Knesset and Mount Herzl

Last Thursday (yes, I'm two weeks behind!) we had a late class schedule so that we could visit the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.  We weren't allowed to bring cameras in so I don't have much to show from our visit, but when we were all sitting around a large table after watching a video our guide pointed to me and said she hoped that I was comfortable because I was sitting in Prime Minister Netanyahu's chair...I thought that was pretty cool!  Many of the nation's most powerful moments have occurred at the Knesset, notably Anwar Sadat's 1977 speech to call for peace with Egypt, and President Clinton's speech in 1994 after the signing of the peace treaty with Jordan.

After our tour of the Knesset, we stopped on Mount Herzl, a Jewish national cemetery where Israeli Defense Force soldiers are buried.  It was named for the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, whose tomb is on the top of the hill. Mount Herzl is beautiful, even if I'm a weirdo who loves cemeteries.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's grave is also located here (right).  He did a lot towards achieving peace in the region, even winning the Nobel Prize, but was assassinated by a right wing law student in 1995.  It was such a sad story. 





There were many soldiers walking around to learn the stories of the people buried, so that they can tell others.  All Israelis, men and women, are mandated to serve in the IDF when they turn 18.  After weeks I still find it strange to see so many young people walking around everywhere with huge machine guns!

Photos from Shuk Mahane Yehuda- Outdoor Marketplace

My Jerusalem Courses

International Human Rights Law (2 credits)
Professor Richard Klein

The emphasis of this course will be on the political, economic and civil rights provided by documents such as the International Bill of Human Rights. Topics will include the relationship between civil liberties and religious beliefs in Muslim countries as well as in Israel, and legal issues raised by the Middle East conflict. Particular consideration will be given to the status of the Arab population residing within the state of Israel. Attention will also be devoted to the economic and political relationship of the Palestinians and the Jewish settlers residing in the disputed territories.

 

The Arab-Israeli Conflict and its Resolution: Selected International Legal Aspects (2 Credits)
Dr. Barry Feinstein

In this day and age of ever-increasing globalization and the trend toward seeking out international aspects of almost every potential legal issue imaginable, it is crucial to recognize and appreciate the relevance of international law in our daily lives.  International law also has a vital role to play in addressing the need to enhance greater awareness and understanding of complex international issues relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The discussion in this course therefore will focus on an overview of international law as it relates to subjects including the following:  Legal issues arising out of important historical events in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict such as the McMahon - Hussein correspondence (1915-1916), the Balfour Declaration (1917), the Feisal - Weizmann agreement (1919), the British Mandate (1920-1948), the “Partition Resolution” of the United Nations General Assembly (1947), Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (1948); the influence of Arab States non-recognition of Israel on the Arab-Israeli conflict; the legality of the use of force and self-defense in light of international law in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, for example in the War of Independence (1948-1949), the Sinai Campaign (1956), the Six-Day War (1967), the Yom Kippur War (1973), Operation Yonatan (Entebbe) (1976), the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor (1981), and Operation Peace for the Galilee (1982); freedom of navigation in international waterways in the Middle East pursuant to the Law of the Sea; and prospects for peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

 

Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism  (2 credits)

Professor Eileen Kaufman
This course will explore how the United States and Israel have responded to the tension between a commitment to protecting civil liberties and a need for enhancing national security. Among the issues that will be discussed are: the use and definition of torture; the indefinite detention of persons thought to be linked to terror; the conditions of confinement of suspected terrorists; and the legality of various military measures aimed at destroying the terrorism infrastructure and preventing further terrorist attacks. Central to our study will be an exploration of the appropriateness of judicial review of issues affecting national security. The U.S. response will be contrasted to Israel’s response to persistent acts of terrorism, with particular attention paid to the role of the Israeli Supreme Court.

Kotel Tunnels- and small history lesson :)

Sorry, sorry.  I'm alive!  I knew I would be busy, but I cannot believe how unbelievably busy things have been!  It seems I have not had a minute of down time, or more than 5 hours of sleep a night since I left Michigan.  Ah well, I will try to catch up about some of the things I've been doing.  Last Tuesday, the evening of our first day of classes, we went on a group tour of the Kotel Tunnels.  This was absolutely incredible and will be difficult to explain.

For a brief history of the Temple Mount area, which I will hopefully get right, this is one of the most important religious sites for Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  This is the location where God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, and where King Solomon built the first temple in 957 BC.  Here in the first temple was the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant (containing the Ten Commandments) was kept.  Solomon's temple was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Ark was lost.  A second temple was built, and renovated by King Herod around 19 BC.  Herod expanded the Temple Mount by building retaining walls on the hills.

The second temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans.  The reason Jews cannot go on the Temple Mount itself is so that they don't unintentionally walk on the site of the Holy of Holies since we can't know exactly where it stood.  Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock stand on the site today.  The Western Wall, or Kotel, is an exposed section of what remains from the ancient retaining walls, and is sacred because of its vicinity to the site of the Holy of Holies.

The next part is complex and I was too confused to understand the details, but basically over all these centuries and periods of different rulers, arches and streets and neighborhoods were built on top of each other until the city was closer to ground level with the Temple Mount.  The Kotel Tunnels are an excavation of this area to expose the entire length of the Western Wall.  It is pretty amazing to go down there and see and touch all these archaeological finds.  Also, inside the tunnel is the portion of the Wall that is directly across from the site of the Holy of Holies, the closest physical point, so it is regarded as the holiest place on earth.  So many people make pilgrimages here and pray and sob and tuck notes into the cracks of the rocks.  Really amazing to be there.

Demonstration showing how the city was built up to the Temple Mount









Diagram showing the bedrock (white) and the tunnels (orange) under the Temple Mount.  The white lines on the far right make the Western Wall.

Inside the tunnels...

The Western Stone (bottom of photo)- one of the largest building blocks in the world, weighing 570 tons.  It is about 44x10x11 feet.  (So how did they get it up there????)











Prayers tucked between the stones

Here it is... what many believe to be the holiest place on earth.










Tunnels, beneath the streets of the Old City

Western Wall at night

Jerusalem- Church of the Holy Sepulchre

One of the first places I went after arriving in Jerusalem was to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site of Golgotha- where Jesus was both crucified and buried.  Here you can enter Jesus' tomb, see a fragment of the stone that sealed his tomb, and touch the stone slab where his body was laid before burial.  The church itself was originally built around 330 A.D. though it was later mostly destroyed and reconstructed in the 1100's. It is the most beautiful place I think I've ever seen, and pretty indescribable so here it is in photographs.

Jordan Part I - Wadi Rum and Aqaba

Sorry it's been a few days, due to internet access as well as spending two days and one night in the middle of the desert. On Thursday I flew from Beirut to Amman in order to pass by Syria, which was only a 45 minute flight.

I flew Middle East Airlines, and the airport in Beirut was the most exciting I've seen... women everywhere in niqabs, and terminals all with such exotic destinations: Dubai, Cairo, Bahrain, Kuwait. The possibilities were wondrous.

When I arrived in Amman, I was greeted by airport staff who briskly walked us through customs, obtaining visas, and arranging a taxi to Aqaba (beach resort town in Southern Jordan, on the Red Sea). The people in Jordan are fantastic- all extremely accommodating, helpful and always exclaiming, "welcome, welcome, please enjoy Jordan, welcome!" They have gone out of their way to arrange every last detail to meet my needs, to the extent that you almost don't want to ask a question about something because you know someone will bend over backwards to have the item in front of you.

Aqaba is the most incredible area. You can easily see across the water to Eilat, Israel, and slightly further to the south where I stayed in Tala Bay you can see across to Taba, Egypt. The three triplet cities meet here on the beautiful Red Sea.


Early Friday morning my friend and I took a taxi to Wadi Rum (Wadi meaning valley), which is a protected reserve in the middle of the desert hosting some of the world's most outstanding desert landscapes. Indeed, this place was completely surreal; to me it looked as I imagine the surface of Mars. (Wow- I actually learned just now from Wikipedia that Wadi Rum has been used as the surface of Mars in the 2000 movie "Red Planet"... hmm!)

We were greeted at the visitors' center by our Bedouin guide, who took us around ALL day in a jeep, showing us the sights of his home.... Lawrence spring, different canyons, a few natural rock bridges, one which was possible to climb. I scrambled over boulders, hiked partway up mountains, and climbed huge sand dunes. It was an exhausting and spectacular day.

As evening drew we watched the sunset and set up camp around a fire. Although it's easily 100 degrees during the day, the Bedouins somehow spend their time building fires and drinking hot tea! For dinner, they cook meat, potatoes and vegetables on coals in a large pot which is buried under the sand.

We spent the evening having conversation with the Bedouins, listening to their views on politics (they are surprisingly informed) and learned that King Abdullah was also spending the night in the camp nearby! Apparently the King loves Wadi Rum and visits frequently with his wife and children, or friends... he seems to be a very kind and beloved King. Additionally, Prince William and Kate are expected to arrive in Wadi Rum soon, and preparations were being made though the Bedouins haven't been told exactly when.

I spent the night outside, in the middle of the desert, under a billion stars... the sky was so clear and I saw at least a dozen "shooting stars". Not bad for my first time camping!!

Yes, I actually climbed up to both of these places!!

In the morning, camels were waiting to take us back to the visitors' center, which took over 2 hours. As fun as it was, riding a camel is shockingly uncomfortable and 2 hours is a long time! I was rather glad to get off. :)
Camels are extremely strange and interesting creatures up close, but the best part to me was that my allergies did not overcome me, with just one Claritin!

Carlie: 1, Carlie's immune system: 49875230452345!

Words can't explain how incredible that desert trip was, but getting back to my resort and taking a loooong shower may have been even better! I spent a much need day Saturday relaxing by several pools.

Today we took a taxi (our same driver the whole time, Reziq, was a very interesting and informative man!) to the Jordanian side of the border, and crossed to Israel on foot.

Maybe not everyone would find this so interesting, but to me it was one of the most thrilling experiences I have ever had. There's an empty stretch of desert land between Jordan and Israel, with barbed wire fences to the sides and border stations on either end with huge proud flags. Unfortunately no pictures can be taken here.

The best I could do- Welcome to Israel!

We had little trouble crossing, with the usual security screening and just a few questions asked about our travel intentions. I'm now on a bus from Eilat and on my way to Jerusalem. It's only been one week but it will be extremely nice to settle in, do some laundry and actually unpack my luggage for the first time! Whew!