4 layers of security later, I'm in Jerusalem!

As I walked off the plane there was already a contingent from Ben Gurion airport security waiting to ask specific people to step aside to be questioned. I walked the long route to passport check feeling like the familiarity of the place, the sudden switch to Hebrew everywhere and the feeling of coming home were all somewhat surreal. Maybe I was paranoid because I've heard a few stories recently of expats who are outspoken about the occupation being sent back but I have to admit my prayer as I landed in Tel Aviv yesterday morning at 4:30am was simply "Lord, please just let me get through". In the end it was amazing how easily it all worked out. A surely woman asked me the purpose of my visit, where I would be and how long and gave me a 3 month visa, my bag took 2 minutes to come, and I took a sherut (public taxi) straight to Mt. Zion where I'm staying for the first two nights. (When I say straight, I mean, of course, going through a checkpoint and stopping at 8 different locations including a nearby settlement to drop the other passengers off) Then, with 3 hours of sleep, I joined my friend Ben for a short jog, had some breakfast, took a much-needed shower, and slept for most of the rest of the day.

So, Hallelujah, I'm here!

Now, what should I do? Seeing my friend Aline yesterday was a good first choice. As always here, though, the mundane becomes the politically charged very rapidly. Aline needed to get new shoes for her cousin's wedding. So we went to the new Mamilla strip-mall development next to Jaffa gate. It's a strip mall in the sense that there's commercial stores in the family of starbucks, Express, etc but it's also beautiful old Jerusalem stone facade, has art exhibits and a historic old Church right off to the side of it. This area was just starting to be build when I left Jerusalem three years ago. I commented as we walked in that the buildings the stores were in were really beautiful. Aline stopped and told me "Yeah of course, you know this used to be Palestinian houses, right?" Nope, I didn't know. Turns out that when Palestinians fled their homes there in 1948 the Israeli government took ownership of them and since then convinced the historic church to sign off on the development project (there's a big problem with churches selling off land they really shouldn't here. It's apparently linked to a lot of corrupt leadership but sometimes also, as in this case, carelessness in reading the fine print) and thus the Mamilla strip mall came to be. I looked around and asked "What about the right of return?" and also "How can you shop here?" To the former there is really not much one can say. When a peace deal is signed I'm sure places like Mamilla will have to be compensated for, but I doubt very much the families who lived in the houses where those shops now operate will every be able to come home. To the latter Aline, knowing I wasn't accusing but knew that it must be hard to go there knowing the history, replied "I know, it's terrible. But I live here and even if I didn't go here but to Malha (the main mall in Jerusalem) it's the same thing; it was built on what used to be a Palestinian village too."

Aline said one thing that really bothered her was that now with this area built up all the tourists went straight from Jaffa gate here (Thinking, like me, "What lovely stone buildings! What a great place to get some coffee!") without having any idea when they walk into the swim suit store they are treading on someone's dispossessed house. But this also means they bypass Damascus Gate and the Muslim quarter of the old city a lot more, thereby robbing it of a primary economic resource. So who's wrong? The church leaders for selling the land? The developers for developing the area? The tourists for being ignorant of what they are unintentionally supporting or the history they are walking into? The locals for shopping there even when they do know the history? The government who dispossessed the families of their land to begin with? Probably the question of who's wrong and to what degree isn't really a good question at all. But it's this kind of situation that for me shows some of the complexity here, and also the way in which injustices build up and become trickier to dislodge the longer they are let sit.

I'm keeping a journal of "Occupation Observations" because I've noticed I hear and see a lot of things I have trouble retelling later with any helpful details. I don't know what I will be doing much of the rest of my time here, I have a lot of ideas but mostly I'm just focusing on seeing friends and keeping my eyes and ears open. It's unbelievable the things you can observe when you're being attentive.

C'est quoi ce souk?

A few days ago I went to La Bastille, a historical monument commemorating the French Revolution and (despite the undeniable brutality of chopped heads and such) the movement from a tyranical form of government to one that professed equality for all and the triumph of the lower class over the upper. Ok, so, I'm oversimplifying. The point is that I went there three days ago and found a North African suk, it appeared, which turned out to be a sleep-in (think sit-in but a week long with overnights) for just immigration reform. I talked to one of the guys and told him I was in solidarity with him and had been working on similar issues in the US. He told me to make sure to tell Mexicans (yes, all Mexicans) that they (North African immigrants of France) were in solidarity with them, that their struggles were one. I agreed to pass the message along (just as I agree to tell Obama X, Y, and Z when I'm asked to do so by Palestinian friends or Burundian friends) bought a ridiculously expensive pin to support the cause, and went on to do touristy things. The next day I came back for a rally my friend told me about. It was a rally aimed at condemning the Israeli action vis a vis the Flotila bringing aid to Gaza as well as a general call on Sarkozy, the Foreign Minister and Obama to stop supporting Israel's flagrant violation of human rights and international law. I expected a few hundred people, maybe a thousand, given that this was a thrown together rally. There must have been at least 100,000 people. I'm bad at estimating but i was trying to compare to what I saw at the immigration rally in March and it was incredible the support. There were the human rights advocates, immigrant groups, the workers unions, the communist party, the Islamic groups, the general public, it seemed everyone was there. A Jewish woman who ownes a bookstore that specializes in resistance writings (and who's store was ransacked and several books burned by radical Jewish groups in the past) was speaking passionately about the history of the conflict and the need for decisive action.

All of that movement and engagement was relatively hopeful, exciting even. That night I dreamed schitwzophrenically, as I sometimes do, visions of leading a succesful peace process, Hollywood-esque scenes of love, checklists of things to do, utter nonsense. I woke up in a boat on the Marne (this is normal, it's where I was staying with a friend) to the sound of torrential rain outside our round little windows. I had breakfast and then Caroline, the friend I'm staying with shared an email from our friend Hannah, currently working with Ecumenical Accompaniment program telling her about Emily, a 21 year old American who has been in Palestine for a while, learning about the situation, who recently got wounded at a protest. It seems like, from the witnesses and reports that EAPPI members are gathering that she was targeted by an IDF soldier with a tear gas gun. Targeted or not she got shot directly in the face, lost an eye, broke some facial bones and was disfigured. Hannah saw it as confirmation that internationals no longer are priviledged, or safe rather. I was just particularly sad when I saw her blog and saw how much art she does. Later, as I was thinking about it more, I was angry to think the only reason this would make US news was because she's American, and even then how much will it change in terms of our policy?

I don't want to be a debby downer. I want to tell hopeful stories, funny stories. I want to share the story my French grandfather recently told me about hosing down a comanding officer while part of the American fire brigade and getting fired for it. I want to write that I love Paris and I love the language, food, and people I'm surrounded by here. All of those things are true. It's also true that on Saturday I'm hopefully going to see friends I haven't seen in far too long, and walk streets that I have missed as if they were people themselves. So why focus on protests and wounds?
Maybe I'm sharing all of this because I'm not really helping anything right now and so talking about what I hear and see happening around me is the closest thing to advocacy I have at the moment. But also, I think, I need to express why when I will be doing something, it will be in a way that acknoweldges how intense this problem is. Because Emily is not the only person who has lost an eye or been disfigured. Rachel Corrie is not the only victim of a government who flaunts international law and occupies its neighbors. They are the pretty American girls who, tragically, have gotten equal treatement to their Palestinian brothers and sisters.

As I make my way towards the Middle East, the question I want to keep at the forefront of my thoughts is "What does love look like in this situation?" What does it mean to love Palestinians? Israelias?To love every member of Hammas? Of the IDF? What does it mean to love settlers? What does love require? I'm going to be thinking about that, but I have a hunch the answer will rarely be to do nothing, and it may not even look like the fuzzy affectionate version of love we associate with kisses and affirmation. We shall see. For now, prayers for Emily and her family, others like her that have suffered, and (if you have an extra moment) that my trip would go, if not smoothly, than at least successfully get me to where I'm going.

Peace and joy, friends.

Ignorance is bliss...

The rough thing about being somewhat cut off from my regular online news updates is that I'm relatively unaware of the happenings of the world beyond what I happen to see on TV at peoples' houses.

The rougher part about being at a family members' house where I can check my online news sources is finding out that the Israel army has shot 19 humanitarian workers and arrested hundreds others for trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gazans who have been under siege for over a year. The fact that this act is illegal under international law is little comfort given that Obama's response has been unbelievably lame. The US Campaign has made a handy fact sheet about the flotilla fiasco (to avoid using other words beginning in f) which is helpful for understanding as well as advocacy: http://endtheoccupation.org/downloads/gazafreedomflotilla.pdf CODEPINK also has an email to Obama you can send calling for condemnation of this act: http://endtheoccupation.org/downloads/gazafreedomflotilla.pdf

What upsets me and shocks me most about all this is less that Israel would do this (because what is the death of 19 humanitarian workers if one is willing to kill hundreds of innocent children during Operation Cast Lead or daily dispossess people of their land?) and more that Obama's reaction has been so unbelievably inappropriate. More than ever I am convinced of the need for US citizens, who are in large part financing and supporting these abuses, to stand up and unambiguously say "Israel, we love you, but just because you have a history of suffering does not make it ok for you to inflict suffering on others. The rules of human rights and international law apply to you too, and we will not keep footing the bill for the oppression of others."

So, there's that.

Also I'm now in Nantes, in Western France staying with my second cousin and his lovely family. It's great to get back to French speaking, French eating, and general Frenchiness. I've had interesting opportunities to discuss cultural differences and perceptions here as well as catching up on the political feelings and realities this side of the ocean. I disillusioned a young man at the tram station today of the belief that all American girls were fast and lose (no worries, he didnt learn by experience, he out and out asked me if it was the case) and I also learned that under our dear Sarkozy dental and eye care are no longer covered in French healthcare. Seems we're taking a lesson from the US. Poor choice.

If you're the praying type today would be a good day to send a prayer out for the families of those killed on the flotillas going to Gaza. While you're at it you could also pray for immigrant families in Arizona as my updates have not been very hopeful in the immigration-reform world either. It's probably also a good day to sign a few petitions. All of which means its also probably a day for chocolate and meditation.

Take care of yourselves and much love.

Here are some things I've done recently:

-Climbed a waterfal
-Biked through a national park
-Climbed part of a mountain
- Swam in a frigid but beautiful lake
-Gotten a free kayak ride from a friendly Irishman named Don
- Explored beautiful Belfast
- Met and enjoyed the company of the members of "Tricky Britches" a bluegrass busking band from Main
- Hung out a a pub where the live music included covers of "Hit me Baby One More Time" and "The Bear Necessities" with a guy from Belfast, one from Kentucky, and four girls from Georgia (state), France (x2), and Japan respectively. Following that ate fish and chips at a terrible chinese take-out place
- Saw my second rainbow and was put through and emotional rollercoaster of a day due to sporatic rain, bright sun, and hail. I have no idea what the weather is about here.
- Attended a Socialist Party meeting

After our day and a half in Kilarney Jasmine and I headed to Belfast where we stayed with a couch surfer buddy and his lovely mother. I have thoroughly been enjoying the sheer beauty of the countryside, the joy of live music and novelty of new places, however it was also really fascinating to be brought back to my interest in peacebuilding and politics while in Belfast. Be seeing the exhibit on The Troubles at the museum, as well as some of the murals in the Falls area and mostly through talking to our hosts Jasmine and I gained a much better understanding of what the conflict in Ireland was and to a degree is about. The family we were with was Catholic and the mother lived through all of the Troubles in the heart of Belfast. She works for Oxfam and has moved a lot. The first thing I noticed about her son, our host, was that he was wearing a "Palestine" bracelet. It's amazing the parallels and also the differences between the situations here. The international section of the murals I talked about earlier had two full murals dedicated to Palestine: one seemed more about the right to return and justice in general whereast the other was of Guernica and had a missile labeled "Gaza 2009" next to it.

I'm still very much mulling over all that I saw-- the hunger stikers, the role of the IRA, the deeper historical reasons for the conflict, etc. So I'm really not drawing in conclusions yet, but it's still fascinating and perhaps has some lessons that could be used.

For now I'm going to do laundry for the first time in a long time and then enjoy the comforts of being at a seaside home 10 minutes out of Dublin!

Galway!

I can't write anything in cool Irish script but regardless: I am in Galway!!

Since I last updated I was in Germany again, went to a rockin' pool with lots of stainless steel, had more delicious sausage and such, then headed off.

I left Germany at 5:58am on Wednesday morning. Three trains, one 16h ferry ride, and one RV ride later I met up with Jasmine in Dublin and we took one more tram ride and train ride to get to Galway around 8pm. It was a LONG trip. The RV I speak of came from a traveling-hippie-esqu couple that was in my reserved seat sleeping area on the ferry. I was antisocial the entire boat ride (mostly just reading " A Short History of Nearly everything", which is AMAZING) but finally decided to say hi my last hour as I was getting antsy and suspected I could get them to let me watch Always Sunny in Philadelphia (I'd heard the theme song the night before), turns out they couldn't, but they COULD drive me from Rosslare to Dublin and share their pasta meal in their camper. Which was epic. In return I let them listen to the Beatles off of my ipod. Good deal.

Galway has been fantastic so far. Our hostel is SO COOL (lets of colorful walls) and the city is lively, the bay beautiful and full of rocks, sand and BRIGHT green moss.

My favorite Ireland moment so far is coming up to one of the MANY buskers on the street who were tuning up (a punk rock band-ish busker group) and this little old man ina plaid vest walks up to them and asks " Can I sing 'I cant get no satisfaction'", the kids bemusedly agree, a small crowd gathers and this guy NAILS it. A very drunk couple (its 8pm keep in mind) start to dance, the woman in a leapard print coat, another very enthusiastic drunk man and many amused sober people rock along, and then it's over. A little plaid vest and surprising amount of talent shuffle away.

We walked by the same buskers an hour later and they were doing their rock thing...the old guy was better.

Ok that's it for now. Off to join the EMU group and see old Abbeys and such.

Peace!

When in Rome

First of all I'd like to apologize for all typos- Italian keyboards, like Italian traffic patterns, are a mystery to me.

Internet cafes have the unfortunate quality of costing money so let me just share a few things:

The city of Bern is beautiful, but more than anything, the two days we spent in Switzerland solidified for me the wonder of hospitality and Mennonite community worldwide. One phone call to a family listed on Mennonite Your Way led to our little band of four ( Phillip, Nils, Ingrid and myself) being treated to huge fluffy duvets, two epic breakfasts and wonderful cheese fondue. In general Switzerland stayed fairly true to the generalizations I tend to make about it: orderly, clean, and beautiful. Our full day out was spent in part hiking around lake Thun, oohing and aahing at the alpine beauty and in part walking through historic Bern to the bear pit. Mostly we walked around 9 miles and took a brief break to play "casino" for a while at a cafe.

Then we took a train to Rome. It rained the whole time we were on the train and has been mostly beautiful ever since. Except last night when we got caught in the most torrential downpour I've in in for a long long time. I was essentially wading up the flooded main street, turned down many an umbrella vendor's offer of 5 euro umbrellas and finally caved and bought one for 3 after Chris, our newly aquired Texan friend (he met us on our way through a park yesterday morning and has ended up hanging out with us every since. Interesting character, he's 24, has sold his first book and got a masters in criminology) seemed pained by my seeming obliviousness to the wet. Today we went to the beach and I realized if I have any home, it's the coast of land mass in general.

Ok, time to sign off. Chris also gave me a good synopsis of US news which I've been feeling hugely disconnected from. I'm suffering a bit from the constant guilt of not being helpful to the world or engaged in fighting for justice in any way, so for those of you who are, thank you. I'm sorry I'm being a slacker right now, I'll pick up the slack soon.
Much love

Guten tag!

Guten tag from Germany!

I arrived on the Old Continent on Thursday and have related strongly to the Avett Brothers' song " A lot of Movin'" ever since then. Since then I have had several interesting interactions/thoughts:

- My first night I asked my grandpa in broad terms "What's up in politics in France?" which led to a very interesting discussion about immigration and the benefits of the legality of Burka-wearing or not in France. It was interesting to see how the "us"/"them" mentality and fear of the other is prevalent even in the most "liberal" of societies. I was surprised to find myself siding, for the most part, with the US version of freedom of religion rather than the French concept of "laicite". Partly I think I just don't have a strong national identity of any kind. Partly my default stance these days tends to be on the side of the minority immigrants and that's a hard position to shake, as un-fond as I am of Burkas. Your thoughts on the relative value of being allowed to wear a Burka in public would be welcome!

- Highlight of Brussels ( I had a 2 hour layover in the train station) was going to a traditional brewery and tasting greik and rasberry beer before noon. It's also always a good time surprising people with my brilliant English after having them pretty well convinced I'm French. Also, Belgium waffles rock.

- Germany, so far, is essentially just REALLY GOOD FOOD and very similar family dynamics to my extended family in France. Yesterday we spent over 4 hours and 4 bottles of wine at the dinner table (which also included AMAZING chocolate mousse) and today we hiked in the woods (where I found a brilliant blue beetle), walked around a castle (where I remembered that I'm really not all that interested in tours or the history of places in general, so much as just exploring around) and then went to an adorable little German town by the Mosel river to get some sausage and more deliciousness. This mornings' wake-up call was stumbling out of my pitch black bedroom into the blinding light of day to be greeted with my friends' beaming grandma's "Guten morgen!!" and trying to mumble, politely, that it was indeed a guten morgen but that I was headed to the bathroom and also, I'm mostly blind right now, sorry.

Tomorrow we got to church (in German), and this evening we head to Bern.

I'm currently reading "A Geography of Bliss" which I highly recommend to anyone who wants a light, humorous travel book.

That's all for now, folks!
Peace,

Jess