair," which was so enormous her feet didn't touch the ground. The village was chock-full of statues, sculptures, murals, studios & galleries. We couldn't afford anything except the photos we took, but it was a beautiful September day, and we felt like Alice in Wonderland as we ambled along and discovered unusual pieces around every bend of this hilly town." N.B.: We drove past Ein Hod (and saw some of its statues on the side of the road), but nothing was said, and we did not stop.

D R I V E

- Drive from near Haifa to Tel Aviv (Israel). Pass sand dunes (left image) -- on which Tel Aviv was constructeed -- & modern skyscrapers (right image). N.B.: Although we drove many miles along the Mediterranean Sea, this is about all we ever saw of it, and no landmarks were pointed out in Tel Aviv. We drove directly to our two appointments (see next below), after which we drove from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after dark.

N G O

Date? - New Profile, home of Dorothy Naor, Tel Aviv (Israel). "Movement for the Civil-ization of Israeli Society." Presentation by #*Ruth Heller from Kibbutz Haogen. Participation of Mr. & Mrs. Naor and two other ladies.

N G O

Date? - Gush Shalom, Tel Aviv (Israel). Presentation by Adam Keller. Presentation by pacifist Amos Givivitz.

B O O K

January 2010 - "Truth against Truth: A Completely Different Look at the Israeil-Palestinian Conflict" by Uri Avnery, Gush Shalom, Tel Aviv, pp 40, free. Click here to obtain the book on-line.

H O U S E

P O L E

October 1991 - Open House of Ramle, Ramla (Israel). Built in 1936 by a Palestinian family. Occupied in 1948 by an Israeli family. Turned into "a preschool & daycare center for Arab & Jewish children in 1991. Runs extracurricular coexistence programs for Jewish, Christian & Muslim children in the afternoons." Described in "The Lemon Tree: An Abab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East" by Sandy Tolan (2006). Click here for 7-minute video by Sandy Tolan. /// Right image shows peace pole of unknown date. N.B.: Most of us had read the book, but no attempt was made to visit this house.

H O T E L

Date? - #Holy Land Hotel, 6 Rashid Street, East Jerusalem. Near Harod's Gate. Our entire group stays here three nights (June 23-26). I stay two additional nights (June 26-28).

C I T Y

Date? - Old City, Jerusalem. Walking tour led by #*Rami Yatim (whose card includes the World Peace Prayer, "May Peace Prevail on Earth"). Herod's Gate, St. Anne's Church, Via Doloroso, Western Wall, The Cardo, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Damascus Gate.

C H U R C H

Date? - Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Old City, Jerusalem.

L U N C H

S H O P

Date? - #"Golden City Restaurant & Cafe Roof," Christian Quarter, Old City, Jerusalem. With view of Old City from the roof. Some shopping after lunch (including #Jerusalem Pottery, Karakashian Bros., 15 Via Dolorosa), followed by stampede of Muslims walking from weekly prayer to Damascus Gate (right image). Left image shows "Tree of Life" tile ($22.00 from Jerusalem Pottery website).

T O M B

Date? - Garden Tomb, Near Damascus Gate, East Jerusalem. Adjacent to Golgotha caves (image). Operated by a Christian organization from England.

S I G N

Date? - Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem sign, inside the Garden Tomb, near Damascus Gate, Jerusalem (Israel). From Psalm 122:6: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee" [King James Version].

N G O

Date? - Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem. Presentations by Sarah Brubaker, Omar Harami & founder & head Naim Ateek. Obtain Cornerstone newsletter (Spring 2011) & Ateek's letter to Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams (June 23, 2011).

N G O

Date? - Grassroots Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Bus tour of Israeli reconstruction of East Jerusalem, including Ma'aleh Adumim, huge settlement extending Jerusalem almost halfway to Jericho & the Dead Sea, thus dividing the West Bank. Tour led by "advocacy officer" #*Angela Godfrey-Goldstein. Showed maps by Michael Younan. See her blogs here and here. Google her name for other articles. Grassroots Jerusalem website is not yet functional. Right image shows a transplanted olive tree in a Ma'aleh Adummim traffic circle (one of several).

T R E E

September 15, 2008 - Tolerance Park & Monument, Alar Street (an extension of Haas Promenade), Jerusalem (Israel). "Designed by Polish sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj (known for his religious art) in collaboration with Michal Kubiak. Funded [for $4 million] by Polish businessman Aleksander Gudzowaty to promote peace & tolerance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Etched on a stone at the entrance to the park are the following words: 'The monument is in the form of two halves of a broken column, which stand divided but still linked, on the ruins of a nameless & ageless temple. An olive tree grows in the middle of the split column & with its leaves seeks to encompass & shade both halves. The tree enables the two parts of the column to link together in symbolic coexistence. It cannot be known when the break will heal, when the two sides will grow back together but it can be seen that between the branches of the olive tree a new seed is sprouting, a golden grain of tolerance." On a hill marking the divide between Jewish Armon HaNetziv & Arab Jabel Mukaber, just outside UN headquarters." "Besides the High Commissioner's Palace." Near Goldman Promenade. "Features a 'Tolerance Wall,' inscribed with the names of cities who have expressed their support for the idea of tolerance & have dedicated a plaque on the wall." Click here for video. Seen 24Jun11. N.B.: We drove by very fast. Our guide Angela Godfrey-Goldstein mentioned this monument (& the new Tolerance Museum) sarcasticly.

F O R E S T

Date? - Jerusalem Peace Forest, near Haas Promenade, Jerusalem (Israel). Descends along the slope below the Promenade. "Surrounded by the neighborhoods of Abu-Tor & Talpiot from one side & by the Old City of Jerusalem from the other side. Links the city's eastern & western parts & thus marks the unification of Jerusalem at the end of the Six Day War. The forest's name symbolizes the hope for peace & brotherhood among the city's residents." /// "Was planted at the edge of the desert, offers its visitors a unique spectacle created by the natural contrast of green trees surrounded by a barren landscape. By planting the forest & further developing the area where it is located, Jewish National Fund (JNF) has contributed to the process of rolling back the desert." /// "The Jerusalem municipality plants a tree in this forest for every child born in Jerusalem, representing the eternal hope of peace bridging the Arab & Jewish populations." N.B.: We did not see the forest, but I photographed a sign to the forest (left image).

L I B A R Y

Date? - Bnai Zion Library of Peace, Ma'aleh Adummim, east of Jerusalem (Occupied West Bank). Ma'aleh Adummim is a huge settlement extending Jerusalem almost halfway to Jericho & the Dead Sea, thus dividing the West Bank. Asked if she'd ever visited this library, Angela Godfrey-Goldstein said no -- for the same reason that she'd never visited the Ma'aleh Adummim shopping center. Right image shows a transplanted olive tree in a Ma'aleh Adummim traffic circle (one of several). The Bnai Zion Foundation of New York, NY -- "The American Fraternal Zionist Organization" -- "has been supporting humanitarian projects in Israel since 1908."

G A T E

1949-1967 - Monument at Mandelbaum Gate, Jerusalem (Israel). On the Green Line. "Next to Tourjeman Post... The gate was established [in 1949] at the intersection directly to the north at the building as [the only] border crossing between Israel & Jordan. Every two weeks the convoy that constituted the only contact with the Israeli enclave on Mount Scopus passed through Mandelbaum Gate." The first checkpoint for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan/Israel Mixed Armistice Commission at the Mandelbaum Gate, from the close of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in 1949 until August 1952, was moved from the Israeli side of the Gate to the Demilitarised Zone after the 'Barrel Incident.' The second checkpoint existed until the 1967 Six-Day War." Right image shows the gate before July 1967. N.B.: This is where I was assigned in 1967. Our guide Angela Godfrey-Goldstein pointed out the monument in the center of a very busy four-lane divided thoroughfare.

N G O

1949 - Lutheran World Federation, Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), Mount Scopus, East Jerusalem. Presentation & tour led by *Rev. Mark B. Brown. Historic building. About 35 acres.

S I T E

Date? - Mount of Olives, East Jerusalem. Walking tour led by Rami Yatim. View of Old City. Jewish Cemetery. Garden of Gethsemane. Church of All Nations. Followed by lunch in East Jerusalem.

N G O

1997 - Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), King George Street, Central Jerusalem. Presentation by coordinator Jeff Halper. Right image shows Halper, Marina Shaw, Bill Harvey & images from new ICAHD display.

B O O K

March 2009 - "Obstacles to Peace: A Re-Framing of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict" by Jeff Halper, 4th edition, pp. 180, 100 NIS. With cartography by "Michael Younan & PalMap of GSE."

S H O P

Date? - Old City, Jerusalem. Shopping tour led by Tony Bing. I bought mosaic of a dove for $100 from Ali at #Holly Land Antiquities [sic], 7 Via Dolorosa (across from the 6th station of the cross). We also visit #Ali baba Souvenir Shop & #The Coral Beach.

H O T E L

1960 - Farewell dinner at Garden-Patio, Kan Zaman Restaurant, Jerusalem Hotel, Nablus Road, East Jerusalem. Each beer cost 24 NIS ($7.20).

S H O P

1984 - #Educational Bookshop, 19 Salah Eddin Street, East Jerusalem. Seller is Mahmound. "EB is a well established & leading bookstore focusing on Middle Eastern culture & the Arab-Israeli conflict. The books are mostly research-based & published by highly respected institutions & publishers world-wide. Our book collection also includes a selection of Arabic literature, guidebooks, dictionaries & Arabic teaching books."

B O O K

2010 - "Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine" by author & photographer William Parry, PlutoPress, London, pp. 192, 100 NIS. About peace grafitti on the Palestinian side of the Israeli apartheid wall, including parody of Guernica (right image) by Ron English (who wrote the forward). Click here to see selected images from the book.

L E T T E R

April 2009 - Open Letter to "My dear Palestinian brothers and sister" from South African Farid Esack, painted on the Israeli apartheid wall, ArRam (West Bank). Between Jerusalem & Ramallah. Contains 1,998 words & stretches 2.6 kilometers, making it probably the world's longest letter. Described in "Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine" by author & photographer William Parry, PlutoPress, London. Click here for the complete text. Click here for video of the letter's entire length.

N G O

Date? - Kids4Peace, Jerusalem (Israel). Conversation with Jerusalem director Yakir Englander at Holy Land Hotel. Meeting arranged by Bill & Marina Shaw.

C H U R C H

1899 - Cathedral of St. George the Martyr, Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (Anglican Church), 20 Nablus Road, East Jerusalem. Sunday morning service attended by Bill, Linda, Marina, Ted, Shirley & Susan. All but Ted shown in right image at the peace pole.

P O L E

Before 2000 - Peace Pole, Cathedral of St. George the Martyr, East Jerusalem. Shows the Peace Prayer ("May Peace Prevail on Earth") in English, Hebrew, Arabic & Japanese.

H O T E L

1902 - American Colony Hotel, East Jerusalem. "Has has always been known as a neutral island, remaining outside the turbulent politics of the land. Owned neither by Arabs or Jews, but by Americans, British and Swedes, it has always had friends from all sectors of Jerusalem’s mixed society. An 'oasis' where Jews & Arabs comfortably meet, it is also a favorite haven for international journalists, high-ranking officers of the UN & diplomats from across the world."

N G O

1976 - Bridges for Peace, Jerusalem (Israel). Conversation with Jonathan Hayward from Portsmouth (England), aka "Brit in Jerusalem," at coffee bar in Mamilla Shopping Mall near Jaffa Gate.

M U S E U M

Future - Center for Human Dignity-Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), Mamilla Jerusalem Cemetery, Jerusalem (Israel). Under construction. An extenstion of the Museum of Tolerence (Holocaust museum) in Los Angeles, California (USA). "Replaces a four-story underground parking structure next to Independence Park. The park is on the grounds of a Muslim cemetery. The project aims to promote tolerance amongst Jewish populations within Israel, including Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, Ethiopians, Russians & others. The new museum complex has been designed by Frank Gehry to resemble a fruit bowl. See Video & Website. N.B.: I probably saw this site but did not recognize it.

C I T Y

Date? - Jaffa & Damascus Gates, Old City, Jerusalem (Isreal). Saw Tourist Info Center, former American Consulate (left image), the Citadel & Jerusalem's new light rail system (right image).

R E S T A U R A N T August 9, 2001 - Sbarro Restaurant, King George Street & Jaffa Road. Jerusalem (Israel). Unintentional monument. Scene of the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing in which Palestinian terrorists attacked a pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem, killing 15 civilians & wounding 130, causing Israel to shut down the unofficial Palestinian "foreign office" at Orient House in West Jerusalem (qv).

S C U L P T

Date? - Unnamed peace sculpture, across from the Cinematek Theater, Derech Hebron, Jerusalem (Israel). Base is made of machine guns & mortars beat into plowshears. Inscribed in Hebrew & Arabic from Isaiah Chapter 2 Verse 4: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. And they shall beat their swords into plowshears and their spears into pruning hooks." N.B.: Not seen.

M U R A L

Summer 2008 - "Around the World in 92 Days," Gerard Bechar [Cultural] Center, 11 Bezalel Street, Jerusalem (Israel). Mural 10 x 18 meters. "A massively impressive & engaging three-part painting...by Jerusalem-based Naïve-style artist Gabriel Cohen [b. 1933]." Reproduced by Cité de la Creation of Lyon, France. Copy of original 1976, 1.7 x 3 meter painting in the Israel Museum. Contains "Jerusalem's Old City walls & Dome of the Rock, Paris' Eiffel tower & Arc de Triomphe, Indian architectural wonders, London's bridges, Egypt's pyramids, Italy's Pisa & other international architectural wonders. In between the buildings, down on the streets & bridges, notice the mix of people, colors, animals & more -- horses, camels, carts & bikes to name a few." ("Before it became a center for the performing arts, the building housed the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.") Seen 27Jun11.

B E L L

April 1996 - Peace Bell (Bonsho), Gan Sacker / Sacher Park, Nahlaot, Jerusalem (Israel). Engraved with the quote from Psalms: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee as well." (Posthumous plagiarism?) Inscription on ground beneath the bell: "This Bonsho has been placed here as a symbol of lasting peace over the City of Jerusalem. The concept of the bell welcomed by the late Prime Minister of Israel Mr. Yitzhak Rabin. This project was made possible by the donations of people whose names are listed in the scroll beneath the Bonsho, represented by Mr. Rikihiro Madarame, presented to the City of Jerusalem and accepted by the mayor M.K. Ehud Olmart. April 1996." English portion of inscription inside the bell: "Koto Oho Shiga Pref Japan, Kinjudo Co., Ltd., 1996.4" The Jerusalem bell has no external striker & therefore cannot be properly rung. Rikihiro Madarame founded Nemic-Lambda, a top producer of power-switching equipment, in 1970. N.B.: This bell was dedicated just days before the International Peace Bell in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

C I T Y

Date? - Ein Kerem or Ain Karem, Jerusalem (Israel). Visit Basilica & Crypt of the Visitation (built by Antonio Barluzzi [1884-1960] in 1955). "The 1947 UN Partition Plan placed [Arab] Ein Kerem in the Jerusalem enclave intended for international control. In Feb. 1948 the village's 300 guerilla fighters were reinforced by a well-armed Arab Liberation Army force of mainly Syrian fighters, and on Mar. 10 a substantial Iraqi detachment arrived in the village, followed within days by some 160 Egyptian fighters. On March 19, the villagers joined their foreign guests in attacking a Jewish convoy on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road. Immediately after the April 1948 massacre at the nearby village of Deir Yassin (2 km to the north), most of the women and children in the village were evacuated. It was attacked by Israeli forces during the 10-day truce of July 1948. The remaining civilian inhabitants fled on July 10-11... One one of the few depopulated Arab localities which survived the war with most of the buildings intact. The abandoned homes were resettled with new immigrants. Over the years, the bucolic atmosphere attracted a population of artisans & craftsmen." N.B.: I was taken here by my Palestinian taxi driver after he told me he came from a nearby village (this one?) depopulated of Arabs in 1948.

M U S E U M

1953 - Yad Vashem at foot of Mount Herzl (Mount of Memory), Jerusalem (Israel). A 45-acre complex containing Hall of Remembrance (Arieh Elhanani, 1961), Pillar of Heroism (Buky Schwartz, 1970), Monument to the Warsaw Ghetto (Nathan Rapoport, 1975-6), Children's Memorial (Moshe Safdie, 1976), Memorial to the Jewish Soldiers (Bernie Fink, 1985), Valley of the Communities (Lipa Yahalom & Dan Zur, 1992), International School for Holocaust Studies (1993), Holocaust History Museum (March 15, 2005), Museum of Holocaust Art, synagogue, archives, research institute, library & publishing house. Non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust at personal risk are honored by Yad Vashem as 'Righteous Among the Nations.'" See Video & Website. Click here for complete web page.

V O C U B U L A R Y

"The Knesset law of 1953 establishing Yad Vashem was printed in Hebrew, English & French. The English version translates shoah as 'Disaster,' while the French version of the Knesset law uses 'l'Holocauste' on two occasions. In 1953-1955, shoah at Yad Vashem was usually translated into English as 'Disaster' (capitalized with few exceptions), 'the Great Disaster,' 'the Destruction Period,' and 'the European catastrophe' (this last usually uncapitalized)" (per Jon Petrie, jon_petrie@yahoo.com). /// Yad Vsshem is from a Biblical verse: "And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (Yad Vashem) that shall not be cut off."

Selected Images From Yad Vashem

B O O K

May 1, 2008 - "The Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" by Sir Martin Gilbert, Routledge, London & New York, 9th edition, pp. 205. N.B.: Purchased at Yad Vashem.

H O U S E

1974 - Beit Aghion / Aghion House (aka Beit Rosh HaMemshala / "House of the Prime Minister"), 9 Smolenskin Street (at corner of Balfour Street), Jerusalem (Israel). In upscale neighborhood of Rehavia between city center & Talbiya neighborhood. N.B.: Pointed out to me by my taxi driver.

H O U S E

May 1, 1934 - Avikarius Residence (Villa Lea), Rehavia, Jerusalem (Israel). "Just across the street from the Prime Minister’s residence. [A modernist house] built by Dr. Nassib Abcarius Bey, a successful Greek Orthodox lawyer..." "These days two Israeli families live in the house and most of the time, prefer to keep their privacy." /// "If it depended on me, I would ask that all the children born from now on be guests, if just for a moment, at the house in which I was born. The stone tablet at the entrance to the single non-Jewish home in Rehavia says: 'Villa Lea, 1 May 1934.' Avikarius was an attorney of Armenian ancestry who arrived in Israel with British General Edmund Allenby, who conquered the land in World War I from the Turks. Avikarius fell in love with Lea, a Jewish girl from the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Me’a She’arim, married her and built a home for her in Rehavia. This is the only home in all Jerusalem that publicly carries a narrative of faiths. Urban legend says that for his lover, Avikarius went to pray at our synagogue, Yeshurun. This is the synagogue where I read the Torah on my Bar Mitzvah, and the only synagogue where the cantor Meislish sang the melodies of the German Jewish composer Lebendowski, convinced that these were the melodies that the Levites had sung in the Temple. Lea then broke his heart, running away to England with a British officer, whom in turn she dumped for an Egyptian senior official, later disappearing without trace. Avikarius did not want to stay there any longer, and the house became the property of the British Mandate. At the end of the 1930's, the British gave the home to the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie [1892-1975], who fled Mussolini’s troops when they conquered his country. One day I saw the African king on our porch [lower image] under a parasol to protect him from the blazing Jerusalem sun. Well, not with my own eyes, since I had not yet been born, but in the Israeli television series 'Pillar of Fire' [1981]. Is it only a coincidence that my parents chose that house to be their home? My mother was an Arab Jew from Hebron and my father was a German Jew from Dresden. If more of us knew the stories that our house walls know and remember, there would be more peace in the world, in the way of my father, and much more love in the way of my mother. With peace and love, the world is so much better. It was from this house my mother left for her last journey." [Quoted from the final page of Burg, Avraham (2007, 2008), "The Holocaust is Over: We Must Rise from its Ashes,"].

P O S T E R S

Old posters - "Images of a State in the Making," display in Ben Gurion International Airport, Lod (Israel). Right image (from 1949) says "War loan, for the sake of peace." On-line description says "Yearning for peace, the population of the young State of Israel paid a war loan. The new country needed to arm its fighting forces, and proceeds of the war loan were dedicated to this purpose."