Children of Abraham

It all hangs on the last sentence in this article.

2009-01-18T05:58:00.001-10:00

Hamas Agrees to Ceasefire in Gaza
By Robert Berger - Voice of America
Jerusalem 18 January 2009

A Palestinian woman sits in the rubble of her home in the eastern area of Jebaliya after Israeli troops withdrew from the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, 18 Jan. 2009The Islamic militant group Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip has followed Israel's lead and agreed to a ceasefire. The announcement followed a fresh round of violence. At least 1,200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed in the three-week conflict.

Sixteen hours after Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas followed suit. Speaking in Damascus, Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk announced that armed Palestinian groups would observe the truce, on condition that Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza in a week. Earlier, Hamas had rejected Israel's cease-fire declaration because Israeli forces remained in Gaza. The group responded by firing more than 20 rockets at Israel. The Israeli air force, in turn, targeted rocket-launching sites. Israel declared the truce Saturday, saying it had dealt a severe blow to Hamas and accomplished its goals.

At the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the ceasefire is fragile. Mr. Olmert said the army will respond to any Palestinian attacks, and Israel will test the ceasefire as he put it, "minute by minute, and hour by hour."Egypt is continuing efforts to hammer out a ceasefire agreement that will be acceptable to both sides. Israel is demanding a halt to Hamas rocket attacks and weapons smuggling from Egypt, and Hamas is demanding that Israel lift its crippling blockade on Gaza.

Cease Fire?

2009-01-17T17:38:00.003-10:00

Another UN school has been hit by the Israel bombs. Two young brothers are killed. This is while the Israelis say they would agree to a cease fire. Right.

If Israel promises to stop the blockade of Gaza, there'd be a helluva better chance to get Hamas to9 agree to a cease fire. A current news report says that Israel is ready for a cease fire because they think they've taught Hamas a lesson. I'm sure the families of those 1100 Palestinians who died learned something: Those who have the guns and the power and the backing of the US will win, no matter what the reason is for the massacre.

Great way to educate a people.

The UN is hiding terrorists. That's what the Israeli government says.

2009-01-15T17:48:00.003-10:00

The UN compound in Gaza was bombed to hell today. Since the Israeli government has stated many times that civilians are not targeted but that Hamas is using civilians as shields, does this mean that the UN is hiding terrorists? Ohmigod- that's what Olmert just claimed! How absolutely ridiculous. And the world is supposed to believe that?

But then it doesn't really matter if the world believes the Israeli government. They're going to do as they please until they're finished annihilating Gaza.

What if.....?

2009-01-14T08:47:00.004-10:00

This article contains probably the best analogy published about the history between the Israelis and the Palestinians since Palestine was 'partitioned' in 1947. It is an incredibly accurate analogy. I see that the author has recently returned from that region. When one is actually there and sees with one's own eyes what has happened to the Palestinians, has driven through so many checkpoints, and has see how that 25-foot wall has separated towns and villages and farmers from their own lands, maybe a few more people will be willing to tell the true story. It's truly a transforming and hellacious experience. Especially today as the Palestinian death count has exceeded 1000. Israeli death count continues at 13, with four of those deaths attributed to 'friendly' fire on their own soldiers.

In the photos, you see Palestinians dressed in garb reminiscent of the clothes that Jews wore when they were imprisoned in WWII concentration camps. How disturbing and ironic that this kind of comparison is being made. But as with many disturbing comparisons, there is some truth in the way the Palestinians are being imprisoned and killed. The lobbing of rockets from Gaza into Israel certainly isn't a very nice thing to do, but what recourse do the Palestinians have to being imprisoned in their own territory?

+++++++++++++++++++++++

The Washington Times is not one of our more liberal newspapers. But it has a very high circulation; it's also owned by The Rev. Sun Yung Moon, of Moonie fame. I'm very surprised and thankful that the Times published this article.

Washington Times Op-ed: When Israel expelled Palestinians
The Washington Times
By Randall Kuhn
January 14, 2009

"Think about what would happen if for seven years rockets had been fired at San Diego, California from Tijuana, Mexico." Within hours scores of American pundits and politicians had mimicked Barak's comparisons almost verbatim. In fact, in this very paper on January 9 House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor ended an opinion piece by saying "America would never sit still if terrorists were lobbing missiles across our border into Texas or Montana." But let's see if our political and pundit class can parrot this analogy.

Think about what would happen if San Diego expelled most of its Hispanic, African American, Asian American, and Native American population, about 48 percent of the total, and forcibly relocated them to Tijuana? Not just immigrants, but even those who have lived in this country for many generations. Not just the unemployed or the criminals or the America haters, but the school teachers, the small business owners, the soldiers, even the baseball players.

What if we established government and faith-based agencies to help move white people into their former homes? And what if we razed hundreds of their homes in rural areas and, with the aid of charitable donations from people in the United States and abroad, planted forests on their former towns, creating nature preserves for whites to enjoy?

Sounds pretty awful, huh? I may be called anti-Semitic for speaking this truth. Well, I'm Jewish and the scenario above is what many prominent Israeli scholars say happened when Israel expelled Palestinians from southern Israel and forced them into Gaza. But this analogy is just getting started.

What if the United Nations kept San Diego's discarded minorities in crowded, festering camps in Tijuana for 19 years? Then, the United States invaded Mexico, occupied Tijuana and began to build large housing developments in Tijuana where only whites could live.

And what if the United States built a network of highways connecting American citizens of Tijuana to the United States? And checkpoints, not just between Mexico and the United States but also around every neighborhood of Tijuana? What if we required every Tijuana resident, refugee or native, to show an ID card to the U.S. military on demand?

What if thousands of Tijuana residents lost their homes, their jobs, their businesses, their children, their sense of self worth to this occupation? Would you be surprised to hear of a protest movement in Tijuana that sometimes became violent and hateful?

Okay, now for the unbelievable part.

Think about what would happen if, after expelling all of the minorities from San Diego to Tijuana and subjecting them to 40 years of brutal military occupation, we just left Tijuana, removing all the white settlers and the soldiers? Only instead of giving them their freedom, we built a 20-foot tall electrified wall around Tijuana? Not just on the sides bordering San Diego, but on all the Mexico crossings as well. What if we set up 50-foot high watchtowers with machine gun batteries, and told them that if they stood within 100 yards of this wall we would shoot them dead on sight? And four out of every five days we kept every single one of those border crossings closed, not even allowing food, clothing, or medicine to arrive. And we patrolled their air space with our state-of-the-art fighter jets but didn't allow them so much as a crop duster. And we patrolled their waters with destroyers and submarines, but didn't even allow them to fish.

Would you be at all surprised to hear that these resistance groups in Tijuana, even after having been "freed" from their occupation but starved half to death, kept on firing rockets at the United States? Probably not.

But you may be surprised to learn that the majority of people in Tijuana never picked up a rocket, or a gun, or a weapon of any kind. The majority, instead, supported against all hope negotiations toward a peaceful solution that would provide security, freedom and equal rights to both people in two independent states living side by side as neighbors.

This is the sound analogy to Israel's military onslaught in Gaza today. Maybe some day soon, common sense will prevail and no corpus of misleading analogies about Tijuana or the crazy guy across the hall who wants to murder your daughter will be able to obscure the truth. And at that moment, in a country whose people shouted We Shall Overcome, Ich bin ein Berliner, End Apartheid, Free Tibet and Save Darfur, we will all join together and shout "Free Gaza. Free Palestine." And because we are Americans, the world will take notice and they will be free, and perhaps peace will prevail for all the residents of the Holy Land.

Randall Kuhn is an assistant professor and Director of the Global Health Affairs Program at the University of Denver Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He just returned from a trip to Israel and the West Bank.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/14/when-israel-expelled-palestinians/

The strength of resolutions re the massacre in Gaza.

2009-01-12T14:37:00.002-10:00

**********************************
From the Pakistan Daily News

Bishop Azad condemns Israeli aggression

LAHORE: The Anglican Bishop in Iran, Bishop Azad Marshall, has condemned the silence of the international community in the face of the sufferings faced by Palestinians, in a statement to the National Council of Churches in Pakistan (NCCP). Bishop Azad Marshall was speaking with NCCP General Secretary Victor Azariah and other church leaders.

“I wish to express regret over the acts of aggression against the Palestinian population in Gaza,” Bishop Azad said, adding that the international community’s silence on the matter is condemnable. He said the international community has failed to act while Gaza suffers from an acute shortage of food, medicine and essential supplies.

“We as the Anglican Episcopal Church in Iran stand with our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” he said in his demonstration of support for Gaza. “We are approaching Canterbury Archbishop Dr Rowan Williams, the Primate of the Middle East Council of Churches, and the general public to encourage them to use their influence to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza,” he added. The National Council of Churches passed a resolution to condemn Israeli aggression in Gaza and to approach the World Council of Churches and other world bodies to use their influence for an immediate cessation of war.
***************************

Does the Israeli government care about these resolutions? If they don't care about UN resolutions and efforts, why would they care about various religious leaders? This is just the latest of many resolutions expressing horror at the continuing slaughter of Palestinian men, women, and children. But nothing changes. It's almost like once this wholesale slaughter is finally over, all of these religious types can point to their little resolutions and say, "I stood up against violence!"

A lot of good their standing up does. Try to explain that to the families of almost 1000 dead Palestinians.

Who's winning?

2009-01-12T13:59:00.007-10:00

As of today, the score for deaths is

Palestine 909
Israel 13

Aren't the Israelis safe enough now? Perhaps if they guaranteed open borders into Gaza, the tunnels would no longer be necessary and a cease fire could be agreed on.

But isn't the score a bit of overkill?

Do a google image search on Gaza. See what's really happening. These images are incredibly mild. But there are other photos that are truly horrific.

Danger! Complacency Alert!

2009-01-10T07:10:00.003-10:00

We're entering the third week of violence in Gaza. The UN has tried to stop the fighting by passing resolutions that have been ignored or rejected by both the Israeli government and Hamas. The US didn't even block the resolutions although they did abstain. That tells me a bit that even the US is getting really annoyed with Israel's need to keep blasting anything and everything in Gaza.

I find that I'm more easily distracted about the daily violence visited upon the Palestinian people. It's not on the first page of the newspaper and it's not the top story on the various news channels.

This is dangerous. To become complacent is to become numbed to the violence and to those who continue to be murdered -- who continue to be massacred. We can all pray, and I suspect many of us are. But what else can we do to keep this in front of the American people and the rest of the world so it doesn't take a back seat to other less violent news stories?

Maybe there is hope, after all.

2009-01-07T13:25:00.003-10:00

If the Israeli government hadn't blockaded Gaza in the first place...

From BBC

Blair 'hopeful' of Gaza ceasefire
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair has said he is hopeful that a ceasefire agreement can be reached in Gaza.

Mr Blair, now a Middle East envoy, said the elements of a peace plan had been accepted, but there was still much work to be done to thrash out the details.

A ceasefire proposal has been tabled jointly by France and Egypt.

The Israelis say they have agreed "on the principles" of the deal, while militant group Hamas says there are "positive signs but no agreement yet".

The development came as Israel halted military operations in Gaza for three hours to aid humanitarian efforts.

The lull, which began about 1100 GMT and ended shortly after 1400 GMT, was the first of what an Israeli spokesman said would be a daily ceasefire to allow Gazans to "get medical attention, get supplies... whatever they need".

'Living hell'

Mr Blair, who is currently in Paris, was asked whether he believed the Franco-Egyptian proposal would work.

He replied that there was some coming together around important elements of a deal, such as an end to weapons' smuggling into Gaza and an opening up of border crossings to humanitarian aid.

But he said the fine details would be difficult to work out and would require very hard work in the coming days.

On Tuesday, the former prime minister said the people of Gaza were living through "hell" and warned of an even "more protracted campaign" if opportunities were not seized to end the violence.

Today's death count.

2009-01-06T09:12:00.004-10:00

Palestine -- 550 men, women, and children (in the Gaza strip alone)

Israel -- 8 (4 of whom were killed mistakenly by Israeli troops)

Another first-hand account.

2009-01-05T08:41:00.003-10:00

This from the Reuters News service on Monday, January 5, 2009

A Palestinian family huddles together in Gaza City

As the assault on Hamas intensifies, 20 relatives try to find some
calm in a three-bedroom apartment.

By Safwat al-Kahlout from the January 6, 2009 edition

The Israeli drones are driving me crazy. I go outside only to buy food, water, and medicine, or to recharge my cellphone at a nearby mosque that is powered by generators. Inside my Gaza City apartment, electricity and phone lines are out. Heat is a luxury. We sleep with the windows open in case an Israeli shell lands nearby, which would shatter the glass.

All around Gaza City, this coastal strip's largest urban area, fighting has intensified since Israel launched its ground invasion Saturday. So far, even though more than 530 Gazans have been killed and 2,000 wounded in the conflict, support for Hamas does not appear to be weakening.

At the long bread lines, customers listen to their transistor radios while they wait. When they hear of a Hamas missile striking Israel, cheering begins. Others lash out at Arab states because of their alleged cooperation with Israel, some trade stories about the wounded, the dead, and worsening life for Gazans since the start of the assault, now in its 10th day.

Many Gazans see no end in sight and say that unless there are high numbers of Israeli casualties, nothing will change despite the increasing calls for a cease-fire. They say: If the Palestinians are the only ones dying, no one will care.

The sound of fighting could be heard throughout the city Monday even as those efforts to forge a diplomatic solution moved ahead across the border in Israel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Middle East special envoy Tony Blair called for a cease-fire and Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for talks.

But Israel has been steadfast in its resolve. On Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: "Hamas has so far sustained a very heavy blow from us, but we have yet to achieve our objective, and therefore the operation continues."

Since Saturday, when troops crossed the border, more than 20 family members – an aunt, uncle, four cousins, and their families – have been sharing our three bedroom apartment.

My cousin Anas reached our house following the invasion.

"Where is all the rest of the family?" I asked him after he entered, referring to my uncle and the rest of his kids. Anas responded that they tried to flee, but the situation was too difficult. Only after two hours did my uncle, Abu Khaled, reach my house with four of his five children.

He was in the same situation as dozens of families living east of Jabaliya, a town outside Gaza City where fighting has been heavy.

"I was forced to leave the house that I worked 30 years for," Abu Khaled told me. "I took my clothes and underwear and ID cards so I could be identified if killed in one of the explosions."

The moment Abu Khaled reached my house, he entered one of the rooms and immediately fell asleep. When he woke, he told me what he had been through. "I didn't sleep for 48 hours because of the continuing shelling. Once the tanks came over the eastern border, the explosives began falling from all directions."

His wife added: "This time is the worst of all. The Israeli army is shelling mosques and ambulances without any sort of care. So we decided to flee and leave all of our possessions behind."

The Israeli army entered Gaza by what used to be the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, before Israel pulled out of the strip three years ago. The Israeli assault has essentially split the strip in two and surrounded Gaza City.

Monday, Israel hit at least 30 targets, Reuters reported, and bombed homes of Hamas members. At least three children were killed Monday when their home was struck.

On Sunday, the grocery story was full of people. I asked one person why he was buying lentils and fava beans. He looked at me as if I were from a foreign country.

"You don't know that there's nothing else to buy except for fava and lentils? I bought five kilos of each type, hoping that the crisis would finish before the supplies ran out."

Much of Gaza's supply of fruits and vegetables has been destroyed by Israeli rockets.

Since the beginning of the assault, on Dec. 27, the streets here have largely been empty except for funerals, mourning tents, ambulances that rush to every bombing, and Palestinian press cars heading toward the scene of Israeli attacks.

One night, a cellphone call woke me up. It was my friend Abu Ahmed and he was very afraid.

He said that his wife had gotten a call on her cellphone and that it was a recorded message by the Israeli intelligence.

It said: "To the civilians of Gaza, we are warning you not to carry any weapons and have weapons in your home. Otherwise we will bomb your house.... If you deal with terrorists, you will be our target."

• Joshua Mitnick in Tel Aviv provided additional reporting, and material from Reuters was used.

Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City

2009-01-05T07:51:00.004-10:00

We've received another report from the hospital director through the former president of The American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem. This hospital is one of the ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, and is one of the institutions that St Clement's has supported for the past four years. We will continue to tell the story of the Palestinian people as much as possible. The conflict/war between the Israeli government and Hamas could be stopped if Israel ended its blockade and seige of the Gaza strip. Hamas would then stop shooting their rockets haphazardly into Israel and Israel would then have reason to stop their military massacre.

The report:

<I was able to speak to Suhalia Tarazi , Director of the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza this morning. I took notes and I am sharing with you as best I can her situation in Gaza.

" The situation is terrible. The injured are in their homes and unable to get to the hospital and the International Red Cross can't reach them. Gaza is now divided into three areas. 20% of the staff including 2 doctors are now unable to get to the hospital. Unfortunately a bomb went off in Jerusalem Square, right outside the hospital , only 30 meters away and it blew a hole in the hospital wall.

One of the aid's husbands was unable to reach his children. Later he discovered that 1 child died and other members are all injured because a bomb destroyed a neighboring building.

The 19 year old son of one of the surgeons volunteered to work in the government ambulance. He was killed when his ambulance was hit by a missile. Three ambulances have been hit by Israeli missiles , five have died.

There is no electricity and no water. Fortunately the International Red Cross has provided Ahli Hospital with some food.

It is terrible and not safe to walk on the street.

After the invasion , Ahli Hospital on Sunday received 17 cases. Twelve were admitted to the hospital and 2 to government hospitals. Today Monday morning 5 cases were received with 4 admitted for surgery. One doctor has slept in the hospital for the last 4 nights. Our staff is now working 2 -12 hour shifts, two shifts no days off.

Streets are covered with blood. - bloody time.

Staff members have taken people in their homes, with 20-30 people for refuge. The ambulance driver has 80 living in his home.

We all have received leaflets and telephone calls " you have to leave your home, we will attack it" Where to go for the 700,000 people in Gaza City?">>

I (the former president of AFDJ) feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to speak to Suhalia and I have promised her that I will tell her story and the story of the innocents. Thank you for all you are doing to circulate these messages. Please feel free to forward them the family and friends. I offered her hope and encouragement and our commitment to help, with prayers and financial support. Remember tax deductible gifts may be sent to the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, PO Box 240, Orange, CA 92859, or on line at www.americanfriends-jerusalem.org

I will continue to keep you up to date on this catastrophe happening in Gaza. If I can be of help please don't hesitate to call or email me.
Peace, Love and Joy ,

Charles

The Rev. Charles Cloughen, Jr.
President Emeritus,
American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem

Worth taking the time to read.

2008-12-29T20:53:00.001-10:00

Johann Hari: The true story behind this war is not the one Israel is telling
Monday, 29 December 2008

The world isn't just watching the Israeli government commit a crime in Gaza; we are watching it self-harm. This morning, and tomorrow morning, and every morning until this punishment beating ends, the young people of the Gaza Strip are going to be more filled with hate, and more determined to fight back, with stones or suicide vests or rockets. Israeli leaders have convinced themselves that the harder you beat the Palestinians, the softer they will become. But when this is over, the rage against Israelis will have hardened, and the same old compromises will still be waiting by the roadside of history, untended and unmade.

To understand how frightening it is to be a Gazan this morning, you need to have stood in that small slab of concrete by the Mediterranean and smelled the claustrophobia. The Gaza Strip is smaller than the Isle of Wight but it is crammed with 1.5 million people who can never leave. They live out their lives on top of each other, jobless and hungry, in vast, sagging tower blocks. From the top floor, you can often see the borders of their world: the Mediterranean, and Israeli barbed wire. When bombs begin to fall – as they are doing now with more deadly force than at any time since 1967 – there is nowhere to hide.

There will now be a war over the story of this war. The Israeli government says, "We withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and in return we got Hamas and Qassam rockets being rained on our cities. Sixteen civilians have been murdered. How many more are we supposed to sacrifice?" It is a plausible narrative, and there are shards of truth in it, but it is also filled with holes. If we want to understand the reality and really stop the rockets, we need to rewind a few years and view the run-up to this war dispassionately.

The Israeli government did indeed withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005 – in order to be able to intensify control of the West Bank. Ariel Sharon's senior adviser, Dov Weisglass, was unequivocal about this, explaining: "The disengagement [from Gaza] is actually formaldehyde. It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that is necessary so that there will not be a political process with the Palestinians... this whole package that is called the Palestinian state has been removed from our agenda indefinitely."

Ordinary Palestinians were horrified by this, and by the fetid corruption of their own Fatah leaders, so they voted for Hamas. It certainly wouldn't have been my choice – an Islamist party is antithetical to all my convictions - but we have to be honest. It was a free and democratic election, and it was not a rejection of a two-state solution. The most detailed polling of Palestinians, by the University of Maryland, found that 72 per cent want a two-state solution on the 1967 borders, while fewer than 20 per cent want to reclaim the whole of historic Palestine. So, partly in response to this pressure, Hamas offered Israel a long, long ceasefire and a de facto acceptance of two states, if only Israel would return to its legal borders.

Rather than seize this opportunity and test Hamas's sincerity, the Israeli government reacted by punishing the entire civilian population. It announced that it was blockading the Gaza Strip in order to "pressure" its people to reverse the democratic process. The Israelis surrounded the Strip and refused to let anyone or anything out. They let in a small trickle of food, fuel and medicine – but not enough for survival. Weisglass quipped that the Gazans were being "put on a diet". According to Oxfam, only 137 trucks of food were allowed into Gaza last month to feed 1.5 million people. The United Nations says poverty has reached an "unprecedented level." When I was last in besieged Gaza, I saw hospitals turning away the sick because their machinery and medicine was running out. I met hungry children stumbling around the streets, scavenging for food.

It was in this context – under a collective punishment designed to topple a democracy – that some forces within Gaza did something immoral: they fired Qassam rockets indiscriminately at Israeli cities. These rockets have killed 16 Israeli citizens. This is abhorrent: targeting civilians is always murder. But it is hypocritical for the Israeli government to claim now to speak out for the safety of civilians when it has been terrorising civilians as a matter of state policy.

The American and European governments are responding with a lop-sidedness that ignores these realities. They say that Israel cannot be expected to negotiate while under rocket fire, but they demand that the Palestinians do so under siege in Gaza and violent military occupation in the West Bank.

Before it falls down the memory hole, we should remember that last week, Hamas offered a ceasefire in return for basic and achievable compromises. Don't take my word for it. According to the Israeli press, Yuval Diskin, the current head of the Israeli security service Shin Bet, "told the Israeli cabinet [on 23 December] that Hamas is interested in continuing the truce, but wants to improve its terms." Diskin explained that Hamas was requesting two things: an end to the blockade, and an Israeli ceasefire on the West Bank. The cabinet – high with election fever and eager to appear tough – rejected these terms.

The core of the situation has been starkly laid out by Ephraim Halevy, the former head of Mossad. He says that while Hamas militants – like much of the Israeli right-wing – dream of driving their opponents away, "they have recognised this ideological goal is not attainable and will not be in the foreseeable future." Instead, "they are ready and willing to see the establishment of a Palestinian state in the temporary borders of 1967." They are aware that this means they "will have to adopt a path that could lead them far from their original goals" – and towards a long-term peace based on compromise.

The rejectionists on both sides – from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to Bibi Netanyahu of Israel – would then be marginalised. It is the only path that could yet end in peace but it is the Israeli government that refuses to choose it. Halevy explains: "Israel, for reasons of its own, did not want to turn the ceasefire into the start of a diplomatic process with Hamas."

Why would Israel act this way? The Israeli government wants peace, but only one imposed on its own terms, based on the acceptance of defeat by the Palestinians. It means the Israelis can keep the slabs of the West Bank on "their" side of the wall. It means they keep the largest settlements and control the water supply. And it means a divided Palestine, with responsibility for Gaza hived off to Egypt, and the broken-up West Bank standing alone. Negotiations threaten this vision: they would require Israel to give up more than it wants to. But an imposed peace will be no peace at all: it will not stop the rockets or the rage. For real safety, Israel will have to talk to the people it is blockading and bombing today, and compromise with them.

The sound of Gaza burning should be drowned out by the words of the Israeli writer Larry Derfner. He says: "Israel's war with Gaza has to be the most one-sided on earth... If the point is to end it, or at least begin to end it, the ball is not in Hamas's court – it is in ours."

Johann Hari is an award-winning political journalist for The Independent. For more about him, click on http://www.johannhari.com/about.php

And we're going to finish it.

2008-12-29T13:39:00.006-10:00

Israel has declared all-out war on Hamas in the Gaza strip. This means more and more Palestinian civilians will be killed by Israeli weaponry. Oh, right, Israel isn't targeting civilians; Hamas is using civilians to hide behind. So if civilians are killed, then it's Hamas' fault. I have a hard time believing that Israel doesn't have other options for ridding Gaza of Hamas leadership. I have a hard time believing that Mossad doesn't have the where-with-all to 'take out' the Hamas leadership. Mossad is supposed to be one of the top, if not number one, clandestine government agencies in the world. Check out their web site

http://www.mossad.gov.il/Eng/AboutUs.aspx

But the Israeli government has chosen the most destructive approach to destroying Hamas ... an approach that is resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian citizens. But remember ... this is only the tip of the iceberg -- an iceberg composed of Israeli harassment of Palestinians in so many ways -- harassment that has split families, that has resulted in homes being demolished, that supports the contruction of illegal settlements, that keeps Palestinians from going to work and school every day.

It's all about Israeli terrorism directed at Palestinians for decades. It's not about something that Hamas just started. It's about resistence, not terrorism. It's about one Semitic people destroying another Semitic people.

And God weeps.

They started it.

2008-12-29T07:41:00.006-10:00

I've been watching and listening to the news as Hamas has lobbed their home-made rockets into Israel. One death until yesterday when another Israeli was killed by a rocket. Israel, on the other hand, is "protecting" its population will all the might of its air force and missile launchers, killing over 300 Palestinians to date. What's wrong with this picture? When asked about "overkill" on the part of Israel's response to the Hamas rocket lobbing, our administration says Israel has the right to protect itself. All Hamas has to do, the administration says, is stop sending their rockets into Israel. So we have resistance forces with virtually no military forces, no air force, no navy, no ground troops but who are responsible for Israel killing more than 300 Palestinians. And the overkill is Palestine's fault? But that's the US reaction -- Hamas started it so Israel has a right to defend themselves by obliterating the Palestinians in the Gaza strip. One might wonder when the Palestinians get to defend themselves against Israeli oppression and violence and illegal encroachment on Palestinian lands.

Let's remember the context of this 'situation.' The Gaza strip is Palestinian territory that has been fenced in, blockaded by Israel. Movement in and out of Gaza is controlled by the Israeli military and their arbitrary decisions. Let's remember, too, that Israel has stopped food, water, medical supplies, and other life-sustaining basics from entering the Gaza strip. They have been strangled by the Israeli actions, and even the UN and the Red Cross have not been able to deliver much-needed supplies to those inside the Gaza strip. So Hamas starts lobbing rockets into Israel. And they're the ones who are called terrorists? For responding to a complete blockade of the Gaza population? Only in the last day or two has Israel allowed limited supplies into Gaza. This is a great example of Hamas being a force of resistance against Israeli terrorism and violence.

Hamas has certainly not been blameless over the years -- their leaders are power hungry as are many leaders of populations under constant attack. But they were democratically elected by the people, even though the US and Israel didn't like the results of that election. So Israel has consistently applied the screws at many levels to the people of Gaza and to other areas where Palestinians legally reside.

Once again the world watches as Israel slaughters Palestinians and calls it "defense." There are other words that come to mind --- genocide, ethnic cleansing, murder. How long will Israel be allowed to do as it pleases before there is a massive retaliation by other Arab states?

The Palestinians certainly do not have the resources to adequately defend themselves as the Israeli offensive continues to escalate. How long before someone -- some nation that does not support this genocide -- how long will it be before some nation has the courage to say enough? That nation certainly won't be the US because we continue to hear that the US has a "special" relationship with Israel. Anybody ever ask what makes that relationship special?

Now we're hearing that Israel is surprised that Hamas won't stop firing rockets and come to the negotiating table. Why would Hamas think anything would change if they were to come to the table? Maybe Israel would stop its massive military offensive but "normal" life would continue to have blockades of essential supplies, constant harassment of Palestinians, arbitrary home demolitions, illegal settlements, and on and on and on. How long must the Palestinians live under these conditions while the Israel government continues to violate all UN "actions" regarding the so-called partition and while the Israeli government does everything in its power to rid Palestine of Palestinians?

Always there.

2008-12-18T11:44:00.005-10:00

It's been over a month since my last posting. But the plight of the Palestinians is never far from my consciousness. I just order a book called Sixty Years, Sixty Voices, focusing on 30 Palestinian and 30 Israeli women who have dedicated themselves to peace between the two groups. I wonder daily how my Palestinian friends are doing and I continue to be shocked at the continuing violence of the Israeli government and illegal settlers toward the Palestinians -- both adults and children. It's just not stopping.

Of course, preparations for Christmas have taken priority in my life but there continues to be an undercurrent that reminds me that all is not right in Bethlehem, even as we approach the anniversary of the birth of the Prince of Peace. I wonder how this will play out -- if it will -- in my Christmas sermon this year. I can't think of Bethlehem without thinking of the Wall, the Aida refugee camp, and the illegal Israeli settlement so close to the village itself. Those images will be forever in my mind.

So I move along in my daily work -- also very important -- but constantly thinking about what more we can do to bring peace to that part of the world -- a place from which peace should be emanating rather than being overcome by violence.

Getting it right: The Palestinian Resistance Fighters

2008-11-11T16:23:00.005-10:00

I had a little aha moment while driving to diocesan offices yesterday. The purpose of my visit there was to do a short video on m y reflections on the trip to Palestine-Israel. So that's what I was thinking about. And I suddenly realized that the Palestinians who are so quickly called terrorists are actually part of the resistance; they're part of the underground that continues to fight of those who insist on taking more and more of their land. Kind of like the French resistance during WWII or maybe the Viet Cong during the 60s and early 70s or the revolutionary Americans in the 1770s. I'm not talking about extremists on either end -- they will exist regardless of what else is going on. But rather resistance fighters who continue to push back at those who insist on violating their boundaries and killing their people.

By using the word terrorist after the adjective Palestinian, the media and responsible governments have made sure that the gullible public perceives Palestinians as bad people, as evil people who only want to kill good Christians and Jews. Nope. They're not evil. Their land was stolen from them and they're just trying to get the portion of it back that they were left with pre-1967. And when they fire their little missiles and guns at the Israelis, they're firing defensively. The Palestinians have nowhere near the arsenal of the State of Israel. But they won't surrender, either.

This is not to say that Hamas and Fatah are poor victims of the Israeli government. They're not. I think they're really not all that interested in the well being of the Palestinian people. They fight one another and Israel to gain whatever power and control they can. But they wouldn't even be around were it not for the continuing illegal seizures of Palestinian land for illegal Israeli settlements. This is what the Palestinian people are resisting -- illegal seizure of their homelands. It's what they've been fighting for decades while the world sits by and watches.

So not terrorists. But definitely The Resistance.

Sacred writings - who cares?

2008-11-04T11:11:00.004-10:00

Something that continued to be in my awareness while in Palestine and Israel was the way that both Muslims and Jews had integrated their faith into their daily lives. I'm not talking about governments or extremists -- God knows there are radicals in all three Abrahamic faiths. But I'm thinking about the people in the streets who see their lives in the context of their faith every day. This is supported, of course, by the chanting of the Quran over loudspeakers in the Muslim sections of the city and the fingering of prayer beads; by the dress of both Muslims and Jews every day on many streets; and by the number of synagogues, mosques, and churches throughout the land. The Eastern Orthodox churches also have services on a daily basis -- many are filled with tourists who stop in to hear this very byzantine version of the western Christianity with which they are familiar.

But there's one thing that I've noticed among the Muslims and the Jews that is not nearly as strong among Christians (or at least Episcopalians with whom I've come in contact). That's our level of literacy with our sacred writings. This became so clear to me when I suggested to one of our parishioners that she look up a verse in Matthew. I gave her the Bible and she started flipping through the first part. I couldn't believe it. Finally, I said, "Look in the second half of the book...." This was a cradle Episcopalian who didn't even know where Matthew is in the Bible. Not even close. She had been looking for Matthew where Genesis and Exodus are. Amazing.

Yet we encourage/push/nudge those in our faith communities to walk the talk. But how many don't even know the talk? Why is it that we care so little about at least being familiar with the book that is the foundation of our faith? In fact, why aren't we even embarrassed?

On the other hand, there's a group of 15-20 parishioners that shows up on Sunday mornings to spend time with our sacred writings so that they do become familiar with them and so that they know how to find books and passages and events. One hour every Sunday morning. Where are the others?

I'm starting to get a clearer understanding of why it's so easy for Christians to compartmentalize their religion and faith to Sundays and special holy days. They know so little about our sacred writings that they just don't think about them except for Sundays or in crisis. Maybe it's time to commit to a rule of life where we stop 3-5 times a day to focus on God and faith for at least 2 minutes.

I just really like the constant reminders of the Muslims and Jews in Palestine and Israel that we are of one God and need to acknowledge that regularly.

Telling the story.

2008-10-27T12:20:00.007-10:00

It's been a little over a week since returning home and I find my brain is still processing all that I saw. The difference between life in Palestine and life in Hawaii is just so many worlds apart -- almost on opposite ends of the universe. I've had some interesting questions from folks who wanted to know how the trip went -- "Did you have a good time? Was it a fun trip? Did you see a lot? I'll bet it was a wonderful trip!" And so forth.... There is no single word to describe what we experienced; there aren't even a few good words that will do the trick.

Contrary to popular belief, the Palestinians are not the enemy; they are not the aggressors. This is their land that they are fighting for; they are the victims of Israeli illegal aggression. If someone could rid that piece of the earth of the Israeli, Hamas, and Fatah "governments," we'd probably have a much better chance for peace among Semitic cousins. But the Palestinians are not the enemy and they are not the aggressors.

I think about the woman whose grandparents and parents were run out of their home in 1948, shortly after Palestine was given away by the Brits and the UN to the new nation of Israel. Her family had lived in that place for 1700 years. Overnight they found themselves as refugees in the land of their ancestors. There were the teenagers in a refugee camp that backs right up to the Wall who are learning to deal with their anger and oppression through art and rap rather than through guns and bombs. And the instant settlements of Israelis that spring up illegally and in record time on Palestinian land -- daring the Palestinians and even the rest of the world to stop them. Or the young soldiers in the Old City who walk around among tourists, shopkeepers, and residents with their machine guns at the ready. I remember walking through one area to meet up with the Christian Peacekeeping Team and looking up to see a teenager's face watching us from the roof of a building. I didn't think anything of it until we found ourselves on another roof. The face that looked over had a machine gun and was watching us closely. "Don't let them see your camera!" I'm still trying to figure out how the Israelis wiped out over 500 Palestinian villages and towns. Many have literally disappeared; others have Israeli names and histories that don't go any farther back than 1948.

I learned about Rachel Corrie, a young American college student, who went to Palestine to protest in a non-violent way the violence that was being visited on the Palestinian people. I'd heard about her death in 2003 but didn't pay much attention to it. Just one more "crazy American who should have been minding her own business." What I learned was that she was indeed minding her own business as she stood in solidarity with her Palestinian brothers and sisters. She had shown great courage where her country had shown none. She was run over by a bulldozer -- twice. No question that the operator saw her. But he was doing the job he was told to do and ran over her so he could bulldoze the homes of Palestinians that were declared "security risks." I guess Rachel posed more danger to the bulldozer than it posed to her. Albert Einstein said, "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." I fear we Americans know so little about the Palestinian people that we just don't do anything about what is happening over there nor do we insist our government stop supporting the violence of Israel.

Although Beverly and I will be making a presentation to the parish, I did talk a little about the trip in my sermon after returning home. I can't forget one comment that was made to me: "Remember that there are two sides to everything." I was stunned. I had just witnessed for two solid weeks how lopsided this situation is. I couldn't respond. I don't think anyone can truly understand what's happening in Palestine-Israel without witnessing it first-hand. What I am very clear about, however, is that the US government continues to publicly and with great vigor support the Israeli government in their efforts to wipe out the Palestinian population that has lived in that land for at least 2 millennia. This is all the more confusing and crazy-making because those who experienced such violence and extermination at the hands of the Germans are now visiting their own genocide on their Semitic cousins. The reports of Palestinian gunfire or missiles or bombs affecting the Israelis are really minor compared with the push of the Israeli government, its settlements, and its ongoing harassment and violent abuse of Palestinian Christians and Moslems.

I was told by some friends that reports like this are often squelched by our own government or by organizations that support the Israeli government. But the best we can do to support those who are regularly victimized by the Israeli government is to tell their story and continue to tell their story until the rest of the world has the courage to listen and stop this war-mongering and violence against an entire people.

I have no idea where this knowledge will lead me personally, but I need to make sure that I never forget to tell about what I've seen and that I never let those we visited think they've been forgotten.

Going home.

2008-10-18T07:27:00.006-10:00

Beverly and I arrived in Honolulu around noon on Thursday the 16th. It was a very long trip home and we were both ready to be here. A couple of good things happened once we got to Ben Gurion Airport and flew out. We weren't at all given a hard time by any of the security people -- they were most pleasant. At 1:30 in the morning, that was a real blessing, especially with an airport that was quite full and quite busy.

The four-hour flight to Frankfurt was a bit uncomfortable. The plane was full and the two of us were in coach. Of course the person in front of me immediately moved his seat back as far back as he could, so I had about four inches between my nose and his head. Neither of us were very comfortable during that trip and were looking forward to relaxing in United Red Carpet Club when we arrived in Frankfurt.

We never found the RCC. One person told us it was in one terminal; another, in another terminal. We spent a lot of time on one of those little people movers between terminals, and even more time walking. We probably did a good three miles before deciding to crash the Lufthansa business club lounge. They let us in and we stayed there for about an hour until check-in for our San Francisco flight.

The 11-hour flight from Frankfurt to SFO was probably the best and most comfortable flight either one of us has ever had. It was a 747 and we were in the upstairs area. This particular plane had been retrofitted with new seats and accouterments; we were able to totally stretch out on seats that went back to 180 degrees.

We had our own good sized screens, cubby holes, lots of movies to choose from, and very good food. The service was great -- it's a small area upstairs in 747s and apparently flight attendants really like being up there. The trip couldn't have been more pleasant.

Once in San Francisco, we went off to our hotel for the night and were back at the airport for our 9:30 flight to Honolulu. By this time, Beverly had developed a full blown cold and was working hard not to spread germs. She did a good job! The flight wasn't too bad -- I think the stay in San Francisco for the night was important so we weren't as exhausted when we arrived.

But now it's adjustment time for jet lag --- Jerusalem is 12 hours ahead of Honolulu.

Lots of stuff still to write as I process the trip. I'm hoping to continue to add more postings and photos over the next few days...

Rawdat el Zuhur.

2008-10-14T02:44:00.013-10:00

I just found this post that I had written but not yet published. Here it is....

Rawdat el Zuhur is a wonderful little school only a few steps from the St George's Cathedral and College compound. We had supported them in the past with financial resources and were making a visit with some additional support and so we could touch base with their director and so I could get a first-hand experience of the school. This is one more of those little spots of hope in the midst of darkness.

We gave them $1000 from the Global Ministry silent auction fund. The principal, Salwa Zananiri, immediately determined that it would be used for fuel bills during the winter months. The school depends on organizations and foundations and individual donations to meet their financial obligations. It costs $1500 a year to educate each student. Depending on what families can afford, they're asked to pay up to $500 toward a student's tuition.

The school is set back from the road, behind a large parking lot. Walking across the parking lot is the only access to the school. The parking lot owner, an Israeli Jew, decided this year that he would no longer grant access through his parking lot for students to attend school. Then he died and the case is presently in the Israeli court system. When Beverly and I walked through the lot around 9 this morning to visit the school, there were absolutely no cars parked in the lot.

There's something wrong with this picture, I think. Obviously the owner has the right to grant access or not; it's his land. But to arbitrarily shut out children after so many years of access seems to hint of at least some level of just plain meanness.

There used to be 60 more children at the Rawdat el Zuhur School in Jerusalem. And then the Israelis built the Segregation Wall, ostensibly to protect themselves from Palestinian terrorists. As a result, those 60 little Palestinian children from low- to no-income families were prohibited from crossing into Jerusalem to go to school. I wonder how many of those children were terrorists...

As I said, this is one more school that our parish supports. That makes four institutions -- two medical facilities and two schools. This particular school started with only two children -- two children who were living in the streets. They were taken in by Elizabeth Nasir in the middle of the 20th century. Today her school serves 240 Palestinian boys and girls who would not otherwise go to school. It's worth visiting the school's website at http://www.rawdat.org/ I think just looking at the faces of the kids without any comments or captions works best -- they really were a joy to visit.

Lest anyone think all of the kids in these places are perfect, we did run into some young teens at this school who were in trouble for vandalizing one of the rooms. The director had just made a decision to call their parents in. Quite obviously it was unacceptable behavior and the approach to dealing with that behavior was to involve the parents. Made sense to us....

You can read more about the school at their website, but I can tell you about our experience as we walked through the building and visited the classes. In almost every room we entered, the children stood up as soon as we walked in to the room -- regardless of what they were doing. And in almost every room, they sang for us or recited a poem (Joyce Kilmer's Trees). Our visit was unexpected and unplanned. I can't begin to describe how we felt as we listened to them. Every student takes Arabic, English, and French, as well as other general courses that elementary students take. And they are put in front of computers when they're four years old. So by the time they leave the school, they can get into just about any other secondary school that is available to them. But there aren't that many that are available to Palestinian kids so they get in where they can -- they've been taught the importance of education and they've been taught the importance of a strong value system.

There's a character tree that sits halfway up the stairs to the second floor. It has 'ornaments' on it that each contain a value: humility, courage, compassion, unity -- I think you can read some of the words. Throughout the year, the kids (even the young ones) can pick a value for the principal to talk about in a short session and then discuss what that value means in their own lives.

We learned near the end of the tour that the four people who normally take care of the physical needs of the school did not show up this morning. Two were ill; one had an expired permit to cross the wall; one was denied crossing the wall just because. The ability or refusal to cross the wall makes every day iffy for those who live on one side and work on the other. There is no guarantee that they will be allowed through, even if they have all their papers in order. You can imagine the havoc this plays on organizations and institutions and businesses. I suspect that if it happens to often to an employee, it's just easier for the company to fire the employee and hire someone from this side of the wall. And then we can imagine what that does to the standard of living to those on the other side of the wall if they are unable to hold jobs because of arbitrary closures.

This morning after the tour, Beverly and I took a cab to the Old City and were blocked by a couple of soldiers who were turning cars back from the Jaffa Gate because -- I think -- today is another Jewish holiday (Succoth). Although some got through, they would not let us proceed even with Beverly's "incapacitation." Last week we did get through because she's using a hiking stick to help with balance. But today, no. So we got out of the cab and walked past those soldiers -- it was hard not to give them the raspberries or some other negative non-verbal cue -- and hiked up the steep hill to the Jaffa Gate.

But we had a productive and brief visit to the Old City -- I needed another small suitcase for the stuff I bought and am bringing home, and then we had lunch at one of the local restaurants on our way back out the gate.

All in all, it's been a good day so far ... it really helps to see these little pockets of hope in the midst of the Israeli harassment and violence and humiliation toward those who are Palestinian Jews, Christians, and Moslems.

Christ in the world.

2008-10-12T19:44:00.016-10:00

One of the questions asked about the posting about Gaza is "How does this experience increase your understanding of Christ's mission in the world?" I'll try to write about that...

The incarnational aspect of Christ has never been as clear to me as it is in this place. We are able to witness to the hope found through Christ and in God. Our presence here lets those who are oppressed know that they're not alone and that they're cared about. Feeling alone in an often hopeless situation is deadly. So we let them know that because of our faith and the hope that is such a major part of it, they are not alone. We let them know we Christians are with them by giving them financial resources to do the work that they are called to do -- whether that call comes from God or from Allah. A few thousand dollars does indeed make a difference and buys materials -- medical and educational -- that make it possible for there to be little oases of hope in Gaza or in Saffa or in Jerusalem or in Raineh. They are not alone. If we believe that God works through us (meaning women and men), then we are doing God's work in helping to bring even a small bit of hope and peace to creation and especially to this land that is the home of the ancestor of all three major faiths.

In the past couple of days we heard that a small village outside Jerusalem was under seige by the Israeli army. This is the same village in which the school we visited is located. Remember the new school they're building? And remember that soldiers had invaded a number of houses the night before? Well, the road to the village was blocked off and soldiers took over three houses in the village. The families were put out into the street. The road was opened again and our friend was able to get out. His family was not hurt --- yet -- but they don't know what will happen day by day. He was looking for a place to stay last night because he had to work in Jersusalem today. He doesn't know when he'll be allowed to go home.

But the sharing of hope does not go in only one direction -- not at all. Within a few days after we arrived, I asked someone how the people could live in constant fear of violence and oppression. And we can take both of those terms literally. (I think I wrote briefly about this early on.) He answered me by saying that they have to have hope -- a hope that comes through their faith in God or Allah to be able to wake up every day and raise their families and contribute to their communities and do the daily things that must be done not only to survive but to live. "Without hope, we have nothing," he said with a shrug. "When you come from the US to this place, that gives us hope that we are not alone and that our story is known in the rest of the world." "What can we do for you besides financial help?" "Tell our story. Tell people what you've seen here so they know that there is more than is told in the press. Tell our story."

A small slice of their story is told in this photo. It's taken within the area that holds one of the holiest Moslem places in the world. By formal agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, no Israelis are allowed in this Holy Islamic place. (Moslems were being turned back by military sentries from visiting the area around the Wall on the same day -- Yom Kippur.) But what happens is that a small group of Jews will enter this holy Moslem space anyway, protected by a soldier with a machine gun. That's what you see in this picture. And there's nothing anyone can do about it. This is part of the on-going pecking away of the Palestinian and Moslem populations by the Israeli government. Little challenges to the law and agreements that protect non-Jews, daring anyone to confront them. The government has done this on a much larger scale as they build settlements almost overnight in Palestinian areas. See those white buildings in the middle of the picture? That's a Jewish settlement of hundreds of apartments that has been built on Palestinian land. Totally illegal --- but who will stop them?

So we visitors who go beyond the typical tourist sites, who get to know the people and the families and organizations are so important in helping to give hope, even as they teach us how hope can make it possible for a people to survive and live day to day. And we tell their stories -- stories that are not heard on the Evening News or CNN or MSNBC or FOX.

We are not tourists, "Tracing the Footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth"; we are Christians who are trying to bring some light into the darkness that has overcome the Holy Land of our common ancestor Abraham. And we cannot shut our eyes to the injustice and oppression and abuse and violence visited upon the non-Jewish population of Palestine-Israel.

We're called to be Christ's light in the world and this is one way we can accomplish that mission. I can't begin to describe the light that shines in their faces when we visit and talk with so many people here. But I can tell you that their small lights keeps our own candles burning. For us, it's a real privilege and honor to be able to help however we can. I'm hoping that we can convey that feeling to the parish after our return. What we have done in our own small ways as a parish over the past four years has made and continues to make a big difference in the lives of the people and institutions who have received our support. We are truly blessed to have the wherewithall to share so much of what God has given us. If we can remember that everything we have comes from God, our giving becomes compelling.I can't imagine knowing what we have seen and learned and not reaching out to help. That would take us to the line in the General Confession that refers to "those things we have left undone." We need to make sure that doesn't describe us as individual Christians nor St Clement's as a Christian community.

(BTW - I just finished reading The Collaborator of Bethlehem by Matt Beynon Rees. It seems to be true to the actual situation in Bethlehem, both from what we saw and what we learned. It's not a pretty picture at all for a place that has traditionally been identified as the birthplace of Jesus.)

Gaza - not today.

2008-10-12T01:46:00.011-10:00

I just returned from the first checkpoint to get into Gaza. Four of us went; two were allowed through to the actual military checkpoint. Neither Beverly nor I were given passes after waiting for two hours. No reason. Making people wait seems to be the major objective of the soldiers at these barriers. This was at the Erez Crossing where we were split up.

We had permission to go into Gaza; Nancy had received it from the government prior to our trip to Israel. But even with permission, one can be stopped from proceeding by any military person for any or no reason. So we parked the car and the four of us walked to the crossing point. We gave the attendant inside our passports and began what was to be a two-hour wait. There was already a group of four people from the French NGO, Handicap International, who had been waiting quite a while. It appeared they were getting passes one at a time over a period of hours. There was another woman with the UN who had been waiting at least an hour. And there was a Moslem family of women who had been waiting I-don’t-know-how-long.

There was no waiting area, of course. Just concrete sidewalks, roads, and curbs. The sun got hotter as the morning went on and we were able to find a little shade sitting on the curb in the shade of the guard’s kiosk. At one point, a Moslem man came along and he had his father (I’m guessing) with him – a small, old man who was quite frail. His father sat on the curb in the shade with some of the rest of us who were waiting for passes. Pretty soon, the soldier who had been patrolling on the other side of the fence and gate with a machine gun slung over his shoulder slipped under the barrier and told us all to not sit on the curb. I got up; far be it from me to argue with a young man with a gun. The Handicap Int’l women refused to and argued with the kid. He wasn’t sure what to do so he turned around and went over to the old man and told him to move. So the man’s son came and helped him to a part of the curb that was away from the kiosk but still in the shade. That wasn’t good enough. So there was a lot of back and forth between the kid, the women, and the son. Pretty soon the kid made some last comment in Hebrew and walked back under the barrier to the other side of the fence.

In the meantime, the woman from the UN was finally given a pass to go through, and a young Spanish couple handed over their passports for crossing permission.

Next, a couple of UN cars with four people drove up and went to the kiosk. They were able to get through without going through a military check because they had yellow ID cards of some sort. But they told us that it wasn’t unusual for them to be held up for hours at a time for no apparent reason. Soon after that, a group from Doctors Without Borders came to the kiosk.

They were still waiting when we left about an hour later. A couple of cars from the International Red Cross drove up; they were still waiting when we left as well. A nun in full black-and-white habit also walked up to the kiosk after arriving in a taxi. She turned her passport over and began her wait. We didn’t see her go through, either.

During this entire morning, there was a blimp-like thing hovering high in the air. I had seen it on the ground on our way to the Erez Crossing. Turns out it carries a sophisticated camera that enables the Israeli army to watch the entire north Gaza area.

It’s a spy blimp. It played a significant role in the 2006 massacre of the town of Beit Haroun by the Israeli military.

The group of us (me, Beverly, Nancy, and Bob) decided that if Beverly and I did not get passes by 11:00, we would return to Jerusalem and Bob and Nancy would go on to the next checkpoint. A little before 11:00, Nancy asked the kiosk guard for our passports so we could return to Jerusalem. The guard said we would be given passes and it would only be 10 minutes more. Nancy said “You told us 10 minutes 2 hours ago!” We finally got our passports back about the time one of the soldiers, who was carrying more passes, was coming out of the big building on the other side of the gate. We waited just in case he had our passes. He had five passes, none of which belonged to me or Beverly. So we gave Nancy the $3000 to pass on to the hospital in Gaza that we’ve been supporting, and made our way back to the parking lot to get a taxi back to Jerusalem. Nancy and Bob went on to the next border crossing.

(As an aside, our taxi driver spoke absolutely no English and didn’t really know where St George’s Cathedral is located. That was a trip in itself. Every other taxi driver we’ve had knew some English; hand signals as communication were most unhelpful with this guy. Instead, he would stop along a busy street and yell for someone to tell him where Nablus Road was. Talk about a bad sit-com!)

As of about 11:30, we know that Nancy got through the military checkpoint and Bob was held back, ostensibly because a soldier didn’t include Bob’s surname on something. We haven’t heard since then so I’m assuming they got through.

By the way, the hospital to which we sent the money is Al Ahli Hospital, an Anglican institution in the middle of Gaza City. Two links that provide a good overview of the hospital are here and here.

Sisters and brothers in Christ.

2008-10-11T05:41:00.015-10:00

A week ago Sunday, we were in Nazareth and went to church in Raineh at the Anglican Church of the Holy Family. Previous visits by St. Clement’s folks looking for the possibility of partnering with a parish in Israel-Palestine resulted in a connection with this parish and their priest, Samuel Barhoum. So we attended worship at Holy Family and after coffee hour (yes, even in the Middle East), we had dinner with Samuel and Susan and their family. It really was quite a wonderful time. Holy Family is a small church building with a good sized parish hall that has a pool table, fooseball, and ping pong for the young people. It’s used during the week for various community and church activities, and of course for the adults to gather after worship on Sunday mornings. We learned that this opportunity for young people to get together is very important because they don’t have the opportunity to meet one another in many other informal ways. So after-church activities and Sunday mornings are one of the best ways to get to know one another.

There were four acolytes for the service that morning. As I watched them and compared them to ours, it was interesting to see that they were quite coordinated as they worked together. They all turned the same way, attempted to walk in step with one another, and were quite focused on their tasks – much as we try to train our own acolytes. One difference was that this was a “bells” church – not smells and bells, just bells. There was a three-belled ringer set on a pillow on the floor in front of the altar. One of the acolytes knelt before that pillow during the consecration of the elements and rang the bells vigorously at the appropriate times. He did a commendable job. I’m convinced that he and others who have that task probably have pretty strong wrists, as well. The funny thing for me was watching the acolytes during the rest of the service between their tasks. They knew all of the service music and participated in the singing, and they knew the responses. But they were not above a little kohole-like behavior when they thought no one was watching. Kind of like our own kids. And they were intent during the peace to go down both sides of the church and exchange the peace with the people in the pews. They were good, they knew what they were doing, and they were pretty cute!

After some time in the parish hall for coffee and fruit and cookies, we were invited upstairs to the rectory for dinner. The Diocese of Jerusalem provided the funds for constructing a beautiful home above the parish hall for the rector’s family. So we all trooped up the stairs and had some very good conversation while the final touches to dinner were prepared and put on the table. It was a wonderful meal of traditional Palestinian food – some we’re familiar with and some new to us. The conversation was good, the company was comfortable, and we thoroughly enjoyed spending more time with Samuel and Susan and their children, along with a highly respected retired priest of the diocese who is attached to Holy Family.

The parish is like ours in so many ways – especially in their outreach ministries to the surrounding community. After I return, I’ll be suggesting to the vestry that we enter into a companion relationship with Holy Family – a relationship that can help both churches learn about another part of the world, another part of the Anglican Communion, and about Christianity in the Holy Land. We’ll also have the opportunity to work together in some common ministries. The potential for such a partnership is limitless – for both adults and youth. And the potential for expanding our understanding of God’s creation and humanity is boundless. Samuel and Susan and their daughter and son are a real pleasure to be around, they’re so warm and welcoming, and they’re fascinating to talk with.

Some photos from that visit –

The Rev. Samuel Barhoum and Nancy Dinsmore

The sanctuary of Holy Family

I love the acolyte with the pool cue!

Beverly and Nancy in the rectory living room

Beverly and Susan Barhoum

Nelly Barhoum getting ready to take a picture

Beverly, Liz+, Samuel+, and Susan

A bright light in the darkness.

2008-10-10T21:33:00.012-10:00

The Princess Basma Center is in Jerusalem. It's a school that started with one person addressing the needs of a couple of children with polio and now it's a world class institution that caters to the needs of handicapped children of all ages. It's not a residential institution but a day school from nursery to grade 12. And it truly is world-class: It's the recipient of an ISO 9001-2000 award received in 2000. For those who don't know, this is an international quality assurance award given only to those corporations and organizations who meet high and exacting standards in their fields. It's a bigt deal. Although supported by the Lutheran World Federation for 10 years, the Center is currenlty under the auspices of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem.

This is truly the happiest place we have visited during our journey. The people who work here are highly qualified professionals who love the children, love the parients, and love their jobs. We saw a lot of smiles during our tour. There is a carpentry shop where various forms of prostheses and aids are made; a pool for aquatherapy; computer and science labs; bright hallways and classrooms; and a fine library.

Quite a few wheelchairs and walkers. I had to smile at this little walker parking lot outside a couple of classrooms...

These are kids who are learning to hear and speak after receiving cochlear implants. Once they're adept in hearing and speaking, they'll be mainstreamed into either regular Center classes or in outside schools.

As much as possible, parents become part of the daily work with their children so that they can support the work at home and so that once children are brought to a certain degree of independancy, the parents know how to support them when they are finished with the program and return home to attend local schools. During every session, there are three participants: the child, the parent, and the therapist. Many of the toddlers and their mothers live right at the Center in what are basically large hospital rooms split into four areas by curtains.

The man on the left is constructing a new leg, while the man on the right is making little bootie-like casts for children.

We visited the center because it's one of the places that the parish supports through financial aid. They don't charge for their services so they have to constantly work to get the funds needed for maintaining their excellent programs for children.

It was a really nice change to see this little oasis of happiness and productivity and hope in the larger world of violence and oppression. I hope that, in the midst of the current international economic crises, we'll be able to continue our support.

I has a sad.

2008-10-10T03:20:00.007-10:00

I had to make a decision this morning that is the source of much unhappiness. I won't be able to go to Cairo. Between very limited flights out of Tel Aviv to Cairo, the exhorbitant cost of changing an airline ticket, the inability to upgrade on the way home (18 hours in a narrow coach seat would be just too ugly), and the uncertainty of going through Israeli security at the airport in time to even catch a flight, I just can't justify at most 36 hours in Cairo. I know Emily is terribly disappointed; I certainly am. But the blocks to doing this have come fast and furious and it looks and feels like there's a reason for not making the trip. If not for the negative relationship between Israel and Cairo, I could probably hop in a car and drive there and back. But I'd never make it because of the checkpoints and the lack of security.

So the trip is not going to happen. It's a major bummer. And I'm so very sorry, Emily.

Once in a lifetime. Just once.

2008-10-07T20:34:00.010-10:00

Hey Kasem -- would you grab my right foot and get it over the horn?!

Ohsweetjesus

I don't believe I'm actually sitting on this camel....

The postcard pose. NOT.

It would have been good to take my motion sickness drug before doing this...

Definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

A visible sign of hope.

2008-10-07T09:48:00.023-10:00

We visited a small Palestinian community this week. Our Global Minsitries group has supported their school in some small ways, but on this trip we took with us $3000 that was raised from last November's silent/not-so-silent auction, alaong with an additional $400 that was given by some friends of the parish. The community has a small school that teaches kids on a shift basis -- girls in the morning and boys in the afternoon. They do that for two months and then switch to boys in the morning and girls in the afternoon. There's not much room for the kids and because there's nothing else for them to do, the boys play in the "schoolyard" while the girls are in their class room.

Our gift to them was toward the construction of a new school for the girls in grades K-8. Once it's complete, both boys and girls will be able to attend school all day rather than in shifts.

The boys totally enjoyed mugging for the cameras. They really were pretty funny and cute. But every once in a while, the sadness of their situation came through. We learned while we were there that a group of Israeli soldiers had raided their community earlier in the morning. Starting from about 1:00, the soldiers burst into homes, taking money and sleeping in the beds while the families were locked in other rooms of the houses. This raid went on until about 5:00 that morning. I learned that this was not unusual. And today I learned the same thing from someone else in another part of the country. Soldiers apparently do this because they're bored, because they're tired of sleeping in their military accomodations, and because they can. There is no venue for the Palestinian families to complain and there is no punishment of the soldiers. They do it because they can. The adults are scared for their families and totally humiliated in front of their children, their kids are terrified, and there's nothing that can be done. I can't even begin to comprehend what it must be like to know that my home could be broken into at will at any time and with no protection from the police. So the smiles on the faces of these kids are even more amazing considering what many of them experienced only hours earlier.

The girls were a bit more reserved and were also on their best behavior since they were in class, but they were pretty cute too as they giggled about getting their pictures taken.

The director of the school was a real joy to talk with; she's pretty proud of the girls especially. They were working on some basic engineering technology when we walked in.

After returning to the school office for more fruit and Arabian coffee, we then drove over to the site of the new school. The men who accompanied us were former teachers, a former director, and a current teacher.

The walls are constructed of white limestone, a very common material in the region. A local business donated all of the limestone. The work being done on the school is done by volunteers as they are able. It's to be a three-story building with classrooms, offices, a medical area, storage, and labs. It's being built on a half-acre of land that was donated by the owner of the house next to the new school.

The parents and school staff have been told that once they complete the structure of the building, the Ministry of Education will provide the furniture and other supplies that will complete the inside of the school. At this point, they need to finish the third floor and then they'll be ready for the furniture. Our contribution will help them reach their $50,000 goal for completion. They continue to look for in-kind donations of material and labor and are working hard to find the additional funds.

In spite of the difficulties they continue to encounter, this community is focused on improving the educational opportunities for their children. They still have hope for a better world for the next generation. Their ability to have such hope continues to amaze me.

----------------
Postscript: Other pockets of hope that we've visited exist in the Princess Basma Center and at Holy Family Anglican Church. I'll blog on those in the next couple of days.

Sticks and stones...

2008-10-04T19:54:00.007-10:00

I'm sitting in a room at St. Margaret's Hostel in Nazareth. In a little while the three of us will attend the Sunday service at Holy Nativity Anglican Church just outside Nazareth. We've spent the last two evenings with the vicar and his wife -- Samuel and Susan Barhoum -- talking about how our parishes might enter into a companion relationship. We're not talking about charity or about rescuing or about anything that makes the relationship not on an equitable basis. Theirs is an active little community that attempts to address the needs of the community that surrounds them, just as St Clement's tries to do. Some of the struggles may be different or at a different level -- just because of how the issues of war and safety and economy and humanity and dignity and respect differ. But there is much we can learn from one another when it comes to hope and living an active and daily faith that affects everything that we as human beings do and say. It is definitely faith that provides the basis for hope -- no matter the situation -- whether it's here where Palestinians are consistently treated as less than human -- or in Hawaii where the homelessness and unemployment continue to increase. The old woman I saw yesterday holding her hand out for change was treated just as poorly as those on our own streets who have little to nothing. In both situations, we treat them as less than, we look away, we change our path so as not to have to be confronted head-on with what seems like the hopelessness of their situations and perhaps even our complicity with such systemic ills.

What I am learning and gradually comprehending is that there is violence and danger all around us -- some of it just below the level of blatant visibility but so much in the inhumane treatment of Christians and Muslims who have lived here for centuries. I asked our guide if the violence would stop if Israel returned to the post-1967 boundaries, and he quickly said yes. No question. Those are the boundaries that Israel has been requested to step back to in so many peace talks and so many UN attempts at reconciliation.

I suspect more than a few people will tell me I'm being naive or am hearing only one side or something else that will discount what I'm experiencing here. And probably more than a few of those same people will never have visited this land or talked to the Christians and Moslems who live here. Probably more than a few of those same people know about the situation here only through the western media. But I can say that in the span of a little more than four days, what I've seen and heard has chilled my soul.

But it has also given me a new understanding of hope -- a hope that is so deep that it is able to withstand the cruelty of so many levels of marginalization and dismissal and discounting of other human beings. A hope that is focused on God's ultimate justice for all of creation and that is not narrowed by the agendas of those with a need for re-defining God's love and mercy. This new understanding of hope has reminded me of something I came to believe during my difficult ordination process: this is God's church, not man's church. My frustrations with those who don't understand that or who have the best of intentions and still don't understand what their words can do to the souls of others -- my frustrations need not govern my own words and actions. Because when I give power to my frustration, I lose hope and I lose sight of the strength that can come from my trust in the work of the Holy Spirit. And there is unending strength in allowing the Holy Spirit to bring us through our own frustrations and anger and despair.

So that's where my thoughts are today, just before leaving for church. And I'll deal with my frustration of not being able to send out email responses once we return to Jerusalem.

And peace to men on earth......

2008-10-02T06:59:00.009-10:00

We spent the day in and around Bethlehem. That meant going through some military checkpoints, getting an in-your-face experience with the damnable separation wall, viewing illegal Jewish settlements in the middle of Palestinian territory, and walking through a refugee community that is bordered by the damnable separation wall. I can't even find a photo on line of that dsw on line that gives the full impact one has when standing next to it. We also did some less offensive activities like visiting the Shepherd's Field and standing at the top of the Mount of Olives looking down over the city while our guide gave an excellent accounting of the history of the site that became the city of Jerusalem. And we went to a wonderful shop that is stocked with items made by local women to support their families.

But the damnable separation wall and the refugee settlement and the illegal Jewish settlement were experiences that we never really see in most western news media. I took a lot of pictures that I'll have to sort through before writing a fuller reflection of what I saw and heard and experienced today. But I have now seen how a people that has been so oppressed for so many generations has so easily become the oppressor and how they oppress at will, with violence, and with impunity a people who want only to remain in the land of their ancestors. And this violence and oppression is done with the active support of the US government and the support by omission of the United Nations and so many other governments.

The most startling aspect of this unsettling day was how those Palestinians who live with and are surrounded by violence and war every day -- how those Palestinians can still have hope. One even called his country the most beautiful place in the world. That is hope.

I may post just some photos tomorrow and continue to process internally what I witnessed. Or not.....

Thursday

2008-10-01T17:16:00.003-10:00

Off to Bethlehem this morning. Sites include the Separation Wall, the Church of the Nativity, an NGO women's project in a refugee camp, Shepherd's Field and Sunbula, a shop for Palestinian women's income generation projects. Back to Jerusalem to listen to a talk by Henry Carse on pilgrimage.

Yesterday after lunch, Beverly and I took a cab back to the college. When she asked the driver at the cab stand how much, she was told 40 shekels (Nancy told us not to pay more than 30). We were tired enough to just take his cab. But he did not get any kind of tip when we were dropped off. I think we probably should have said "NO -- 30 shekels." Nancy arrived back having paid 20 shekels from the Old City. I'm beginning to understand how negotiating and bargaining is the norm with cabs, shopkeepers, and others...

As I begin making plans in earnest to fly in and out of Cairo, I'm learning how incredibly difficult it is in light of the political situation in Israel. There are no daily flights; flights occur only on some days and only once on those particular days. This is nothing like catching a flight to the mainland or one of the neighbor islands. I've already looked into renting a car; rentals cannot be taken across the border and driving across the Sinai alone (not in a convoy) is incredibly dangerous. Flying to another city and then into Cairo pretty much takes up any of the short period of time I was looking forward to spending with my niece and doing a little site seeing, so that's not going to work. It's frustrating but also very strange to not have the ease of travel in the Middle East that we experience elsewhere....

We'll be spending Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday in Galilee, Nazareth, Tiberius, Capernaum, the Jordan, and Cesarea. Overnights at St Margaret's Guest House, and back to Jerusalem Sunday afternoon. During various conversations with other folks here at St George's, I'm learning that plans for activities or attending various events are very dependent on access to transportation. On Jewish Holy Days, access to transportation is minimal to non-existent, during Moslem Holy Days, there is transportation but very few businesses are open.We've also learned of an area close by, Mea Shearim, that is inhabited by ultra-Orthodox Jews -- to dress inapropriately, for example, could result in spontaneous stoning of a visitor, who can expect no assistance from the local police.

2008-10-01T01:49:00.011-10:00

I’ve become quickly addicted to the English version of Aljazeera television news. Very much like an Arabic CNN. It’s providing a bit of a different perspective on news around the world but it’s certainly no more biased than CNN or MSNBC and is probably much less biased than FOX. What I’m enjoying is seeing more news about the rest of the world and the Arab perspective on the US presidential race. They’ll be broadcasting the VP debate on Thursday. That should be a good bit of entertainment at the very least. I’m hearing that the more American voters get to know Palin, the more concerned they become. I sure hope so. The level of her ignorance is overwhelming.

Can’t get away from American politics here. I suspect that’s not unusual around the world. What happens in the US really does have a major effect on the rest of the world. The rejection of the bailout by the House on Monday had a number of European leaders calling for the US to get off the stick and deal with the economic problem that was affecting all of their countries. Now I hear that the Senate is about to vote on a different plan. The White House lame duck looks like he’s in shock. Last time there was a major financial implosion was the savings and loan fiasco during Daddy Bush’s presidency. Seems that we’ve forgotten that Junior had to be rescued by his father because he was right in the middle of that mess in Texas. Not only will he be leaving office with a war still raging and Osama Bin Laden still free, but he’ll be leaving us with probably the biggest US debt in history and the most serious Wall Street mess since 1929. I guess this is what happens when we leave the appointment of an American president up to the Supremes. Too bad there’s not a way to hold them accountable for at least the first four years of Bush’s presidency.

Back to Jerusalem. After 36 hours of travel, we arrived at St George’s Cathedral and Guest House at 5:00 Tuesday morning. I slept for the next 12 hours, awakened to say hello to Nancy Dinsmore and to say goodbye to Nancy and Beverly as they went out to eat. They very kindly brought me back a bit to eat, and then I went right back to sleep. It wasn’t too difficult waking up this morning and going in to breakfast a little after 7. Great continental breakfast: cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, coldcuts, yogurt, olives, hard boiled eggs, juice, and a variety of other good things. During our time in the dining room, the bishop stopped by, as did some of his staff members, including the bishop’s chaplain, Bob Edmunds. Bob was most recently rector of St Andrew’s Edgartown Mass – previous parish of one of our new members, Dana Anderson. I’d met Bob when I was rector-in-residence for three months at St Andrew’s in early 2001 and Bob was on sabbatical. That’s also where I met Dana, who unknowingly started me on my journey to Hawaii and St Clement’s. It was good catching up with him.

After breakfast, Nancy gave us a tour of the cathedral compound, which is also the home to St George’s College, where groups from around the world visit to learn more about the Holy Land. As we were walking through, there was a group from the Washington National Cathedral standing around. There are also cathedral cats walking around. I saw a pretty cute one this morning – looked like Cranmer when he was a kitten.

The cathedral itself is quit British, not surprising since this area was once a colony of the British Empire. I was reminded that women priests are not acceptable here – that’s a very strange feeling to have my vocation and holy orders denied because I don’t have the “right” plumbing. Very strange. And – from my point of view – most unacceptable. But I’m a guest here and will behave and speak accordingly.

We took a walk this morning into the Old City through the Gate of Damascus. Old means very very old. Small alleys and back ways, dark, and old, uneven cobblestone paths. Because today is the second day of the Muslim holy day Eid, lots of shops were closed and there weren’t a lot of people around. At least compared to the big crowds on other days. Did ‘t buy anything although I did see some real possibilities when it came to souvenirs and really nice pieces of religious art.

We did go into the shrine of the Holy Sepulcher There’s a flat stone in the middle of the entrance room – a stone that supposedly was the stone on which the body of Christ was laid. It was surrounded by people putting oil on it and then rubbing the oil off onto cloths or sucking up the oil into syringes and then into small bottles. Holy oil, I guess. It’s an Eastern Orthodox sacred place but the various ethnicities – Armenian, Greek, Russian, Coptic -- of Orthodox apparently have on-going turf wars inside the shrine with their various altars. Not surprising.

We also went into another Orthodox church – Russian this time – where we had to wear pieces of material over our jeans so it looked like we were wearing long skirts. On the way out, Nancy was going to take advantage of what appeared to be an invitation to offer names to be prayed for. She was quickly stopped by the admissions guy who ran over and said it was only for Orthodox people. It turned out that those for whom prayer was being asked had to be Orthodox and the request had to be written in Russian or one other language. The “rule” was that they would only pray for Orthodox people. Just amazing are these Christians…

We went along more of the old streets and finally came out into the sun and a piazza kind of place. A number of Israeli military were standing around with machine guns hanging from their shoulders. Nancy reminded us that we were in occupied Arab Jerusalem, and that if any kind of shooting started, we were to move into one of the shops as quickly as possible. She also told us that we weren’t to use any Hebrew because we were in the Arab part of Jerusalem. I had learned to say good morning and thank you in Hebrew – now I’m working on the same words in Arabic…

After Nancy left us to visit a friend, Beverly and I walked a bit and then stopped for a lunch of Greek salad and beer. We caught a taxi back to the cathedral compound and are napping this afternoon before going out for dinner this evening.

A good, productive morning.

In the air...

2008-09-29T04:11:00.004-10:00

Who would have thought that the Honolulu airport would have been busy with long lines at 5:30 on a Sunday morning? Certainly not me. But the lines even snaked out from the check-in kiosks to the sidewalk along the street. Fortunately, a skycap was standing on the curb where Darius dropped off me and Beverly. Nice guy. Took our luggage and checked it through the agriculture x-ray while we found the First Class line. Usually there are very few people in that line but this morning there were lots. Next thing we knew, the skycap came over and told us to follow him to the other end of the United ticket desks. He had us checked in within minutes and took care of getting our luggage through security. He received a very nice tip for his efforts and it was a very nice way to start out the trip.

In Los Angeles, on the other hand, we were looking for a Brookstone or other store that sold those flimsy wire foldup carts for heavy carry-ons. All of the little Hudson Newses didn’t have them, so while Beverly went in one direction to get help, I went up to the driver of one of those big golf carts that carry people through the airport. The driver had just driven up and parked and had taken out a book to read. I made the mistake of asking her for help and thus interrupting her. No, she didn’t know anyplace that would have those carriers unless we went outside and to one of the other terminals. No, she didn’t know where any other shops were, even though there was an overhead sign that said, “Food-Shops.” I pointed it out to her and she didn’t respond. So I made some comment about having to walk in that direction and she just looked at me and returned to her book. She could have made an easy $20 had she offered to drive us down the long hallway to check out the shops. But she paid for her bad attitude.

It’s amazing how some customer “service” people really do care about how they do their jobs and how others could care less. Our skycap was a really pleasant and happy guy; the cart driver was a pretty grumpy and miserable human being. We walked away making various excuses for her – bad hair day, end of her shift, etc. – but the bottom line was her unfriendly demeanor that cost her both $20 and some good will.

The trip from HNL to LAX was uneventful. First class may be better than steerage in many ways, but I think Economy Plus must have more legroom. Flying business class to Frankfurt was much more comfortable. Although we don’t have the new fancy-dancy business class seats, the old ones are quite nice with plenty of room and nice ammenties. We still have another 5 hours to fly and then 10 hours in the Frankfurt airport before catching a plane to Tel Aviv. Two full days of flying. But in the long run, I think the trip will be worth the five days of travel time that it’s taking.

Can’t sign off without sharing the site of the Sarah Palin action dolls (thank you for this info, Ann!). Appropriately enough, the site is http://www.stupid.com/ Both dolls have sold out but new stock is expected. We’re going to figure out how to watch the VP debate on Thursday via internet in Jerusalem. I really don’t want to miss this. Once again, Barbara Crafton hits the nail on the head:

SHOULDN'T MY PRESIDENT BE SMARTER THAN I AM? Surely that is not too much to ask. I don't want Joe (or Jane) Average as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. It is not a job for Joe Average. I want a formidable intelligence in the White House, and one very cool head. I want the very best we can find, not the one most like me. If I wanted a president just like me, I would run myself.

As much as I supported Hillary Clinton, my support of Obama continues to increase as I listen to and read the comments of McCain and Palin. NPR had a piece a couple of days ago about McCain’s self-described decision-making process: "I make decisions fast, often faster than the other guy. And often they are mistakes, but I live with them." It’s one thing for John McCain to live with his mistakes, but should we visit his mistakes on the rest of the world? Especially when he admits about his decisions, “Often they are mistakes…” Pretty scary.

Time to focus more on the spiritual side of life and take a break from US politics. I think I’ll swear off political stuff for a couple of days unless something major happens. Like Sarah Palin withdrawing herself from the VP candidate slot. McGovern cut Tom Eagleton loose during the campaign (remember how he was 1000% behind Eagleton?); for the sake and safety of the country and the world, McCain would be wise to do the same with Palin.

I just realized that we’ll be in Jerusalem for Rosh Hoshana and Yom Kippur. That’s good timing. I’m looking forward to experiencing those two holy periods in the Holy Land.

From the foolishness of humankind … Good Lord, deliver us.

Less than 24 hours to departure.

2008-09-27T09:31:00.006-10:00

Major change in plans in the past 24 hours. Steve and Flo are unable to join us because Steve is in major back pain, lying flat on the floor. The pain has increased over the past few days to the point where he just really can't do much except find a position that is the least painful. What a disappointment for them -- and for all of us. I think we are looking forward to getting to know one another better and to share some important experiences as well as some very good times. Our trip will be much the lesser in their absence. Please keep them both in your prayers.

Yesterday's presidential debate was certainly tepid. Obama was a little too nice in response to McCain's continuous jabs about naivete and inexperience. And Obama needs to stop saying "I agree with John." McCain certainly directed the path of responses regardless of the questions, but he also continued to lie about Obama's stand on several issues. Obama needs to call him on that much more forcefully. The one topic that was not discussed and that I see as the most urgent is McCain's age and health. Before the Republican convention I didn't see age as an issue at all. But with the VP candidate that McCain chose and that the convention affirmed, his health and age need to be right at the top of the list. We should all be very afraid of the possibility that Sarah Palin would be only a heartbeat (literally) away from the Oval Office. A major thrust needs to be insisting on the publication of McCain's medical records and history. If we think the US and the world is in bad shape now, electing Palin as VP comes very close to the apocalypse that all the prophets and naysayers and Chicken Littles have predicted. This is a person whose credentials for foreign affairs experience is that her state is located between two foreign countries (Russian and Canada) and their planes fly in her airspace. We should all be losing lots of sleep over her candidacy and McCain's poor judgement. This is all just so incomprehensible.

Something I noticed in this morning's paper was the body language of the two candidates. McCain's hand is set in a manner of blocking anything coming toward him -- verbal, physical, or otherwise -- and Obama's hand is in a more open posture, leaning toward anything coming toward him. I wonder how those two images reflect the manner in which these two men welcome input from others. Hmmmmmmm.

What I was going to suggest when I started this posting is that a good reading for today is from Barbara Crafton's web site: http://www.geraniumfarm.org/dailyemo.cfm?Emo=1045
This is a well written and insightful post-debate piece on the care with which we use our words to not leave ourselves vulnerable to challenge. "If we refuse to do so [take a stand]," she writes, "we will have earned the irrelevant status we will achieve." Much to reflect on for those of us whose words can cause challenge to the beliefs and faith of others.

I'm curious to see how how the month leading up to the elections is perceived in the press of the Middle East, and in discussions in coffee houses and restaurants and other gathering places. I suspect I am in for a bit of an eye-opener.

But I need to stop procrastinating and get back to travel prep.

Mixed feelings

2008-09-26T08:46:00.010-10:00

Driving home from work yesterday and looking out at the ocean, I realized that I have the opposite of what some folks call Rock Fever. I was starting to have second thoughts about leaving on this trip; I'd much rather just stay here in Hawai`i and not worry about packing and traveling and being gone from home and all that means.

Of course, I'll be on the plane early Sunday morning and it will be a fine adventure over the next 2+ weeks, but right now, I'm feeling kind of sad about leaving. In some ways, that's probably very good -- feeling so comfortable about where I live and about the people who are so important in my daily life. But traveling is not at the top of my list although I've had so many wonderful journeys especially in these past seven years.

After about 5 days with a messed up computer, the SuperGeeks have cleaned out my laptop and it's working very well, thank you. Not having access to it has been frustrating, but now I can get back to some normal computer-induced stress in my life.

A few folks have expressed concern over the part of the world to which we're traveling. The Middle East and Israel certainly aren't the safest places on the globe, but I'm not sure there are many safe places any where on earth these days. It will be a good trip; I think it's important to make this little pilgrimage to the land of Abraham, Jesus, and Mohammed; and I suspect I'll view scripture and tradition through a very different lens once I've completed the trip.

In the meantime, I'll get ready to pack, make sure The Boys have everything they need, and hope for wireless access throughout a majority of the trip.