We have a few hours to kill before we leave for the airport at 12 A.M. local time to begin the long journey home. It is time to go home. It has been a phenomenal trip but it is time to go home and reflection and digest and process all of the information and experiences gained over these past two weeks and after all that process of review is complete then to decide how to begin to help in the attainment of peace & justice in this troubled section of our world.

We started off today with an in-depth briefing at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In this briefing using many slides of maps and statistics via a Powerpoint presentation, this UN officer presented a careful detailed description of the systematic violation of Palestinian human rights (under international law) as perpetrated by the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This was confirmed in a ruling by the International Court last year but the judicial findings are unenforceable because the Security Council vetoes any action against Israel. These violations affect every aspect of Palestinian law and are every bit as much of an Apartheid as was perpetrated by South Africa against its native population. The consistent veto on the UN Security Council against action to force Israel to conform to International Law is wielded by the U.S.A. We left the briefing feeling the weight of our complicit guilt in these actions.

We returned to the Old City of Jerusalem and had the opportunity for our very knowledgeable guide to lead us on one last tour of the City. We chose to go to the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall and St. Mark’s church (the site of the Last Supper).

The access to both the Temple Mount and then again to the Western Wall (or Wailing Wall) requires going through metal detectors due to previous incidents that have occurred over the years. The Temple Mount is held by Judaism to be the location of the original Great Temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians after the Jews revolted as well as the replacement Temple that King Herod built which was destroyed by the Romans after the Jews revolted.  There has been a long history of violence and destruction on this site. Jerusalem is reported to have been destroyed some 30 times in it’s history.  That is one reason that in some places the level that was the road surface 2000 years ago when Jesus walked these grounds is 10-30 feet below the current surface level. The Temple Mount is also held as Sacred Ground by Islam as the site of where Abraham would have sacrificed his son if not stopped by an angel but also and perhaps more importantly as the site from which the prophet Mohammed was lifted up into heaven in his night journey to receive their Holy Book of the Quran. The Dome of the Rock is a beautiful golden dome Mosque built over the rock where Abraham made the sacrifice of the lamb instead of his son as well as where Mohammed landed. There is also another Mosque built on Temple Mount which is used for Islamic worship on a routine basis. Both of the Mosques are not open for tourists and access to the Temple Mount has very restricted times for tourist access. Jews are forbidden by their Rabbi’s to access the Temple Mount as they hold it to be contaminated by the presence of the two Mosques.

This was the second trip to the Western Wall for us on this trip. The first was on the Jewish Sabbath and so I limited my visit and actions to insure I did not impinge on their Sabbath observance. On this trip, I did place prayer requests in the Wall and again offered prayers for both Congregations, our extended family as well as guidance for my ministry. The men were able to access a tunnel that the Wall projects into and found a large library housed in their containing many religious volumes to be used in prayer at the Wall. The Western Wall is also known as the Wailing Wall over the Jewish lamentations offered for the destruction of the first two Temples as well as prayers for the coming of the Third Temple which will mark the coming of the Messiah. The Wall itself looks wet from condensation in the late evenings and early mornings which some say is a sign of the Wailing of the Wall. I have seen numerous Jews from Strict Orthodox in their unusual clothing and hair to modern dressed Reformed Jews in deep and active prayer at the Wall often with tears streaming down their faces. This is definitely a theological “thin spot” for them where they easily connect with the presence of God. Over dinner, Sinclair and I reflected on our observance of the prayer practices of both Jews and Muslims and concluded that Christians don’t pray enough and certainly don’t regard intimate connection to God on a daily let alone hourly priority in their lives like Muslims and Jews do. We have a lot to learn from these faiths.

The last scheduled event of this trip was to the Shufat Refugee Camp. To access the camp, the taxi dropped us off at the Checkpoint which we had to walk through both going and coming from the camp. The going to the camp is not a significant concern to Israeli Security, the return is and so we were closely scrutinized once again when we exited. There are numerous Israeli Police cars and Army vehicles stationed at and around this checkpoint and there was a helicopter constantly circling the camp the entire time we were there. . We were met and escorted through the Camp by Dr. Salim Anati  and his son. Dr. Anati is the only Doctor in this Camp of 30,000 refugees. When the Israeli Security Forces close the checkpoint for whatever reason, this Doctor and four Nurses are the only source of medical aid for 30,000 people. This is a sufficient concern for pregnant women that they find any way possible to move out of the Camp for the ninth month of pregnancy in order to have access to a hospital in the event something goes wrong with the birth. People injured from car accidents have died awaiting transport to the hospital while trying to get through the closed checkpoint.

The Shufat Refugee Camp was started around 1965 for refugees from the 1948 war who were then residing in Old Jerusalem when the decision was made to relocate them to the site of this Camp. They were promised farm land in order to leave Old Jerusalem but instead got apartments of 9 square meters for families of 6 to 9 or even more people. In 1965, there were 3000 Palestinians in this Camp and today there are 30,000+ but the number of acres occupied by the Camp remained the same amount. The Tents of the Camp are long gone and the people reside instead in tall closely packed Tenements on narrow streets and alleys built by the United Nations.  There is an atmosphere of tense and bitter frustration that is present in these Camps. I remarked to one member of our group that I would not be surprised to hear of it erupting in response to the Occupational Oppression in the near future.

The Doctor’s clinic was closed so he instead took us to a small recording studio which was in a room about the size of an American bedroom. He introduced us to the individual that was the main director, writer, producer and artist of this Recording Studio. After showing us gracious hospitality by giving us mint tea (which I am becoming quite fond of), the director told us how he uses this studio to develop young musicians in the Camp (Youth Choir, Bands, Rap artists, soloists) to compete on a global basis. He also uses this studio to edit and produce music videos that carry the message of the Palestinian People out to the world. It was really quite impressive what he has accomplished with such limited resources.

The Good Doctor and his son guided us back through the Camp to the security checkpoint. When I thanked this teen age son for the gift of his time and how important it was for me to be able to interact with the people of this land. He stopped me and stressed how vitally important it was for Palestinians to have us take the time to visit them.  When I said good bye to Dr. Anati, he asked that whenever I go to God in prayer to also remember the Palestinian people in those prayers.

It is now time to get ready to go to the airport and also the time to begin to ponder and reflect upon the experiences of this trip. May the Spirit of our Gracious Loving God continue to guide and bless our life’s direction.