Friday - Tour of Bethlehem, the wall and Tent of Nations

For the first time since coming to the Holy Land we awoke to cloudy skies and cool weather. By noon we knew that going to swim in the Dead Sea was not likely a preferred activity, so we set out on an alternate plan. Our first stop was the 8th floor of our hotel which provided us with a 360 degree view of Bethlehem.  Omar pointed out the landmarks including the settlements and military bases that basically surround the city.
From here we loaded onto a small Palestinian bus and went around to visit the Church of the Nativity.  Our guide talked about why they believe this was the site of Jesus birth including the fact that there have been graves found that held the bodies of young children believed to have been killed by Herod.  Who knows for sure, but the building is undergoing major repairs thanks to a generous donor who believes in the importance of the site.
Back to our hotel to pick up luggage for the four that will be leaving us today, and our big tour bus with our driver from Jerusalem.
Our next stop was the wall. The official reason for the wall is for security purposes, however there are three holes in that story. First the wall is only 70% completed, as Israel has run out of funding to finish the structure.  Second, several individuals have managed to scale the walls, and third, if it was just to protect borders then why is it sometimes kilometers inside the Palestinian territory and not right on the border? There are stories all along the wall that have been written by individuals who have been hurt by the presence of the wall, along with a whole lot of very explicit graffiti.
After checking out the wall, we stopped to visit Clare who was on a speaking tour of BC last year. Her home is surrounded on three sides by the wall and she is not allowed to use her rooftop garden as she might be able to see over the wall if she is up there.  She does have a wonderful souvenir shop with lots of quality items. This enabled us to support her as well as pick up many last minute items to take home.

After visiting with Clare we left for the Tent of Nations. This basically is a Palestinian family land that is surrounded by Jewish Settlements.  The Israelis have been very clear that they want the land, but it has been duly registered in the family name since the Ottoman Empire in 1916. They do not want to give up their land, but know they have limited options.  Their choices are 1) resort to violence,  2.Be pacifist and give in - be victims 3.Leave-go to another country, or 4.refuse to be an enemy.this confuses people so they have to listen. Then you have the chance to try new things.  Despite having their road blocked since 2002, and despite having no access to running water, and despite being denied permits to build any buildings and despite having received 13 demolition orders for their tent structures, they are running youth camps in the summers are now using rain water they have collected in their water systems and are using solar power and growing figs olives and grapes.  They hope to move into the wine industry next year.
It was so refreshing to speak with this young man who is working so hard for success against all odds, yet using total non violence.
After our time at The Tent of Nations we walked back to our bus to go to the Shepherds Fields.  We wanted to go the short route, but.because we had a Palestinian driver we had to take the long way round, about an extra 20 minutes. This is a lovely site, worth the visit.
We returned to our hotel, said good bye to our driver and 4 of our fellow travellers, then went for dinner. After dinner we had a brief debriefing, sang a number of songs including an original from Juanita, then we were off to bed. We loose 1 more traveller overnight, then 7 of us leave for Tel Aviv in the morning.
This has been an amazing experience, one not easily put on a back burner and forgotten.  I know there will be follow-up.