We were required to pass through an Israel armed check point to enter the West Bank where Bethlehem is located. A short drive from Jerusalem, Bethlehem is home to 180,000 people, the majority are Palestinian Christians. The sites in Bethlehem honor the place where Jesus was born, where Rachel was buried and where Greek Orthodox Christians still celebrate mass.
We began by driving out of the main part of the city to a field that was tilled and unplanted. In the distance a shepherd with a weathered face tended a dozen sheep on the rocky hillside. He looked like what I imagined the shepherds in the bible would have looked like. We walked in the rain, over the rocky, muddy ground and gathered with several local men. We were there to plant the first olive tree in this field.
Olive trees are unique because the take many years to bare fruit, then produce fruit for many, many years. The oil from these trees is clear and fragrant and can be sold. The olives are cured and sold too. The wood from the trees is used to create artisan pieces that are also sold mainly to tourists. So this tree is the beginning of a source of sustenance for people who have access to very little here because of the occupation of Israel.
We dug and dug, then planted and watered. Then we blessed the tree, giving thanks for its life and for the earth and for the rain. We chanted and offered blessings to our hosts who have lived on this land, but have been restricted from building on it and using it in ways that would help them because of the occupation of Israel. We brought a measure of hope to them by planting this tree.
what the tree will see as it grows and offers its fruit
the men whose families own the land
After lunch we traveled to the heart of Bethlehem and toured the Church of the Nativity. This old 6th century church was scaffolded for repairs which only added to the cacophony inside with hundreds of other people also clamoring to walk the single stair case to the cave below to see where Jesus was thought to have been born.
Our last visit was to the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center where we met with Mr. Zoughbi, its director. This was the most moving experience of the day. Not just because he told us of all the hardships Palestinians face every day because of the occupation by Israel and the 25 foot wall constructed that we could see directly behind his office building. Not just because 80% of the wall is on Palestinian land and limits and often cuts-off access of Palestinians to jobs and resources. Not just because we learned that 80% of the aquifers are beyond the wall and every week or every other week Palestinians have to wait for Israel to deliver water to them. Not just because this 470 mile wall is not just a physical wall but a psychological wall too. This visit was moving and emotional because of the hope Mr. Zoughbi still has in the possibility that the children who come to playground there will see peace and a unified country.
We circled around Mr. Zoughbi, layed our hands on him and blessed him. Fifty ministers chanted and prayed for this man, for his center for his people for this country and for ourselves, because any loss is a loss for all humanity. As we left I stood before the towering gray wall, painted with messages of peace, hope, and frustration and could no longer hold back tears. Sobbing I felt the pain of all people - Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs, Jews, Christians, Iraqis, Afghanis, Blacks and all people who have been oppressed. I sobbed for the reality that we humans are capable of so much harm to one another. I cried for all the frustrated efforts of all of us who want peace.
Then I remembered the tree we planted and I cried in anticipation that our prayers, our blessings, our seeds of hope will actually change the world. Indeed it already has. My world, Mr. Zoughbi's world, our group's world and your world is forever changed.
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