Damn you Internet

3/31/08

16 days and counting until my birthday! My mom used to have a rule for me when I was little that I wasn’t allowed to talk about my birthday until 6 weeks before, other wise I would start planning my parties 6 months in advance ad drive everyone crazy. I would like to think that I am not mature enough to not need such a rule but I still get excited about my birthday, even if Im not happy about continuing to get older after 21. okay on to more exciting things.

Friday I got up very early and went to Jerusalem for my meeting with Jeff Halper of ICAHD. It was great. It turns out I was late, because I forgot to set my watch back for daylight savings time, but he was very understanding and we still had our meeting. We talked about my past work in various Jewish communities and which communities I might be able to bring ICAHD to in Israel, and also what ICAHD can do for me as far as training, and money. They can’t pay me obviously, but they can pay for certain expenses and they will train me to lead tours and give presentations. Its all very exciting for me. I am going back on Wednesday after class to begin training and then on Friday Im going on a tour with them. Right after I met with Jeff I went to meet up with Jomi who was with her boyfriend, mother and sister. It was a bit strange for me to be with them. Jomi moved to Israel a year and a half ago and joined the Israel army. Her boyfriend is in the same position as Jomi, but while Jomi is a weapons instructor and never sees combat herself, when I asked her boyfriend what he did in the army he told me he arrested terrorists. This was very hard to hear considering that just the day before Omar and Wissam were arrested by the IDF at 3 in the morning. Omar and Wissam are both politically active, but they are not terrorists. I knew that this is that way it was but to actually hear a soldier tell me that he really believes that everyone he arrests is a terrorist was shocking and amazing to me. I didn’t even know what to say, and out of respect to Jomi I didn’t really say anything, and he had to leave pretty soon after that anyways so it wasn’t so bad. A little later I went with Jomi, her mom and her sister to Tzuba to visit former campers that were on EIE. This was also very strange for me. I remember when I finished EIE I wanted to join the Israeli army. Uri was a great teacher, but he lied to me, well maybe not lied, but he certainly omitted certain details of Israel’s history, to make me think that Israel was perfect and faultless. I worry that these campers are getting the same brain washing, and there is little I can do to stop it. I have toyed with the idea of asking Amy or Gadi or even Baruch if I can do a ICAHD presentation once I am trained to do so, but I have a feeling it wont be allowed, but who knows. NFTY is supposed to be a liberal and progressive organization. They should allow other points of view in their classrooms. We left Tzuba a little before Shabbat and I just had them drop me off near the city center and I walked from there to the bus station near Damascus gate to go back to Birzeit. Yvette texted me to see if I wanted to stay in Jerusalem and go out later, but I was exhausted, and I needed to study for an exam on Saturday. I went home studied for a while and then to bed.

Saturday I woke up with the worst headache, so I went back to sleep for a few hours and then came to class very late. So I had to take the exam after class it wasn’t too bad. After the exam I went home and did some reading on my balcony until Marco called me to say I could come do laundry. Then I went to Marco and Wilco’s to do laundry, and also ended up helping Wilco Grocery shop and ate dinner with them. Then Wilco Started to watch football (soccer) matches in German. It was entertaining for about 10 mins and then I did the dishes as my payment for dinner and using their washer machine, and then I went to Aliya’s where there was a going away party fr Jeff and Michelle, who had been PAS students the semester before and stayed around until now. At Aliya’s I met Thomas a German guy who has been in PAS the last 2 semesters, and is now working on some project with a German NGO in Ramallah. He seemed pretty cool, its always exciting to meet new people here considering the program is pretty small, new faces are good. We ended the evening at Santi and Nicks apt and eventually went home at around 3ish.

Sunday I went on a Wall photography excursion with Kyle, Ryan, Josh and Tasha. We took a shuttle to Amar a city near the Kalandia check point. We got out by the wall, and then walked for a few hours just along the wall and taking pictures. We met some interesting characters along the way, but nothing too exciting. When we got back to Birzeit we decided to get a movie to watch. Tasha told me they had Jumper , which is a movie I have wanted to see since I saw a preview for it like 4 months ago. Unfortunately it is a terrible movie. Jamie Bell’s character was probably the only redeeming factor and even that wasn’t amazing, so that was sad. We watched the movie at Kyle’s and miraculously just as we were about to leave William showed up to tell us that he was going to Tel aviv for a few days etc… and he had his car with him, so he drove us all home (yeah!)

Today, was just normal class, and I finally got my extra mattresses back from Anna, so I was finally able to really unpack. I don’t have a dresser or even shelves, but at least I don’t have to put my clothes on the floor. I was also inspired to decorate, so now my room is beautiful, and It no longer looks like a clothes bomb went off in it. After beautifying my room I went to the girls house, and they made me dinner on the way Tamir drove by me and gave me a ride to their house after making a stop to get Kanaffi (mmmm soo good) and now I am at Santi and Nick’s place fighting with their internet to let me post this since its been 2 weeks now.

3/27/08

Sometimes the power of my Laziness Amazes even me. Sorry about the 10 day laps I don’t really have a good excuse I just didn’t feel like writing. Any ways it has been an exciting 10 days. Last Tuesday (3/18) after class I got the rest of the Hamentaschen ingredients and a rolling pin and went to Santi and Nick’s house to use their oven to make the “Jew cookies” Tasha and Vanessa came with me and helped as did Santi. The best was when Husssein came over and said “Sara I want to help make the Jew Cookies.” Other people also came over in the process of baking and it was a pretty good Hamentaschen baking party, and everyone loved them when it came time to eat them. We finished around 10ish and Hussein gave me a ride home and did some studying/reading and off to bed I went.

Wednesday I got to class a little late, because I was waiting for a shuttle with Sandra and it came very late, but I told Sami he couldn’t be mad at me because I brought him cookies. Sami doesn’t know im Jewish so I didn’t tell him what kind of cookies they were but he said he said they were wonderful. I then gave out more cookies to everyone in my class and the other class during break. Tasha, Elizabeth and I left our colloquial class early to go to Bethlehem with Kyle. Elizabeth wasn’t feeling well so she just went home, but Kyle, Ryan, Tasha and I went to Bethlehem. This was quite the experience. First it took the shuttle almost an hour to go through the check point in to Bethlehem because the traffic was so backed up and then once we got up to the check point they weren’t even checking cars. It is so ridiculous. I check point that only slows down traffic is not doing anything for Israel’s security. If anything its making matters worse because it makes people angry. Once we finally got to the bus station in Bethlehem we weren’t entirely where to go. Kyle wanted to go to the Church of the Nativity, so he asked a random guy in an armored vehicle where it was. It turned out the guy worked for the PA (Palestinian Authority) and he offered to give us a little tour of Bethlehem, so we accepted and climbed in to the car. I sat in the back seat with his four year old son Jabreel (Arabic version of Gabriel) who had an amazing ability to fall asleep while sitting in very awkward positions. I forget the name of our driver, but he took us all over the city, and then dropped us off a few minutes away from the Church. On our way to the church we saw a bunch of posters of a guy who had been assassinated in Bethlehem just a few days before we took some pictures. Then some kids came up to us and said why are you taking pictures of those and pointed out a huge banner of the guy and the guys that were also in the car with him when he was killed. It turns out we were right in front of the guys house. So then the kids invite us into the courtyard of the house, and we ended up meeting his father, and some of his children. It was a very intense experience at apparently this guy had some connection with Islamic Jihadi and also with hizbollah. I have to say I was a little scared, but the people were very nice they gave us coffee, and the father talked to us about what happened to his son. He then showed us the key to his old house that was in what is now Israel proper, and also his pre 1948 passport. The family also gave us posters of the guy that was assassinated. We were there for about 45 mins finally we took our leave and headed for our initial destination. The church was pretty, and cool to look at but held no major significance for me. I took some pictures and moved on. We then took a cab to near by the Checkpoint. We got out where the wall starts and took about a million pictures of the wall. Some of the art work is really amazing, and also the things people write on it are very moving. We went through the check point which was a little weird. It was the first time for me to go through one on foot. When we first went in there was no one there. Finally a soldier showed up to check us through, which they did with little problems. Then we got a shuttle into Jerusalem. We got dinner at a wrap place called Terrintino’s in the city center, and I once again got to impressed people with my magic ability to order food in Hebrew. After food we walked around for a bit. Tasha found an American Apparel store and got excited and bought a bunch of stuff. Finally around 9:45 we headed back to catch one of the last busses back to Ramallah and then the last shuttle to Birzeit from Ramallah. We all went to Tasha’s house and hung out for a while then I walked home with Kyle and Ryan, and passed out.

Thursday, we didn’t have class, because it was the prophet Mohamed’s Birthday and it was also Purim! I went to Jerusalem and tried to meet up with a guy from ICAHD, but it didn’t work out. Then I hung out with Rachel for a bit and helped her pick out what to wear for Purim that night. I left around 5:30 to go to Tel Aviv to meet up and go out with Naomi and her friends. It was so nice and warm it made me so happy. I met Naomi at her Ulpan and got the keys to her apt. Then I met Andrea and we went to Naomi’s to change and get ready. My costume was kind of lame but whatever. First we crashed a Birthright Alumni Party that had all you could drink for 20 shekels. It was entertaining. There were a lot of people there that Naomi knew. I just had fun meeting new people and telling all of them what I was doing and that I lived in a village next to Ramallah. After that Bar lost its entertainment value we went to a street festival on Forentine. That was insane. There were soooo many people you could barely move. I was trying to find/meet up with Lisa, but we failed in the end. I did however run in to Ron a guy I worked with in NFTY this summer. When I told him last summer what I was planning to do this semester he told me Hamas was going to Kid nap me and that he was going to have to come rescue me. When I saw him on Thursday and I told him that I was living in the west bank and that everyone knew I was a Jew and no one had kid napped me his response was “Just Wait” I was annoyed by that but I tried not to let it get to me. If he wants to be an ass, that’s his problem. At this point in the evening everyone was rather tired to we decided to head home and promptly passed out.

Friday we got up and lay around for while. Then Yvette from PAS came and met up with us at Naomi’s apt. Then we went to the beach because it was really hot. I forgot to bring my swim suit, but I did bring my sundress that I got in Chile. It was so nice to be able to wear a dress and lie on the beach. Lisa also came to play with us after a bit. Once the sun started to go down, we went back to Naomi’s for a bit and then tried to find the Parade which was over, but we did find an impromptu dance party on the sidewalk outside of some bar down the street from Naomi’s we stayed there for a bit and danced with the crazy Israeli’s after a bit Lisa met up with her cousin and we made plans to find each other later. Andrea went back to Jerusalem. Naomi was going to a private party that you needed tickets for with her friend Carolina. So Yvette and I got dinner and then met up with Lisa at a bar with her cousin. It was pretty fun. They had good music we danced forever, then we decided to hop to another one, but Lisa wanted to go home so we said our goodnights and Yvette and I went to Bar number 2. Where we once again danced forever. We ended up getting back to Naomi’s around 5, but we had a problem. I had a key to Naomi’s but there is a code to get in the main door. The code was stored in my phone which died at the end of the night. I had to convince a girl on the street to let me put my sim card in her phone, but then I realized the code was saved only to the phone and not the sim, but Naomi’s number was on the sim, so I called her and she told me, but her and Carolina got home 10 mins after us anyways. At this point the sun was coming up and we were so tired, but happily tired.

Saturday we literally rolled out of bed around 12:30 and went straight to the beach. And Stayed there until about 6pm. (don’t worry mom I wore lots of sunscreen) in this time we had a lot of visitors. Lisa came with her cousin to meet up with us. The my friend Moran from camp came to hang out for a bit. Then two of Carolina’s friends came and some of Naomi’s friends. We were a very popular group. It was quite nice and hot and it felt so relaxing to be at the beach all day. We didn’t leave until the sun started to go down. Towards the end I got into an intense discussion with Moran and Lisa’s cousin who is also Israeli about the occupation. It is so hard to talk to Israeli’s about this. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have the right since I didn’t live here all my life, but then I think who else is going to bring this stuff up for them to think and talk about. I don’t know if I changed any minds, but at least I made them think about their assumptions about security and the Palestinians. Finally we all decided it was time to go home. I went back to Naomi’s and took a shower and Naomi fed me and Yvette (yeah Naomi!!!) then it was time to go back to Jerusalem. Yvette and I got on the shuttle to the bus station and then the shuttle to Jerusalem, and who should also get on but Mitchel Kramer one of my former campers from OSRUI. He is here doing EIE The same program I did when I was a sophomore in high school. His parents were also there. I guess this week was the parents week. They asked me what I was doing here so I told them, and they thought it was very cool, so that was nice. They even invited me to dinner, but I had to decline. I texted Jomi to tell her what happened and it turns out she was planning on going to visit the campers on Friday so now I’m going with them to Tzuba to do that which is very exciting. I think about half of EIE is my former OSRUI campers. Okay once we got to Jerusalem I took Yvette to my favorite Bagel toast place for dinner then we met Wilco at Jaffa gate and I went out for the third night in a row (not such a good idea) We had a lot of stuff with us and weren’t sure what to do with it, so I used my magic Jew abilities and convinced the security people at Beit Shmuel (the hostel where the NFTY offices are located) that I worked for NFTY and that they should let us put our bags in the storage room. I did it all in Hebrew too! It worked so we were then bag free and headed back in to town. We met up with Andrea who I now know through Naomi. She was at Constantine, which is a really nice and big dance bar. The best part was that she was there with Two guys from American University. So I said hello to all. Constantine closed around 3:30. Since Yvette, Wilco and I couldn’t go home until the first bus back to Ramallah in the morning I took them to Underground which is a slightly sketchy place, but it was the only place I could think of that would be open late. We left there around 5:30 at which point we were exhausted and decided to take a nap in Independence park until we could get a bus to Ramallah.

We ended up sleeping until about 8:30 and then magically made it to the bus station and then to our respective homes. I literally walked in the door and went straight to my bed and passed out for a few hours. Then I ate something and did some reading until Omar Texted to say that they were showing V for Vendetta at Aliya’s. When I got there it turned out they were actually showing American Outlaws which is the worst movie ever! Don’t ever watch it! I suffered through it though by making fun of every scene and making my own dialogue with Josh. Finally it was over and I went home and to bed! (finally!)

Monday we reviewed for the tests we had coming up Colloquial on Wednesday and Standard on Saturday. After class I had to write my first paper since graduation. It was a little hard for me, but not too bad. I Finished around 10 and then called Rachel to talk to her about/ apologize for a bad thing I did. Once we had more or less made up I told her about Hirsh’s (the rabbi in charge of Avi Chai a program in DC we both did) father dying and that the Shiva was this week. Rachel called Jeremy to get more details and we decided to go to the shiva the next day. I went to bed pretty early so I could get up early to go to Jerusalem.

Tuesday morning Rachel called me and we figured out we would go in the early afternoon. I was in a bit if ahurry when I was finally leaving to go to Jerusalem and when I was almost to the check point I realized I forgot my passport. This is a big problem they could have refused me entry in to Israel, but I explained in half Hebrew half English that I left my passport in my apartment in Birzeit where I was studying, but that I was going to Jerusalem for the shiva of the father of a rabbi that I studied with. I don’t think you could have made that story up if you tried. I also luckily had a photo copy of my passport picture in my wallet so I think that helped at well. The soldier told me she believed me and let me through. On the way to Rachel’s I ran in to Sivan who I worked with last summer in NFTY. I had thought she was living in the States now, but apparently not, so we exchanged numbers and hopefully I shall see her soon. Then I had to go buy black flats to wear to the shiva since it was an ultra orthodox family. I borrowed a long black skirt and long sleeved button down shirt from Rachel, and braided my hair. I looked like I was going to seminary. It was pretty funny. Rachel and I took a cab to the home where the Shiva was (oh for those of you who don’t know what a shiva is it’s the seven day period of morning after someone dies in which friends of the family are supposed to come and give their condolences and share in the mourning process.) We were both a little nervous about going inside, but finally we got up the courage. We walked in and we were told to go up some more stairs to another room where we found both Hirsh and Gavriel (who was our guide when we came to Israel with Avi Chai) sitting and talking. I think it is inappropriate in that world for us to be alone too long with them, so we all went down stairs and Gavriel made fun of my outfit asking if I wore it in the west bank. We sat and talked to Hirsh for awhile. He told stories about his father and then asked Rachel and I about what we were doing, which is always funny, because Rachel is studying basically Zionist education, and Im studying pretty much the opposite. Technically the room was supposed to be divided men and women, but when we came there wasn’t really anyone else there so Hirsh said it was okay for us to sit with him and Gavriel. At one point some important looking orthomen came in and Hirsh hirsh gave us a cue to move away from that area. So Rachel and I sat back with Gavriel for while and talked about life etc… when the men left we decided to also say good bye to Hirsh and leave with Gavriel. At some point before the men came and hirsh had been telling stories about his father he told a story that his father told about how educators should be. The story goes that a man was in the woods with his students and he told one of them to pick up a huge rock. Under the rock there were lots of bugs squirming around and moving. The teacher told his student, “before you moved that rock those bugs’ whole world was under that rock and now that you have lifted it, you have opened them up to an entirely new world and universe that they wouldn’t have known otherwise.” I really liked this story, but also Hirsh was telling this story to talk about the kind of educator his father was, and Rachel looked at each other thinking the same thing, that Hirsh had lifted a rock from our heads and shown us a whole new world in Judaism. Rachel decided to tell Hirsh about this as we were leaving and Hirsh started to cry he was so touched. It felt good that we could bring him a little joy during this time. We said our goodbyes and then Gavriel drove us to Rachel’s apt. We hung out for a bit, and then did some shopping, and then went to dinner. I had intended to return to Ramallah Tuesday night, but the service at the restaurant was sooo slow I missed the last bus back to Ramallah, so I slept at Rachel’s with the intention of getting up early the next day and going to class.

I woke up Wednesday with the worst stomach cramps and serious nausea. It was horrible. I don’t know what was wrong with me, but I spent most of the day lying on Rachel’s couch and drinking chamomile tea and honey. I started to feel better around 5:30 and ventured out to superpharm to get a tooth brush and also some soup to eat. I came back and made some soup for Rachel and me. Then Maryanne a PAS person called me to tell me that ICAHD was hosting Rachel Corrie’s parents that night to talk about her death and what they were doing now about it. It was at 7:30 so I went to that. It was very emotional to watch these two people talk about how their daughter was literally crushed to death by a bulldozer driven by an Israeli Soldier. It hurt my heart a lot. After they spoke I asked Maryanne to introduce me to Jeff Halper (the guy in charge of ICAHD) I told Jeff that I had been trying to meet with Eyal the volunteer person for the past few weeks. It turns out Eyal was there that night but he had left by the time I met Jeff, but its okay because now I have an appt to meet with Jeff Halper on Friday at 10 am! Yeah!!! Im very excited. I have been following this organization for years now to actually work for them would be a dream come true for me. Okay so after meeting Jeff we miraculously got a ride to Ramallah from a guy whos name I forgot, but hes an American teaching English and History at the Friends School in Ramallah. Once in Ramallah I got a shuttle with Ryan back to Birzeit. I made some more soup for dinner, and then did my reading for Palestine question and bed.

Today I got up and no one was home. I putzed around for a bit then got ready for class. When I tried to leave I realized that Sandra had locked the door from the outside which cannot be unlocked from the inside. I called her and it turned out she was almost home any ways so she let me out, but before I left she told me that last night at around 3 in the morning our friends Omar and Wissam were Arrested by the IDF here in Birzeit. I hardly knew what to say or do. I wish I was friends with some high up in the military Israeli, but all my friends had pretty low level positions in the army. Omar and Wissam are not violent people. They are both very politically active in the PFLP, but they are not a security threat to anyone. Especially Wissam. Wissam is the one who got shot in the leg by the soldiers at the Atara check point. He cant even walk yet, and his wife had a baby just 2 weeks ago, what the hell do they need to arrest him for, and Omar I don’t even think he could hurt a fly even if he wanted to. I had been starting to feel like I was living in a bubble here in quiet Ramallah and Birzeit, but I guess its pretty easy for the IDF to burst any bubble they want. No one has any idea where they are or what they are charged with, and we probably wont know for another week maybe not even then. It makes me feel very helpless that there is nothing I can do to help. We just have to wait and see what happens. I hope they let them go soon Its hard to imagine ones friends in prison, especially Palestinian friends in an Israeli Prison. Well as amazing as this may seem life here goes on as normal. Most of us are still going to Zan’s tonight, and Im still going to Jerusalem tomorrow to meet with Jeff Halper and then to Tzuba to visit my campers with Jomi. It seems almost unreal, but that’s the way it is here. The most abnormal and horrendous things are part of normal life.

Making Hamentaschen in Palestine

3/17/08

Wednesday I went to the doctor in the morning and found out I have a UTI which sucks and proves that g-d likes to punish me for doing stupid things… I went to class it was uneventful…. Then home for a bit I did reading for class on Thursday on my balcony in the wonderful sun. Then we went to Aliya’s for dinner and to watch a documentary called “The Iron Wall” this is a very well made documentary and really sheds some light on the realities of the wall, the settlements and the settlement roads being built. There was also a lot of interview footage with Jeff Halper who is the founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) which is a wonderful organization that I will hopefully soon be working for. Any ways after the documentary everyone hung out for awhile, some people were drinking a bit, but decided to take a break as Ive been going out enough the last few days. I left with Wilco and Kyle and was escorted by the lovely Kyle.

Thursday we Palestine Question class it was about the issue of refugees. Daniela did the presentation. It was actually very interesting because she told us about her grandfather’s personal story of how he and his family were expelled from the city of Lid. It was horrible. People were forced from their homes and then forced to walked many miles in to Jordan in the middle of July. People died of thirst or were forced to drink their own urine. We then talked about the feasibility of the Palestinians returning to their homes and how we thought the refugee problem should be solved. Our prof brought up a survey that had been done a few years ago that I actually knew about, that said that only about 8% of Palestinians living in the diaspora would actually want to move back to their homes in Israel Proper. Most of these people were born in other countries and know them better. I think for a lot of Palestinians in Exile they just want the recognition of the right to return, and the deserved compensation for their trouble, but I obviously have no idea I am not a Palestinian in Exile. I am an American Jew that can come and go from Israel to Palestine as I please. Needless to say class was interesting and very informative. After class I went home with Tasha and Vanessa and we watched Across the universe which is sooooo good! Then we went to my place to hang out for a bit until we got a ride to Zan’s (the one good bar in Ramallah) At Zans there was a Palestinian guy performing (just singing and playing guitar but good nonetheless.)

Friday I got up early and very slowly packed and got ready to head to Jerusalem for the weekend. I don’t think I have ever been so excited to celebrate Shabbat. Its still a bit weird for me to be going to classes on Saturday. Not that I ever kept Shabbat before, but It was nice to celebrate on Fri nights and then rest on Sat.. I left Birzeit around 10am and got to Rachel’s around 12. she had already finished some of the cooking, but she sent me out to the shuk to get whine, Tofu and eggs. I also stopped at marzipan and got some Borekas! Mmm Borekas I think they are my favorite food. I came back with everything and tried to help a little with cooking, and getting the apt ready for guests and dinner. Somewhere in there Jeremy showed up he is now Studying in Yashiva and Shomer Nagiah (means he doesn’t touch women) If you know Jeremy you will understand how strange is was for me to see him in this new persona esp since I hadent seen him in over a year. We haven’t always gotten along in the past, but I think maybe he has changed for the better, only time will tell. Any ways Rachel was almost done with making all the food so I jumped in the shower and then dressed in my frum (Religious Jew) clothes. I always kind of feel like im wearing a costume when I dress like that, but we were going to services at Rachel’s Orthodox Carlbach synagogue, and I wanted to dress appropriately. The service was great. I really like Carlbach Kabbalat Shabbat. Then we headed back for dinner the guests were me Jeremy Naomi and Dana (4 generations of AU) and then Rachel’s friends Jessie and another Rachel. The food was amazing! Rachel is going to make one hell of a Jewish mother some day. And everyone there was cool and interested in hearing about my “fascinating” life in Palestine. Most people left around 11pm and I was falling asleep at the table by then I was so tired. Jeremy and I slept over.

Saturday I slept until 11ish and then put on some more Frum clothing and waited for Naomi and Dana to come over again from Shabbat lunch which was again amazing. Rachel made this sauce that was basically date honey regular honey and pecans it was deeeelicious. After we all stuffed ourselves we went for a walk to the old city and to the cotel, but I had changed in to jeans so I decided not to actually go up to the cotel. Rachel and Jeremy went to the wall to pray Mincha, and I hung back with Naomi, Dana and their friend Andrea that we were meeting there. We sat in the sun and tried to avoid the attention of a mangy looking cat that wanted to befriend us. After Jeremy and Rachel finished they went back to Rachel’s apt and we went to the roof of the Austrian hospice to show Naomi a good view of the old city. Its pretty amazing up there. Every time I see a really nice view from up high I fall in love with Jerusalem all over again its always amazing to me how peaceful everything looks from above when I know its really so full tension. Any ways enough abstract thought… after the view we walked back towards west Jerusalem I walked with Naomi back to Rachel’s. Naomi packed up and left and met Dana to go back to Tel Aviv and I hung out with Rachel and Jeremy until it was time for Jeremy to go to the evening service and then we had dinner which I wasn’t actually hungry for but oh well. Then we did havdallah and then Jeremy went back to his Yeshiva and Rachel and I hung out and talked for awhile. Somewhere in there we looked at the news and front page it said there was a huge tornado in Atlanta where all of our friends happen to be because Robert and Avi got married on Sunday! So we were a bit worried, but then we finally got a call from Alison who told us all was well. Rachel and I talked for a bit more about how much boys suck and whatever else girls talk about when their alone and then it was bed time.

Sunday I got up bright and early and met Jean Marie, Elizabeth and Marco in the old city to go to mass for Palm Sunday. (don’t worry only as an observer) Although I did find out that Marco goes to church in Birzeit every Sunday which was interesting I just assumed everyone on the program was completely secular. Its kind of nice to know there is someone else who cares about their religion…even if it is a completely different one than my own. The mass we went to was all in Arabic so I didn’t really understand anything that was going on, but it was interesting anyways. There was a lot of incense and getting up and sitting down. After the service was over I took Elizabeth and Marco to west Jerusalem in search of a book store with an English Arabic dictionary which we did finally find and then back to the old city to meet up with Jean Marie and Vanessa. Jean Marie took us to a nice restaurant with yummy chumus and after we were nice and full we walked up to the mount of olives for the procession of the Palms. It goes from the top of the mount of Olives to the entrance where Jesus entered Jerusalem. It was pretty cool. There were pilgrims from all over the world, and every one was singing and dancing and waving palms. The only problem is that it was very hot and sunny and there was almost no shade the whole time. Lucky for us the procession ended at the church Jean Marie lives at, so when we got there he let us inside and gave us all water and juice to drink. It was getting pretty late at this point so I headed back to Rachel’s place to get my stuff and then to the grocery store to get some stuff for making hamentaschen. Then back to Damascus gate and the bus station to go back to Ramallah. We headed back to Birzeit grabbed some falafel and then I went home, did my Arabic home work and went to bed!

Monday was a pretty average day we had Arabic class, then I went home for a bit and finally got around to cleaning my new bathroom, so that it is now sparkling clean. Then I was convinced to go to a lecture with Sandra. She said it would be in English and Arabic, but really it was just in Arabic so I left after an hour because I couldn’t understand enough to get what was going on. Then I called Wilco so I could use their washer, since I no longer have one of my own, and now I am here trying not to watch resident evil because it will give me nightmares. Hopfully if I can find a working oven I will be making hamentaschen a much happier activity. Than watching zombie movies. Even if Milo Jojovich is hardcore.

How many times can I go to Jerusalem in a week

Well its been an interesting few days I didn’t end up moving on Friday, because Hussein was in Jerusalem all day, so he couldn’t come and move me. So after packing and studying for my exam on Saturday I went to Tasha, Vanessa, Elizabeth and Miriam’s house to watch Stomp the Yard. We were later joined by Katy and then Omar. When I first got there Santi was there also and very drunk. Keep in mind it was about 7pm. Santi, Nick, Ryan and Kyle had gone to the Tybeh Brewery that day and its 4 shekels a beer which is a little more than a dollar so they all drank themselves silly. So Santi was over Dancing around the kitchen until we were going to start the movie and then Tasha jokingly said something about it being a girls night since Santi was the only guy there at the time and Santi got pissed off and stormed out of the apt. 15 mins later Nick called asking why Tasha kicked Santi out of the house and we had to explain that Santi was making things up…and then we gave up on our drunken little boys and watched the movie, which is pretty cool to watch, but is super cheesy. Afterwards Hussein drove me and Katy home.

Saturday I had my first Fusah exam it was actually pretty easy which was a relief. I keep feeling like we’re not really learning anything and then I read something or take the exam and realize I have learned and retained a lot, which is always exciting. After class I went to the gym with Vanessa, and then Hussein came and helped me move the Katy and Sandra’s apt. I dropped everything off took a shower repacked my back pack and headed to Jerusalem to see friends. I don’t know but something about going to Jerusalem always makes me feel like im going home. It probably has something to do with the fact that its one of three cities that Ive lived in in my life and that I know well. I walked from Damascus gate to the city center dropped my stuff off at Rachel’s fabulously located apt and then met lisa with her Birthright children on Ben Yehuda. It was weird to be around a birthright group after living in Palestine for a month. I kind of wanted to invite all of them to come visit me when the trip was over, or just slap them in the faces and tell them to wake up and read a book once in a while, but both of those ideas didn’t pan out. After awhile they took the group to a bar so I went with Lisa, and Esther also came out and met us after a while. We hung out for a bit and then Lisa had to go back with her group so I went to underground with Esther. For those of you who don’t know Underground is the sketchiest place in all of Jerusalem, and I would not recommend it to any one, but they play good music and we wanted to dance so we went. The night ended around 4 when the bar closed and then I slept half the day away

Sunday I had an amazing lunch with Rachel, then we went skirt shopping around ben yahuda area and then I headed back to Birzeit. I was sooo exhausted when I came back all I did was do my homework for Arabic class and then went to bed. Monday I had class and then went to the gym with Vanessa, and then went back to Jerusalem to see Esther one last time before she went back to the US. I got there around 8 we went to dinner and then we went to a bar in Jerusalem called Constantine. It was amazing! Not sketchy at all. It was all students which means people actually our age, and no sketchy guys to fight off. And great music. One problem I have well if you can call it a problem.. is that if there is good music I can dance forever! I love it. So we stayed until 3:3o when they started to close and then headed home

Tuesday I helped Esther pack up and move her stuff to Ari’s and then I had to head back to Birzeit I walked to the bus station and headed back. When I got back I was exhausted once again… so I once again did my home work and went to bed.

Will it Never Stop..... Will it Never End

I think it’s possible that in the past week I have completely lost my faith in humanity. This is why I don’t read the news, but here is where the news is. There is no escape. Last week I was sick to my stomach at the atrocities that Israel was perpetrating in Gaza, and last night I felt similarly when I heard about the shooting at the Yeshiva in Jerusalem. The worst part is that in both of these situations the people being killed are bearing repercussions of someone else’s actions. A child playing soccer in a field in Gaza has nothing to do with the Hamas militant shooting rockets in to Ashkelon. In the case of the shooting yesterday we still don’t know the shooters motives or affiliation, but Hamas has already applauded the shooting and deemed it a “normal response”

“While not claiming responsibility for the attack, Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, said ‘this heroic attack in Jerusalem is a normal response to the crimes of the occupier and its murder of civilians’.

Taher al-Nunu, another spokesman, blamed the attack on Olmert and Ehud Barak, the defence minister.

‘We have warned before about the responsibility of the escalation in Gaza and warned of Palestinian anger,’ he said.” (Al Jazeera)

Why is it that the people who perpetrate these violent crimes are almost never the ones who are punished for them? Both Hamas and the Israeli government are allowing the people they claim to be fighting for bear most of the repercussions of the violence against each other. Hamas knows that for every rocket they shoot over the border Israel will respond with ten more, and the Israeli government should realize by now that their actions do not go unpunished. It just makes me sick and so angry. If these leaders were really so righteous then they would be putting their own lives on the line and doing all they could to protect their people from violence, especially their children.

My other reason for losing my faith in humanity is the responses to last night. I found out about it when I went to the DVD store with Tasha to get some movies. The guy who owns the store was so happy about the shooting he gave Tasha 3 free DVDs. I had to leave the store I felt like I was going to punch someone. Then this morning I read that other students from the Yeshiva were heard shouting for revenge and things like “death to Arabs.” When will people realize that taking lives for other lives doesn’t fix anything? Usually it just makes it worse. A life is a life I don’t care who is belongs to, but even with all this we some how manage to live fairly normal lives here I still have an exam tomorrow regardless of what happens in Israel.

Speaking of normal life mine was just turned upside down a bit but ill get to that later

Tuesday (3/4) our Palestine Question class was cancelled because our professor couldn’t come to class. Hanadi sent out an email to everyone in the morning. When I got up in the morning I got the email and then remembered that half of us do not have access to internet, so I sent out ten text messages letting people know. Then Vanessa called to see if I wanted to go to the library with her for a bit, so we walked to campus met up with Josh and Miriam, and then after the library I convinced them to come to Ramallah with me to get a web camera from Garry the guy I met through my other friend Miriam. So I met Garry he gave me the camera, it kind of felt like a drug deal, except there was no money or drugs involved aaaanyways. We then wondered Ramallah for awhile. Josh wanted to show us the park in Ramallah, which isn’t really a park and once we got there Josh realized nothing was open because it is still technically winter. Then Josh said he knew where there was a big grocery store so we went looking for it, but that turned out to be a failure as well. By then we were getting hungry so we gave Josh one more chance, because he said he wanted to go to this realy great restaurant, and low and be hold he was redeemed. I have been living off of salad, foul stew, beans and rice, and the occasional falafel for the past month, but at this restaurant they had fettuccini alfredo with mushrooms (my personal favorite food!) we all got very delicious dinners. Then they gave us icecream for free. It was a pretty intense meal, but quite delicious. We got back to Birzeit at around 9:30 and then I proceeded to try to make the web camera work on my computer for 2 hours, but to no avail. I am assuming its because I have stupid windows Vista. But by 12 I had to go to bed so I could get up for my 8am Arabic class the next day.

Wednesday is when life got a little turned around. Right before my second class Daniela (my roommate) decides to tell me that her family found her a place to live in Ramallah so she’s moving out now. I didn’t even know she was thinking of moving. Apparently she told other people a couple days ago also. So I was a little annoyed about that. Its turning out okay though because Katy and Sandra have a third bedroom in their apt that they have been trying to rent to someone for a while, and since I don’t want to live by myself Im going to move in with them. This move has a lot of pros and cons. Their apt is a much much better location. I get my own bathroom, and my own balcony, and the rent is cheaper but they have none of the amenities I have gotten used to having at this apt (i.e. Internet, microwave, toaster oven, washing machine) also my room there has no furniture so I have to get some. Which isn’t the end of the world, but I am all settled here I have decorations and pictures on the walls and all my stuff put away. I hate having to pack and move again, but I guess it will be worth it. And Hussein said he would come with his car and move me so I don’t have to worry about lugging my stuff to the new place.

So yeah after class I went home and Vanessa and Tasha came with we all did laundry since it was our last opportunity to use the machine here then Josh and Elizabeth came over a few hours later to use the internet. Then I went over to katys for a bit to really look at the apt and my room and see what it was like. Nick and Santi were there too and all three of them came back to my apt with me afterwards. We hung out for a bit I tried to do more packing and then we all went to Zana’s for Dinner, and then went to Nick and Santi’s to watch Snatch. And then around 12 Hussein drove us all home, because he is a hero with a car.

Yesterday was the second day of gloriously beautiful weather. So I had a picnic with Vanessa, Tasha and Elizabeth in their back yard. It was quite nice, but it made us late for class. The class was about Arab nationalism and why it failed. Which I already knew, but that’s what I get for taking a class on something I’ve been studying for the last however many years. After class I went home and Tasha came with me. We did more laundry and then at 6 went to Aliya’s to see a documentary on Hamas. It was not the best documentary, but it was interesting. After the movie we hung out and had a few drinks. I ended up getting into an intense conversation with Omar’s brother and one of his friends about my feelings on Israel and the fact that I am a Jew. It was a good conversation. Now that I have decided not to hide my Jewness from everyone I have taken on a different outlook. Don’t worry mom I’m not going to run around telling everyone in the west bank Im a Jew, but I think it is important for me to show that not all Jews esp American Jews support Israel and the occupation, and the only way to do this is to have conversations like the one I had last night.

Okay today all I have done it pack write and eat falafel with Tasha and Elizabeth. I really need to finish packing and move and then start studying for my Fusah exam tomorrow! Also you may have noticed I added a little counter thing at the bottom of the page. I did this after an old friend told me on facebook that she was “blogstalking” me, which made me wonder how many people are actually reading this silliness. So now I will have a number, but if you feel like telling me I am also interested to know who is reading about my adventures.

No wait this is the worlds longest blog post

Okay so I guess I need to work on writing more often, but life has been busy and a little crazy this past week.

So lets see Monday (the 25^th) was a pretty bad day weather wise. It was raining in the morning when we went to class, and then during class it hailed twice and rained a lot in between, but despite the weather I went to meet up with Miriam in Ramallah. The rain lightened up just enough for me to get to the restaurant where we were meeting. I was so proud of my self that I found it with any problems. I mean I now I’ve been here for almost a month now, but I am so directionally challenged, but anyways I found it and got some tea with Miriam we chatted for a bit and then her other friend Gary joined us. Gary is a very interesting person. He is also Jewish and is here doing economic research. He seems a little quiet at first, but opened up after while and he told me about three very cool things. First was a group that goes hiking in the west bank and they know where they’re going so hopefully Ill be able to join in on that. Second was that he had a web camera he wasn’t using so he is giving it to me for free! I love free things, and third he has been working with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) which is an organization I have followed since high school. He told me they are looking for people to be tour guides for their alternative tours. I don’t know if this will actually pan out to anything especially since I emailed them a few days ago and haven’t heard back, but it would be amazing if I could do that. He said they would even pay me. ICAHD also works with Birthright Unplugged which I would love to work for. More and more since I’ve been here I have really wanted to have an opportunity to share what I know and have learned with others in the American Jewish community. The three of us drank tea and talked for a couple hours, and then Gary had to go home, and I decided I should probably also head for home. I made my way to the shuttles back to Birzeit and went home.

Tuesday we learned about the Balfour declaration and the evils of Zionism in class once again. He is starting to repeat things which is I guess understandable but a little annoying. After class I went to a lecture in Ramallah that Maryann told me about. It was hosted by the Quaker community in Ramallah. The speaker was a social worker and psychologist who specialized in Children and trauma, and since I want to work with Israeli and Palestinian Children who have both experienced a lot of trauma I decided it would be worth it to go. It was very interesting, and I met some very interesting people. I met a woman who runs a physical therapy center for Palestinian children. I think maybe when my Arabic is a little better I will call her to see if I can volunteer there. There was a potluck after the lecture, but I had to leave because I promised I would have dinner with Jean Marie, Marco, Yvette and Elizabeth. I got back to Birzeit with just enough time to go home pee, put on some more layers and head back out again to meet them. We had a very nice dinner in Jifna which is a smaller village near Birzeit where Jean Marie lives. After dinner we hung out at Jean Marie’s for a bit and then took a cab back to Birzeit since it was late and rather cold out.

Wednesday was normal class and then I went for a walk with Vanessa, and got some stuff to make rice and beans. Then we wondered by Katy’s apt and she and Santi happened to be on the balcony and yelled to us to come say hello. So we ended up hanging out with them on the balcony in the sun for a while which was really nice. Then Vanessa and I went back to my apt and made dinner for us, Miriam, Josh and Elizabeth. This was one of those moment when my inner Jewish mother comes out, it makes me so happy to feed other people, esp when they like what I make them. After dinner we went to William’s going away party. William is a Palestinian who I became friends with through Omar. He is probably one of the nicest guys on the planet. He has gone out of his way to walk me home several times since I’ve been here and he also has the ability to fix almost anything. Because of this I was amazed to find that the Palestinian Authority were looking for him. He hasn’t done anything besides be politically involved with the PFLP. The PA wants to arrest him, but they cant stick any except accusing him of harassing international women, which is the most ridiculous thing every considering what I just said about him. So end of story William has to go away for a little bit. We had a little party at Aliya’s to say goodbyes. It started out small but almost everyone came eventually. We went on for so long we ended up having to move the party to Kyle and Ryan’s house where a small amount of debauchery ensued at 4:30am Me Tasha and Kelsy were the only ones still there and I decided walking home at that point would be a bad idea, so Ryan was nice enough to sleep on the couch and let me have his bed (im sure some great feminist leader is rolling over in her grave right now, but its nice to be a girl some times.) Tasha woke me up at 9:30 the next morning to walk home and go back to sleep until 1 when I had to get up for class.

I did miraculously get up for class, but I missed half of it because Lena a friend of mine from AU, who is a Palestinian who lives in Herzliya was visiting Birzeit. She called me when she was at the gate but the guards didn’t recognize her or her friends so they wouldn’t let them on campus so I went to see what I could do. Nothing of course, but we talked for a bit, and then I had to go back to class so we said good bye until that evening when DAM was performing. After class I went home for a bit then we all met up to go to the Ramallah Cultural Palace for the show. I was really excited. Dam is pretty good as far as Rap goes, and well if you know me you know how much I love concerts. Dam was great, but their set was really short, and this guy called Perry Mystique come on, and he was ridiculous. The beats he was rapping to were pretty good, but his rapping was totally off, and he kept doing stupid things like asking if we still liked him. He played much longer than DAM and was not nearly as good. It would have been a very disappointing evening if not for the fact that I got to see Lena again and also Miriam was there. After the show some of us went to Zans which is the bar in Ramallah were all the internationals go. It is very expensive (almost $8 for a Jack and Coke) and both times I have been there its always too crowded. We stayed for a while and then got a ride back to Birzeit from Azeez Omar’s friend. We all went to Ryan and Kyle’s, because for some reason I agreed to go watch a movie, even though it was late and I was sleep deprived. To make things worse Omar decided we had to watch 300 the most violent movie on the planet. I think I fell asleep half way through but when I woke up Hussein was there and he drove Vanessa and I home at around 5, and I drifted off to sleep to the sound of the first call to prayer of the day.

I woke up on Friday at around 2pm I know that’s bad, but I really needed it. Once I was awake I spent most of the day making flash cards for Arabic. In my Amia class we learn so many new vocab words a day so I figure flash cards would be a good way to keep up. I was also checking the news a lot since the violence in Gaza had been steadily getting worse since a students from Ashkelon was killed by one of the rockets Hamas has been shooting into Israel from Gaza. It was some time on Friday when I read that Matan Vilnai, Israel's deputy defense minister said that the more Rockets Hamas sent in to Israel the greater the Shoah they would bring upon themselves. To quote Al Jazeera (the story was also in Haaretz)

"The more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they [the Palestinians] will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah because we will use all our might to defend ourselves," Matan Vilnai told Army Radio on Friday.

In case you don’t speak Hebrew Shoah is the Hebrew word for Holocaust. I was in shock I read the line about 20 times. I cannot imagine what he was thinking. It is disgusting to hear a Jew using the word Shoah in reference to what Israel is doing is Gaza. Later his office tried to walk back the statement saying he really meant just a big catastrophe, but I have never heard the word Shoah used in any other context than the actual Holocaust. It made me so angry, and it only got worse when the next day Israel sent ground troops in to Gaza and killed over 50 people in one day, many of which were children.

Saturday was a very long sad and angry day. One the one hand I want to go to Hamas and yell at them. I mean they know what they are doing. The know that Israel is going to fight back and with a lot more power if Hamas is shooting rockets at Israeli towns and cities. Hamas is playing with the lives of the people they claim to represent to make a point. It makes me sick, but just because Hamas is wrong it doesn’t make what Israel does right. In the past five days 120 Gazan’s were killed more than half of them between Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we went to class, but Sammi my Arabic teacher is from Gaza and most of his family is there. We could all tell he was very upset. We made it through the first class but at the beginning of the second class Katy was talking about a demonstration taking place at the Atara Check point near My house. So half way through class Sammi let us go and a lot of people went to the demonstration. I did not go because most people were going with the sole intention of throwing stones at soldiers and when you throw stones at soldiers you and everyone around you gets shot at. Im pretty sure I can do a lot more for the Palestinian cause alive than dead or injured. I stayed on campus and went to a lecture about the destruction of Palestinian villages post 1948 war. The lecture was very interesting and I’m glad I went. A few minutes after it ended I got a call from Kyle asking me what blood type I was. About a million images blazed through my head at that moment each one worse than the one before. It turns out Asaan the guys whos works at and who’s family owns Aliya’s the restaurant we always go to was shot in the leg. The bullet went through the bone and he had to be taken to the hospital and have surgery. He is okay now, but he wont be able to walk for several months because of the damage to the bone. A large number of us had planned to go see a Dubka (traditional Palestinian dancing) performance that night, but since half of the people were at the hospital we just decided not to go. I decided I want to be with some people with a calming influence on my life that evening so I texted Marco told him we weren’t going to Dubka and asked what he and Wilco were doing for dinner. He invited me over for dinner and a movie. Elizabeth was over using my internet so she was invited as well. It was nice to be cooked for. Those boys are pretty good cooks I was impressed. Then we watched No Country for Old Men which I didn’t think was all that great, but maybe I just wasn’t in the ride mood to watch more senseless killing. I walked home with Elizabeth at around 11 so we could wake up early to go to Jericho the next day.

Sunday we woke to find that life in the West Bank was more or less normal so we decided to go ahead with our planned trip to Jericho. Our party consisted of Me, Marco, Wilco, Elizabeth, Yvette, Vanessa Vanessa’s friend whose name is escaping me at the moment, and Thommi’s girlfriend whose name is also escaping me now. It was an interesting trip. We went through a few check points one of which the soldier opened the door to the van and asked where we were from in Hebrew and before I could stop myself I answered in Hebrew. He seemed a little surprised, but then asked to see a few people’s passports and then let us go.

We went to the Hisham Palace which is basically ruins of what was once a very large palace. There isn’t a lot left of it, but are some really cool mosaics that have been restored. By the time we were done there it was lunch time, and Vanessa’s friend took us to a place that he knew in which they gave us a ridiculous amount of very delicious food and it ended up being only 30 shekels each. After lunch we went to the mount of Temptation, which is apparently where Jesus fasted for forty days while the devil tempted him. It was interesting and the monastery there now was pretty cool. Also the view from up on the mountain was pretty nice. After the monastery we went to a Mosque further out in the desert which was supposed to be where Moses was buried, I was rather skeptical. But after walking around the Mosque a little we walked around the area for a bit. I really love the desert in Israel. I guess it’s the only desert I’ve ever seen, but its just so beautiful. Every where you look is more beautiful than where your eyes were just moments before. It’s a little over whelming, and for some reason is always makes me want to pray, so I did. I needed some alone time any ways. I walked away from everyone else for a bit and did some chatting with G-d. after while I was followed and my alone time and praying time was cut short. Then it was getting darker and colder so we decided to head back to Ramallah/Birzeit. When we got back to Birzeit we saw that there was a candlelight vigil going on in the square, so we went and joined. A lot of others from the PAS group were there already. It was very moving. After I was informed that everyone was going to Aliyas to buy lots of stuff to help raise money for Asaan and his family while he cant work. I wanted to go home first to get more layers so I walked back quickly. I was escorted by about 10 little boys from my neighborhood. They were asking me all these questions and to my happy surprise I understood and was able to answer a lot of them. It was very exciting. I guess I am learning something here after all. After I relayered we went to Aliyas had dinner and a few drinks. We were there for a few hours and by the time we finally left I was practically falling asleep on the table. I walked home with Josh who lives just a few houses down from me, and passed out very quickly.

Today was not terribly eventful except that everything was messed up on campus today. I was happy to learn that Israel was exiting Gaza today, but then we got to campus and found out that a kid from Birzeit had been shot and killed that night. There were protests on campus and they blocked the entrance at one point. Even our classes were canceled, but after a while things calmed down and returned to normal. The ability of the Palestinian people to “return to normal life” amazes me. I went home read for a bit then I went to the gym with Vanessa. We finally joined a few days ago but this was the first time we’ve been able to go, I almost forgot how good endorphins make me feel. After the gym I headed home to make some foul (pronounced fool) stew yumminess and then wrote this stupid blog entry for way too long, and now I must do my reading for tomorrow and learn about the rise of Palestinian nationalism.