I. The pool of Bethesda is dry; Apartment buildings tower above the gap in the Old City; Mourning doves eat refuse on the Tower of David. Pilgrims, stop your wandering. Scholars, stop your scrutiny. Children, stop your spinning wheels. Underneath the walls of Herod a...
We have arrived after such a long trip, exhausting security at airports. A huge thank you to all those who read, wrote and held us in prayer for our 14 days in Israel/Palestine. With so much war and UN drama, all prayers were needed. Your love buoyed our trip in...
On Sunday Jonathan and I had a long rest and got up to worship at the Ramallah Friends meetinghouse. The Ramallah Meeting is small, with thick stone walls and arched windows.I soaked my dusty soul in the coolness and quiet. It was built in 1940 exactly between two...
Hani Abu Hikal is a Hebron native whose family has lived on the hillside, Tel Remieda, for hundreds of years. He was an angry youth when the Israeli policies divided the city and humiliated him and his friends. He went to jail for 20 months at 17 years old because he...
Jerusalem, a holy city to so many. On one hand it's amazing that after invasions of Romans, Syrians, Egyptians, crusaders, Ottomans, English and Jordanians that all want to claim the hill as their own. How amazing that they've found a way to live in their piece of the...
As I contemplated what my Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation tour would be, I hoped that we would be exposed to a full range of the human experience in Israel-Palestine—and indeed we have. We’ve heard from Israelis spanning the whole political spectrum, including:...
Our group met with a one of the founders of Sabeel, a Palestinian Christian group committed to nonviolence and standing with the suffering of the Palestinian people. Sabeel means “the way.” In ancient times in the arid Palestinian land, a traveler would find an urn of...
Jonathan and I started our journey to Jerusalem when we first agreed to go on the Christian Peacemakers Team. Then we read books together, and studied current events in the Middle East. We sat down to have a meal with friends who know the region well. Some Friends...
Along with UN General Secretary, Ban Ki-Moon, and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Minga and I arrived at the airport in Tel Aviv only 3 hours later than expected. Earlier this morning, we sat on the ground at the Charles de Gaualle airport in Paris, likely...
On What Common Ground Do We Stand? When Hazel was two she was fascinated with my old cat, Ocelot. She would prance into the living room, her feet 2 boulders rolling along. Ocelot would get up out of slumber and slink out the back door. Hazel would spend an hour...