RANT ALERT!

Yesterday we arrived in Jerusalem. I've mentioned "the wall" before, which separates Israel from the West Bank. As we approached the wall from the Palestinian side, it was clear that the checkpoint was heavily guarded. We passed through and almost immediately we noticed a difference. It was a completely different world! The roads were newly paved, there was grass (green grass!), there were playgrounds, and sidewalks! The traffic flowed smoothly, there are working red lights, and traffic laws are obeyed.

Now keep in mind folks, Bethlehem is just over the hill from Jerusalem, it's not far at all. If there were no giant concrete wall separating the two, it would be a 10 minute drive.

I've already stated some of the differences between the two cities. The part that bothered me was how well-kept Jerusalem is versus how poorly kept Bethlehem is. Keep in mind, Bethlehem is a part of Palestine, which is under Israeli control. Why the difference? The simple fact is, in 1948 when Israel became a nation, they removed ALL Palestinians from their villages and towns and put them in tent camps and refugee camps in what is now the West Bank area in order to clear out Israel to make room for Jews. These refugees were never asked if they wanted to leave, their land was taken from them.

Fast forward to 1967 to the 6 Days War. Israel took control over the West Bank from Jordan and has held control over the West Bank ever since. This is internationally recognized as an illegal occupation. The UN has many resolutions condemning the occupation, etc. The Israelis continue to take more of the land in the West Bank and occupy it by building Jewish settlements. According to international law, an occupying country is not allowed to move their own people into the area they are occupying. So, these Jewish settlements are internationally recognized as an illegal action.

Clearly I'm opposed to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. It violates international law, and to make it worse, the Israelis propagate strife and hate among the Palestinians by illegally taking their land and moving their own people there, cutting off the water supply, not allowing any Palestinians to come into Israeli territory, etc. In essence, the Israelis treat Palestinians as if they're not human. they're subhuman.

Fast forward to yesterday. We met a man who works here in Jerusalem for a think-tank. My initial thoughts were, "great! A think-tank! Finally a place where some real conversation can happen about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict!. Boy was I wrong. Not only was I wrong, it was DEAD wrong! This place wasn't an ecumenical place, it was a very pro-Jewish/Zionist place. Basically what that means is, these people are the ones who want Jewish everything. This is their land, they will take it as they please, they're the victims, they're God's chosen people and nothing will stop them from making this country theirs. There is an ultra-strong nationalistic pride among these people.

What really got my blood boiling is that the man I talked to was very Zionistic (pro-Jewish everything, lots of Israeli pride, this sort of thing). I asked him what he thought of the wall, and immediately he blamed the Palestinians. It wasn't the Israelis fault, it was the Palestinians'. He even told me that it wasn't a wall, it was a fence (nevermind that it's 45 feet tall and made of concrete). He also said that in 1993 the Israeli government offered to give 93% of the land back to the Palestinians in the West Bank. Nevermind the fact that 100% of the land is theirs and nevermind the fact that military control still would have been in the hands of the Israelis.

And to top it all off the man spoke of including everyone. Yes, you heard me right, he fully believes that including everyone is the goal. Everyone except the Palestinians of course. He stated the Jerusalem is a city of many races and ethnic backgrounds, which is fine, as long as they're Jewish. He spoke of how hard the Israeli people had worked to make the country look so beautiful and how hard they had worked to make the land theirs. Nevermind the fact that they took it illegally by removing all of the Palestinians from Israel and placing them in refugee camps, never to return them to their rightful homes, nor offer any compensation for their loss.

To hear this man talk, and to see the vast difference between Jerusalem and Bethlehem was just astonishing. Jerusalem is full of beauty, life, nice roads, places to play, soccer fields, basketball courts, flowers, green grass, etc. Meanwhile in Bethlehem, the roads are not well-paved, there are no fields, there is no grass, there are definitely no basketball courts or soccer fields, and there is nowhere for the children to play. There are no parks, no walkways, no sidewalks, no playgrounds...nothing. And that's how the Israelis treat the people that they occupy - subhuman. They treat their own land and their own people immaculately. They speak of peace and inclusion. They talk about how to properly raise children and of education, and then turn right around and deny all of those things by treating their neighbors as less than human. It's atrocious and I for one cannot stand it!

As I've thought about all of this, I've also thought about how I'm going to approach the situation. It does me no good to rant on a blog, or to go overboard with my reaction. Because in order to bring about true change, we have to be constructive and talk to each other like we're, you know, human. We have to respect each other and try and bring about peace in the right way. Anger will only lead to terrible acts of hate, and there's already been enough of that. Everyone needs an open mind.

Hey, here's a crazy idea, why not just live as one country? Why not just tear the wall down and start treating each other with dignity? Stop taking the land, stop turning off the water, stop propagating hate and just live together as one. The Muslims and Christians do this just fine already in Bethlehem. If peace can happen there, it can happen all over the entire country. Stop segregating and start integrating.

Maybe the solution isn't that easy. But, at least we're talking...