AIPAC Trip Update
We had been having an incredibly amazing experience so far here in Israel learning about the nation’s past and visiting some of the most fascinating historical sites in the world. Yesterday, we went began by going to the Mount of Olives, a place of tremendous political and of course religious significance. We learned a great deal about the Kidron Valley, the City of David, Old Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount over the course of four hours hiking around the area.
It was simply stunning to me how close together everything was. From the stories I know in the Bible, I picture great expanses in between things like the Garden of Gethsemane and the actual city walls of Jerusalem, but they are separated by just a few hundred yards.
The reality of standing the places where Jesus walked and where world history was and is still being made was an awe inspiring experience. Many of us on the trip talked about how we felt we must be on a movie set or touring a museum, because we surely couldn’t be actually standing where Jesus was betrayed by Judas or on the territory over which the Palestinians and the Israelis have been fighting for so long.
We also saw the Basilica of the Agony right next to the Garden of Gethsemane where some in the group stopped to pray. I brought the Rosary my parents gave me when I was confirmed and took it out when we went inside the church. It’s a pretty emotional place and many people in the group took the time to really reflect on the betrayal of Jesus and how it changed the course of history and faith. On the way in to the church, there is a tree in the garden that is over 2200 years old and was present a the time Jesus and the Desciples were in the garden together. Amazing…
Next we went to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. It was incredible to me that people continue to live, shop, and work in the some of the same places that have been in use since the city was first built. Over time countless layers of old development have been covered by new walkways and buildings, but you can still see some of the original stones forming the tops of archways that now barely reach ground level.
Finally we got a break and went home to shower and to have a Shabbat dinner. Afterwards we all got back on the bus and went back into the Old City to see thousands of Jews praying at the Western Wall. It was very interesting to see the many different types of Jews all sharing the same holy site and practicing their faiths in different manners. There was a great amount of singing and dancing, while others cried with deep emotion when they reached the front and touched the wall itself. After the Jews lost control of the city hundreds of years ago the Temple was destroyed a final time. Many years later the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque in its place, and they continue to stand there even though the Jews retook the area in 1967. The Western Wall is the only remaining portion of where the Temple originally stood, although it was not itself part of the Temple it was a portion of the wall forming the Temple Mount. Today, it is a site of deep emotion to Jews as well as a source of political strife.
That wrapped up the day and we headed back to call it a night.
Tags: AIPAC, Israel, Middle East