New Place, Same Politics

As a college student in the United States, it is expected that when discussing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, you are to be Pro-Palestinian. Professors blatantly interject their Palestinian sympathies into lectures, and students ardently proclaim their support and love for the Palestinian Cause. "Free Palestine" is everywhere, and people stop you on your way to class to sign a petition in support of Palestinian Statehood or to condemn those evil Israeli racists for their horrible acts of terror against an innocent and non-threatening people. The Palestinian cause has huge sex-appeal on the American college campus, and it attracts masses of followers because "Everyone else is doing it". On the flip side, the pro-Israel camp is virtually non-existent, and those few of us who openly support Israel receive weird looks from people and mutters of "Oh you're one of thoooose people," before they quickly hurry away, as if we have a disease that is highly contagious. Last year, I hung an Israeli flag above my bed to show my support for the Jewish State. A classmate of mine immediately sent a Palestinian flag to my roommate to hang above his bed "so it would be fair". He automatically assumed my roommate's politics adhered to his own and he blatantly interjected his personal beliefs into our private living space. In one of my classes last year dealing with the Middle East, I sat through a discussion where my classmates almost universally proclaimed that Israel should never have existed and should not exist now. They were not arguing for a two state solution; they were arguing for the complete destruction of the state of Israel. This is the reality at universities and colleges across the United States, and this reality has followed me here to Israel. The vast majority of my fellow international students are American Jews. There is a group of gentiles here as well, but we are the minority. At the end of the day, whether Jew or Gentile, the reality is that we are American college students, and we are products of the pro-Palestine environment on American college campuses. Because of this, even here in Israel, I would venture to argue that the majority of my classmates are more disposed towards the Palestinian point of view. There is nothing wrong with this, as our culture and our school systems have endlessly taught us this point of view while treating the other side with scorn and derision. Let me be absolutely clear: I do not think that the Palestinian cause is evil, or wrong, or unworthy of discussion. I do not believe that all supporters of a Palestinian State are automatically anti-Israel. What I am saying is that I come from a country where one side is dis-proportionally represented and advocated for. The pro-Israel side is often times thrown under the bus and not even allowed a fair hearing. While here for this past month, I have had excellent discussions with incredibly intelligent people who happen to be pro-Palestine and believe that a two state solution is possible. I have heard ideas advanced that I have never considered before, and my own beliefs have grown and matured. I have met people who are brave enough to say that they do not know enough about the conflict to make a judgement, and that they are here first and foremost to learn. I have given my viewpoint of the matter, and have been listened to politely by my fellow students. I am surrounded by very intelligent critical thinkers, who can present their politics in a polite fashion and then listen to the other side. What disgusts me are the people who say that they are pro-Palestine but don't know why; the people who mindlessly chant the slogans without stopping to consider what they actually mean; the people who automatically dismiss Israel as evil without giving it a fair hearing. This lack of intelligence is what we must fight against, whether we are pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, or pro-two state. I look forward to the discussions I will be having over the next semester, to observing the actual situation in the Holy Land, and to educating my countrymen when I return home.

Why I am Here

When I went off to college, I was sure of two things: I was going to study History, and I was never going to study abroad. Well, I'm batting 1/2 on that count. I was so sure I would never study abroad because I didn't think I had what it took to leave my homeland for several months. I told my parents when I started school "The only place that I would ever consider studying abroad is Jerusalem, and Concordia doesn't have a Jerusalem program, so I won't be studying abroad." My how things change. Last spring, I was walking through the student center, and all of the study abroad programs had set up booths advertising their trips and experiences. I quickly walked through the area without looking at anything, so certain was I of my plans. Right as I was about to walk out the door, however, I happened to glance at the last booth in the line. "Study in Jerusalem!" it said, with information laid out on the table in front of it. I looked at that booth for a good five minutes, thoughts piling one on top of the other in my head. "They said there wasn't a program there!" "I can't go, I just signed up for a townhouse with two of my best friends." "This is of God, there is a reason I've seen this." "Just go talk to the coordinator, you don't have to make any commitment." "I can't afford this!" "Just here him out, what's the harm in listening?" Curiosity got the better of me, and I signed up for a time slot with Dan Albertson, one of Concordia's global education coordinators. I sat down with him and listened to what he had to say, knowing in the back of my mind the whole time that God wanted me to go. One week later, I made a commitment. You're probably asking what appeal does Israel have for a suburban gentile from the Midwest to overcome such resolution? It's quite simple: Israel is the place where my life truly got started and my path became clear. It was the summer of 2009; I had just finished my Junior year of high school and was itching to graduate so I could leave that life behind me and start a better one. My faith was rocky; my church had recently imploded and the senior pastor, a great man of God and a mentor of mine, had resigned in the face of disgusting behavior from a militant minority. My family had been personally insulted multiple times for defending the pastor, and we had also left in disgust. I was very cynical towards the church in general and God in particular at that time after seeing what I had seen and hearing what I had heard. It was a time of great soul searching for me, and emerging from that process as a Christian was not a guarantee in my mind. During those troubled years, I was fortunate (indeed blessed) to have gone through a program called Student Leadership University, run by a great man of God named Dr. Jay Strack. Where my youth pastor at home ignored me and was more concerned about his personal ambition over the faith of the youth, Dr. Jay patiently built my faith and cared about who I was and what I wanted to become. He and his fellow leaders of SLU became my youth pastors, and I received more care and direction from them one week a summer for four years than I ever did attending my local youth group. In 2009, they took me to Jordan and Israel, and I got to see the Holy Land that I had read so much about for the first time. I was baptized in the Jordan River, and I went where Jesus walked and taught. Being here and seeing the actual places of the Bible coming to life certainly helped my faith, but I still wasn't completely convinced; I still had some doubts. One night, we went to Nazareth and hiked up a mountain as the sun was setting. When we got to the top, we saw the Valley of Armageddon stretching towards the horizon in all directions; endless and eternal. The sight took my breath away, and I felt the power of the place. A girl in our group suddenly burst into tears; we asked her what was wrong, and she said "This is the most famous battlefield in history, and the battle hasn't even started yet." At that moment, something changed inside of me. I don't know how, but at that time I knew, with every fiber of my being, that what she said was true. There would be a battle here someday, and I knew who would win. The gears in my head were churning, and I thought to myself "If this is true, then the rest of it has to be as well." I gave my life to Christ for good on that mountain that night. My doubts were erased, and all I felt was awe. We ended our trip in the Holy City. I prayed at the Wall and went into the empty tomb. I was leaving the next day, but something else had become clear in my mind. I knew that one day, I would return, and that it was God's Will that I do so. When I saw that booth in the student center at Concordia that spring day, God said "Go", so I went. I've known for some time that my life's purpose has something to do with the Jewish State, and that while they have enemies beyond count, I am meant to be a friend. I knew that for me to walk this path and to follow God's plan, I must return to Israel at some point. God called me to Israel, and I answered. By the Will, Grace, and Power of God Almighty and His son Jesus Christ, I am here. I wrote a paper about my experience on the mountain outside of Nazareth for my introductory writing class at Concordia. If any of you want to read it, send me a message and I'll email it to you.

The Temple Mount

Today, my dream came true, and I got to go up onto the Temple Mount. We got up at 7 and walked to the Old City, watching the sun rise as we dodged cars and other pedestrians on our way through an Arab neighborhood. We entered the Old City, following my friend from Japan, who had been on the Mount before and knew where to go. We finally got to the Wailing Wall, the only place non-Muslims can get up onto the mount. We got into a decently long line with other tourists (many of them from Germany) to wait our turn to go through security. About twenty minutes in, a security officer wound his way down the line, asking people how big their groups were. When he got to us, we told him there was six of us, and he immediately waved us through to the front of the line. Don't ask me why we got special treatment, I have no idea. We went through security and then walked up a long wooden bridge to the top. Riot shields were kept just inside the Mount entrance for quick access by police. Once inside, it was like stepping into another world. The Mount is full of fountains, gardens, trees, and green grass. My dad would appreciate how nicely maintained the lawns are. On one end of the Mount stands the Al Aqsa mosque, built over 1,000 years ago by the first Muslims to conquer Jerusalem. It is a massive building, but we could not enter since we are not Muslims. On the other end of the Mount, standing on a huge courtyard of shining limestone, stands the Dome of the Rock. This building was built over the rock where Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac on and where the Muslims believe that Mohammed ascended to heaven. Behind the Dome and overlooking the Mount of Olives was a set of arches, where Muslims believe that God will judge humanity at the end of time. I was in awe the entire time. It has been a life-long dream of mine to be able to go up on the Temple Mount, and today I actually got to do it. We stood on the place where the presence of God manifested itself on earth. We spent most of our time walking around the Dome, looking at the intricate architecture and Mosaics covering the outside walls. The Dome itself is covered in gold, and it shines like the sun during the day. In the back of my mind as I was walking around, I thought about the very stones I was standing on. This was Jewish ground, this foundation was and is Jewish, and where this Dome stands, two temples stood, the dwelling place of the most high God on this earth. Solomon stood on this mount, building the first Temple to the Lord. Herod stood on this mount, building the second. The Babylonians swept over this mount as they put the first temple to the torch and made off with its treasures, as the Romans did to the second centuries later. I stood on some of the holiest ground on earth, God's dwelling place and His point of contact with His people before He sent His son. The only place in this city more sacred, in my opinion, is Golgotha, where Christ died, and the tomb, where Christ rose again. I stood there, gazing at a Muslim temple built on a Jewish foundation, and I thought about all of the history of this place. Here, Muslims sit and worship, children go to school, old men talk about times long past, and Israeli soldiers and police watch everything, unbelievably tense and tasked with preventing another war. Of all of the points of contention in Jerusalem, this place creates the most tension. Jews are forbidden to pray on the Mount, though they are allowed to go up with the rest of us. I heard about how an Orthodox Jew went up one day, and he was followed by police and soldiers to ensure that he did not pray and cause another conflict. Torah law forbids Jews from going up onto the Mount, because they do not know where the Holy of Holies is located and they do not want a Jew to wander through it by accident. Only the High Priest, on one day every year (Yom Kippur), was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, and the Rabbis do not want any Jews to desecrate the place. We might have wandered through the Holy of Holies ourselves today without realizing it; we also don't know where it is located. The curtain was torn when Jesus died. The Muslims have their own security up on the Mount; men with walkie talkies and guns patrol everywhere, looking on the non-Muslims with suspicion and anger. One followed our group for a while before he gave up and switched to another. Despite the security, we had an amazing time, and this will most definitely be one of the great highlights of my time here.

Bible Studies in the Holy Land

Over the last several weeks, I have had the privilege of being a part of two separate Bible studies here on Mount Scopus. The first is as part of a group called Students Alive, a Christian group run by a South African pastor for Christians attending Hebrew University. The Second is called The Old Testament Challenge, a group meeting weekly in the student village itself and run by a fellow student and friend of mine. The first group is exclusively Christian and for Christians, and the second group is open to and includes both Christians and Jews. I was introduced to Students Alive by a friend of mine from Nigeria named God's Will. He towers over me, but he is a gentle giant, quick to smile and quick to laugh. The group is made up of fellow Hebrew U students, and the pastor who runs the group is named George. He sees it as his mission through Students Alive to bring Christ to the campus and to Israelis. He is middle aged, I'd guess between late forties to mid fifties, and he is a kindhearted man, quick to smile and laugh. We have only met twice for Students Alive so far, but each time I left feeling encouraged and reminded that I am not alone here. The second group, The Old Testament Challenge, was thought of and run by a friend of mine named Becca, a fellow Spring in Jerusalem student from Boston. We have also only met twice for the Old Testament group, and it is our goal to read through the entire Old Testament, the book of Israel and of its people, before we return home to our various homelands. This group includes both Christians and Jews, and the dialogues we have been able to have that highlight our differences and our commonalities have been a joy to behold and experience. We spent close to two hours last night reading and discussing Genesis chapters 1-3, and we could have easily gone for another hour or two if some of us didn't need to get up early this morning. We started out with four people last week, and this week we were up to ten, with people from all over the United States and one from Japan making up the group. I hope that we continue to grow as the semester moves forward. One of the students is a Bible Studies major and has studied the Bible for years, and it was fascinating to listen to his historical explanations for several difficult passages. The south, west, and northeast of the United States is well represented in this group. Both groups bring something new to the study of God's word, and both are advancing the kingdom in this part of the world. I am so happy to be able to be a part of both groups and to meet and get to know fellow Christians. I look forward to continuing with both of these pursuits as the semester progresses.

Spring in Jerusalem

I am humbled and honored to be able to join an honors program offered by Hebrew University called "Spring in Jerusalem". This program, run jointly by Hebrew U and Harvard, is for undergraduate upperclassmen who are looking to go on to grad school after graduation. It consists of a mixture of graduate level classes and undergraduate level classes, including a research seminar. I will not be taking Hebrew during this semester because I will be focusing exclusively on my majors of history and political science. I will also be staying in Israel at least until late June because of this. One benefit is that I will be able to see Dr. Jay when he brings Student Leadership University to Israel in June. I will be taking five classes under this program. The three undergraduate classes that I will be taking are "The Foreign Policy of Israel", "Palestinian Modern History and Society", and "An Introduction to the Cultural History of Jerusalem". The two graduate-level classes I will be taking are "The Political Theory of the Welfare State" (I'm going to have so much fun with that one), and "Messiahs in Conflict: Early Christianity and Judaism" (this is the research seminar). The three undergraduate classes are all at the international school, and the two graduate classes are located in other buildings throughout the university on Mount Scopus. Some of my friends that I have made here are also doing this program, which is nice since there will be very few people living in the student village for those two or three weeks in June after the semester ends. I'm excited for this new opportunity, and I look forward to taking these classes and confronting the challenge of graduate work!

Observing a Political Rally

Today as I was leaving Hebrew U on my way down to my apartment, I observed a new, but not altogether unexpected, occurrence. Across the street, stretching to block out the entirety of the vast "Hebrew University of Jerusalem" sign, stood a group of people. These people, about 30-40 in number, were waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans and other things that I did not begin to understand. The group was made up mostly of Arabs, but there was a smattering of Westerners scattered throughout the chanters as well. The people were lead by a female with a megaphone, and they were doing what all political protesters do: listening to her chant a slogan and then mindlessly repeating her. Palestinian flags were everywhere, but here or there a person would be holding a placard with slogans written in Arabic on it. What made me stop and watch for a bit, however, were the people holding up pictures. These pictures had one thing in common: they each depicted a close-up head shot of a man. Each picture showed a different person, and they were displayed prominently at the front of the group. I did not know exactly what they were chanting or what the specific cause of the protest was, but I gathered that it was something along the lines of "Free Palestine". I also assume that the pictures were of men killed by Israelis in the "Occupied Territories" as some would call them. Surrounding this group of protesters were cameramen trying to catch a shot and heavily armed policemen, alert and ready to shut down the assembly at the first sign of trouble. Further away from the protesters, standing along the perimeter of the area, tall guys wearing sunglasses and earpieces and carrying semi-automatic weapons also silently watched. These guys all were talking into their wrist-radios and all had a look on their face saying "don't mess with me." I would hazard a guess that they were Shin Bet officers, Israel's internal security service (the FBI on steroids). All of them were very tense, and several had their hands on their guns. The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has chosen to switch to a strategy of civil disobedience and "peaceful" protest, but these guys grew up during the two intifadas. I'm sure that they were under strict orders to make sure another one didn't happen. A soldier in uniform also watched, but he was unarmed. As I walked down the street and away from the protesters, I saw several police cars lined up, with guys who looked like they were part of a swat team standing next to them. Needless to say, I left pretty quickly, not wanting to get involved. Despite the presence of some pretty heavy firepower, the Israeli security officers did nothing to disrupt or shut down the protest, giving the protesters the freedoms of assembly and free speech. I laughed to myself as I left. If only those of my countrymen who call Israelis freedom-hating racist bigoted apartheid dictators could have been there and saw what I saw. These protesters were unmolested and were allowed to speak their minds, with security present to ensure that the peaceful protest stayed peaceful. It presents such a stark contrast to Israel's neighbors. In Syria, political protesters are cut down by machine guns and butchered by helicopter gunships. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood uses street violence and thugs to intimidate and silence any opposition (a page right out of the book an Austrian corporal used with such success decades ago). There is no such thing as freedom of speech or assembly in Saudi Arabia. Israel, the only truly free country in the Middle East, deserves more credit for giving even those that vehemently disagree with it a fair hearing. Ask yourself: if you were confronted with the same realities as the Israelis, who live such a perilous existence day after day, would you do the same?

The Jerusalem Light Rail

I am blessed to be able to live in a city with cheap and efficient public transportation. The form of transportation that has received the vast majority of my own and my friends' business and use is the Jerusalem light rail, an above-ground train that goes throughout West Jerusalem with stops near the Old City, Yad Vashem, the government district, and so many other places.Coming from a city where walking isn't encouraged and public transportation consists of dangerous old buses and expensive taxis, a fully functioning light rail system is a Godsend. The system was built about a year ago and is fully functional, and one way tickets cost about two dollars. There is a station at the base of Mount Scopus, about a ten minute walk from one of the student village gates. There have been several panic-driven sprints to the station to buy tickets and jump on the train pulling away or suffer the "indignity" of waiting ten minutes for the next one. Once inside the train, you step into a microcosm of Israeli society. Orthodox rub shoulders with secular, old men sit together discussing current events, children run by laughing and using the handholds above your head as monkey bars, teenagers wander around in packs, arms full of shopping bags, on their way home from the mall, and towering over all, soldiers silently keep watch, machine guns loaded and ready for use if need be. It is fascinating to watch the interactions between people on the train here. In the back of my mind, I'm always thinking about how dangerous Israeli public transportation can be, and sometimes I see that fear reflected in the eyes of other travelers. Today, I jumped on the train to go down to the Old City. The other day we had received an email and text alert from Hebrew U warning of a heightened security situation and to be extra cautious about using public transportation. When I got on the train (the Old City is about a ten minute's ride from Mount Scopus) I saw very few other people on the train itself and security guards everywhere, checking tickets and making no effort to hide their bullet proof vests and handguns. Each one had a radio and a secret service type earpiece. They were young guys, looking to be in their mid-twenties, and most of them were gathered in the center of the train trading jokes and laughing. I'm guessing that they were all part of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service (like our FBI on steroids). Guards were stationed at the front and back of the train, watching the eight or nine passengers who were riding. I had brought a backpack with me, and before sitting down I showed the nearest security officer that it was empty. I never felt particularly nervous or frightened for those ten minutes. I figured this kind of thing happens all the time here, and if there was a problem then the guys with guns would handle it. I had happened to catch the last train of the day, as the light rail closes early on Friday in preparation for the Jewish Sabbath and doesn't re-open until Saturday night. When I reached my stop, I just got off and wandered away, watching the train disappear over the hill. It's a great way to get around the city, and it doesn't take all of your money to get there. Save money, live better, light rail.