David In Israel . דוד בישראל . داوود في اسرائيل 

My friend Joyce and I (who I went to Bethlehem with at Christmas) were invited by our friend Saed to come visit him in Ramallah.  Ramallah is a place that most tourists don't enter because it is in the West Bank and the best way to get there is on the Palestinian buses... so most people avoid them.  I won't say I wasn't at all nervous, but I was glad I had the chance to do it, and also glad I knew someone there. 
We visited the street market where we saw Stars & Bucks Coffee, We saw a Labour day parade, we ate Falafel with Hummus and Fuoll. Then we visited Arafat's tomb, saw Saed's bank and his old school.  We also visited his family for dinner, and we saw the new house they are building.  After that we went to the city and saw a modern dance performance, ate a palestinan desert and saw a wood-worker making keychains as well as a group of students from a peace-oriented NGO rap and break dance... It was a great day!

I had the pleasure of traveling around Egypt and Israel with my brother Jonathan this month.  He came for his spring break, and we had an absolutely blast exploring most of Israel, along with parts of Egypt!  Check out these Photo Videos:

Egypt:

Northern Israel (Haifa, Carmel Mountains, Druze and Zikron Yaakov):

Tiberias and Nazareth Village:

Pesach = Passover:

Masada & the Dead Sea:

Ashdod, Tel Aviv Port, Shabbat with Nola, Qeasarea, Rosh haNikra (border with Lebanon) and family in the North:

Jerusalem:

I was a bit frustrated today, mainly because of transportation.  I was running late for class, and as is my tradition in such a case, I punished myself for being late by hailing a cab driver and negotiating a fair to my school.  This time it wasn't so bad... 30 shekels ($7.50).  When we got to the school, I pulled out my 50 shekel note, and handed it to him expecting change (I was about 10 minutes late at that point).  He started arguing with me that he couldn't accept the bill as it had a tear in it!!! I was otherwise cashless... slightly embarrassing.  I explained to him that I would make it right and would call him later that evening... so after 4 more minutes he finally gave me the change and I walked to class rather late.  
Later on I called him, to set things straight, and he said "never mind... I gave the bill to someone else."  Hmmm... I guess ripped notes are still negotiable... even in Israel.

This week, my History of Islam professor brought us to North Israel on a field trip to visit the Crusader Fortress in Akko (Arco).  It was so fascinating to study that period in history, when the Europeans tried to set up a Fiefdom in Eastern Mediterranean.  Akko was their capital. The fortress is undergoing a major renovation, but it is already incredibly preserved.  We had a wonderful time exploring the Tunnels, Arches, Hospitals, Halls, and all then had a chance to visit the Shuk (market).  I asked if I could have an anti-Israel propaganda poster which was posted on the wall, and a store owner ripped it off and gave it to me after giving me a 7 minute lecture on how bad Israel was and how good Hamas was.  BUT - I got the poster (I obvously don't agree with what it says, but I felt it would be cool to have a piece of palestinian propaganda).  
After the fieldtrip, I realized I was only 3 km's from my cousin Clarissa's house.  It just happened to be her husbands birthday, and I stayed the night there - we stayed up late talking and she loaded me up with a dozen avocados and sent me on my way after breakfast in the morning.

Joyce and I left from the Jaffa Gate of the Old City in Jerusalem and took a minibus to Rachel's Pass - the border crossing for Bethlehem.  We befriended a really nice guy named Saed there who is a Palestinian Christian.  We walked about 2 miles to the Manger Square - and all along the way, the town of Bethlehem had Christmas lights - EVERYWHERE.  It was so festive.  At the Manger Square, there were thousands of people (mostly Muslims and Christians) visiting for the holiday.  There were musicians from all over the world performing on the stage, and food vendor outside of the gift shops selling hot Corn-on-the-Cob, Falafels and Shwarmas.  Joyce and I walked around for a couple of hours, and then we thought we would try to get into the Church of the Nativity.  It seemed impossible as tickets are rare and need to be arranged days in advance - and so I prayed.  God answered with a yes.  We met a man name Paul from Australia who was training to be a Roman Catholic priest.  He asked a couple beside us if they could use two extra tickets to the church... they suprisingly said no, and so I piped up... "Joyce and I would love the tickets - How much?"  "Nothing, I'm giving them away!" He said, and handed us the tickets.  We were able to enter the church for the Midnight mass and we were there for a good portion of the festivities.  We left at around 1:30 and went into the Orthodox section of the Church later - then caught a cab back to Tel Aviv.  It was an unforgettable experience!

We had a fieldtrip planned to the Temple Mount in our History of Islam class, and when we got to Jerusalem, IT WAS CLOSED FOR A MUSLIM HOLIDAY - the temple mount.  So, Dr. Luz decided to take us on a tour of Jerusalem that we had never experienced before.  The Arab-Muslim tour.  We visited places that we were familiar with, but were able to see the old city through a different lense.  Did you know that there are ruins of an Umayyad Palace right below the al-Aqsa Mosque?  I've been there, and never knew about it!  It was a great day.

This last weekend, I had the wonderful pleasure of traveling up to the border of Lebanon (on the Mediterranean Sea) to a village (near Acre and Nahariyya) called Moshav Liman.  I was visiting my grandma's second cousin, Clarissa Kfir and her family.  The place was beautiful.  There is a mountain separating the two countries (with a military base on the top), so you feel very safe.  Their house, or 'plantation' was built in the 70s, and is very comfortable.  Clarissa grows olives, oranges and avocados for a living, and Rueven (her husband) works in technology.  I was able to visit Inbar and her husband Gidon's new home that they are still building, and also hang out with Daniel their 5-year-old son.  Dov (27) is Clarissa and Rueven's youngest son is dating a really nice girl named Bina.  Rueven's mother was a holocaust survivor.  His father, now deceased was married with a family before the holocaust and lost everyone, then later married Rueven's mother and had to start over.  She shared their story and it was very moving.  Overall, I had a spectacular time eating, conversing, playing games, eating, looking at photos, mapping out our family trees, (did I say eating?!?!) and just enjoying my new-found-family!


Below: a 'Shalom' from Clarissa!

I have been running on all engines for the last week.  It all began with a spectacular school-sponsored trip to the Golan Heights and Sea of Galilee last weekend.  We were very close to Lebanon and Syria, and it made me very thankful for the Golan Heights (a truely vital buffer-zone between a tiny and populous Israel and less-than-cordial Syria and Lebanon {which both have been known to harbor terrorist cells}).  The Golan Heights also produce over 1/3 of Israel water.  We had a chance to go hiking as well... I had to borrow my old roommates size 10 shoes (I am a size 12), because I didn't know that the Israeli government obligates all schools to require shoes on such trips (not sandals, which I brought) along with hats (which I also didn't bring).  We also had the chance to go to some amazing hot springs called Hamat Gader in territory that is also disputed.  That was a fun experience.  After dinner on Saturday night, some of us caught a public bus to Tel Aviv, and I didn't get home until 1am... I had to get up at 4:45 to leave for my conference in Jerusalem, but that's another story.

As most of my Californian friends know, I have a "thing" for Jerusalem.  It is pretty much one of my favorite places on earth.  Nothing can make me feel the way I do when I am there, but I don't like to get stuck there.  Thursday night, that is exactly what happened.  After the production of "The Covenant," I went out with some friends and missed the last bus.  I tried to take a taxi-bus (called a Sherut), but for some reason my ATM wasn't working, and I couldn't make it back to Tel Aviv.  SO... I resorted to finding a hostel... I walked all over the center of the city and was unsuccessful in finding a hostel... I finally gave up and went to a hotel and asked them... "Yesh Lecha Meyonot (Do you have dormitories)?"  The man said yes, and I was able to negotiate a private room for half price... 100 shekels (about $26)... The only stipulation is that I had to leave by 8 in the morning... It wasn't a very nice hotel.  Infact, I didn't want to trust the sheets, so I covered the pillow with my towel and I slept in my clothes.  
The morning came quickly, and I decided to walk to the Old City.  I went into the Arab quarter for the whole morning.  The Arab quarter is more like the Arab half.  It takes up the largest section of the old city.  It wasn't frightening.  The residents were speaking in Arabic, and for a moment in time, I felt as if I had slipped into Saudi Arabia or Iraq and left Israel.  The truth is, however, that there are many cities in Israel where Arabic is the primary language.  
I stopped for breakfast at a place called Abu Shukri... I order Shakshuka (a delicious spicy tomato stew with a fried egg in it - usually served with pitas),  and I was served something that resembled Humus, except it tasted like mushed-up egg yolk with Tahini... What I couldn't understand is that dozens of Israeli Arabs lined up with their own dishes at the Abu Shukri counter to bring some of the mystery egg Humus home for lunch.  I SIMPLY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY LIKE ABOUT IT!
Afterward, I befriended a couple of the local children.  There was a girl begging at one of the city gates (pictured below), and I showed her that I was learning to write Arabic.  She then showed me that she could write the letter 'S'.  I then taught her how to write most of the other letters in English.  She was very happy, but what she really wanted was some food, so I arranged that too.
After my time in the Old City, I went to ben Yehuda Street (one of the main Jewish shopping streets in Israel).  The contrast between the Jewish shopping area and the Muslim shopping area was vast!  When I entered the Shuk (the vegetable market), I saw a crowd following a man.  I decided to go and meet him and ask questions later, so I did.  The man ended up being Eli Yishai, the head of the Shas political/religious party in Israel.  
Afterward, I met up with my friend Kathryn and we got Afuk (Cappucino) and Shoko (Hot Chocolate) and had a nice talk.  Then, I went home... 
Overall, apart from the food I ate in Jerusalem, I had an amazing time!

So this weekend was very interesting, to say the least.  On Shabbat, I went, with my roommates, to a messianic congregation in Tel Aviv for a very nice and VERY HEBREW service.  Infact, I could only understand about 1/4th to 1/3rd of the what the speaker was saying, but I got the point: he was speaking about the power of the name of Yeshua.  On Sunday (though it was still my weekend, this is the first day of the workweek in Israel), I slept in and decided to take the bus to Jerusalem.  I seem to have made a habit of this, and I absolutely love Jerusalem.  There is no place like it on earth.  I was able to visit the Shuk in the center-city and get a nice taste of the mundane and yet colorful life of everyday Jerusalem.  After that, I went to King of Kings - Jerusalem for yet another service, but this one was 80% English... I say 75% because, though the speaking is done in English, about half of the music is sung in Hebrew with the translations available on powerpoint.  I absolutely love this!  There is just something about praising God in His language of revelation that I love.  A world-renown Messianic Praise and Worship leader was there: Paul Wilbur.  I have included a little video so you can see what the service looked like.  It was powerful.  Everyone was really into praising God, and Paul was very enthusiastic about praying for Jerusalem.  He was unapologetic about speaking out against Obama.  He didn't use his name but he claimed that one of the candidates was a long-time supporter of Israel, and the other was caught on video as saying "the Israel experiment was a mistake!"  (I have included a news brief highlighting Obama's connection with Rashid Kalidi - a former PLO spokesperson to show that Paul Wilbur wasn't off in saying such things).  Paul asked us to petition for Israel in this hard time, and to pray for American leaders who stand with Israel.
Afterward, a lady-friend invited me to dinner with her family at a fantastic (and posh) italian place called "Spagettim." The 'im' is the masculine-plural suffix ending in Hebrew.  Overall, it was a brilliant weekend.