The morning was spent with the organization "The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions" (ICAHD).  Angela Godfrey Goldstein, was our Israeli guide.  She is an Israeli and works for Palestinian justice.  Not all Israelis condone what is happening to the Palestinians.  Seventy percent of the Jewish population is under the age of 40 and have been lured here for economic reasons.  Also, most are secular Jews.  Before coming here Jeanne did not know that the Israeli government is building a wall around Palestinian communities like Bethlehem and East Jerusalem and in the West Bank.  The next pictures will show you the wall, and Palestinian communities compared to Israeli communities.  Palestinians pay 35% of the taxes and get less than 5% of the muncipal benefits, such as water and garabage, etc.  Notice that the wall snakes around, sometimes separating families, families from their farms and now keeping them from going to and from work.  Now, they will have to pass a check point to go either in or out. And if they don't have the right permits or license plates they cannot go into Jerusalem from the West Bank or even East Jerusalem.

Permits are rarely granted for Palestinians to go into Jerusalem even for medical reasons.. 

The second pictures shows where the wall now blocks the road to Jericho, which was a main commercial street between East Jerusalem and the West Bank cities for the Palestinians.  This cut off  their livelihood.  On the other side of the wall is the West Bank and access to Jerico.  This keeps the Palestinians from coming  into Jerusalem.  Other Palestinians cannot now come to these areas where family might live.

These pictures show the wall and the conditions in Palestinian area.

The first picture is of a 7 story building that was demolished by the Israeli government.  The next three pictures are of an Israeli settlement.  This settlement is on the Judean hills, which is desert, but they are using the cherished water to green it up.

Poppies growing in the demolished house ruins.

Hope from the ashes.

We had lunch at a home that has been demolished 4 times and rebuilt. The man in the last picture is the owner of the house. This is an interesting story and we will share it when we return. The house is under demolition order again. We have a book that tells his story.

These pictures are of Bedoin herders and their animals and living conditions.  There used to be 30,000, but now less that 5,000.

The lady with the Bedoin is our guide from ICAHD.

These men are from the "Parent's Circle".  Romi and Abrahim.  Romi on the left is Israeli and Abrahim a Palestinian.  The Parent's Circle is a group of Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost children in the conflict and are committed to peace through dialogue. Abrahim was already entertaining Israeli's in his home, hoping for peaceful solutions.  His eight year old son was killed when an Israeli thought his son came too close to his car.  It was difficult listening to his story.  He said he had a choice at that point to go and kill an Israeli or honor his son who would have wanted him to continue his fight for peace through dialogue.  Israeli members of the Parent's Circle came and shared their stories.

The Parent's Circle believes that if we can succeed in understanding each other's pain, we can begin to change.  If we can sit and talk, we can build bridges.

Romi lost his 14 year daughter, an only child, to 2 suicide bombers, killing 17 people.  He is a 7th generation Israeli from the Old City.  He, too, said he had two choices, one to revenge her death or two, try to understand what could fill someone with so much hate that they were willing to sacrifice their own life, and kill innocent people.  Someone told him about the Parent's Circle.  In his 47 years, he had never talked to a Palestinian.  He said he began to listen ear to ear, heart to heart and mind to mind. If you listen to their pain, you can ask them to listen to your pain.

They say, "If we who have paid the highest price can talk, anyone can. There is power in pain. Power from pain is the language of the heart."

Their main goal is to create dialogue on both sides.  Romi says that this work had given him a reason to get out of bed.  Romi and

Abrahim have spoken to 1,000 schools, both Palestinian and Israeli.  The students are responding after hearing their stories and are dialogueing (sic) at summer camps they have created. 

There are 500 families in the Parent's Circle.  Only parents who lost children belong to it.  The price of admission is losing a child and they say they don't want anymore members.  They have created a hotline between Israelis and Palestinians.  If you call it as and Israeli, you will talk to a Palestinian and vice versa.  Last year they facilitated over 850,000 calls.  Remember, these parents belong to no specific religious group, they are just trying to understand each other's pain.  There was a genuine and radiant love between these two men, who call each other "brother".

This was the most meaningful encounter we have had and hope they didn't come in vain.  They are counting on us to spread the word. They gave is bumper stickers that state, "It won't work, unless we talk.  Abrahim came from a town 1 1/2 miles away, but it took him 4 hours, because of the checkpoints.  Some Palestinians, who were originally in Jerusalem, have permits to travel into Jerusalem, but they must still endure the checkpoints.

As you can see, our hearts are full and we could never express here the emotions we have felt today.

We love you all,

Jim and Jeanne