Visiting Jerusalem, the Old City, was powerful and sobering. So much ancient history, so many stories, hopes and many dreams…this is where so many important events occurred in the Judaeo Christian faith.
Rebekah Stevens in Israel: Streets of Jerusalem in the Muslim quarter
It’s easy to see why the Jewish people would want to return to Israel, the land God gave to them, and Jerusalem, the site of the temple, but it doesn’t take a religious person to see and value the importance of this land to the Jewish people– they lived here for thousands of years, why wouldn’t they want to call it home again?
The Old City, is divided into four inequal “quarters” the Jewish, Christian, Muslim (largest) and Armenian (smallest) quarters and they were not difficult to distinguish by the end of the trip.
Rebekah Stevens in Israel: Visiting the Muslim quarter. Notice how covered up the women are. All you see is their hands and faces.Rebekah Stevens in Israel: YRs and our Jewish friends as we visit the Muslim quarter
I toured the old city about four times, but still didn’t see everything. In one of the most powerful tours of the old city, our guide took us to not only ancient historical sites, but gave us a perspective on the boundaries of the Jewish state in modern times, before the old city was in Israeli hands and when the green line defined the border of Israel.
Sure Ive read modern history, but to see it first has was unique. The green line was apparently a war zone, with a middle “no man’s land” zone where gun shots were frequently exchanged, and death by a sniper’s bullet awaited many of those wandering into this territory until 1967 when Israel was given control.
Rebekah Stevens in Israel: This is a shopping mall now, but in 1967 this was a dangerous streetWe also visited the Mark Twain museum in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem with our Jewish guide, learning about how one of America’s greatest authors helped shape the view of Israel through his newspaper stories compiled into Innocents Abroad, shattering the idea that the Holy Land was a romanticized utopia, while trying to paint the [few] Jewish inhabitants and Arabs fairly, though seemingly impacted by the prejudices of the time.
Rebekah Stevens in Israel: This is a shopping mall now, but in 1967 this was a dangerous street Rebekah Stevens in Israel: Israeli flag flies high over Jewish complex in the Muslim quarterPerhaps the most impactful non-religious part of my tours through the Old City, was seeing Israeli Zionists who reclaim land in the Muslim quarter to integrate cultures. To do this, Israelis must purchase a home from Muslims (and Sharia law mandates a death penalty for selling property to non-Muslims) and move to the Muslim quarter, where, with the political tensions of the middle east, there’s high risk in moving to that area. But young families take the risk and choose to do it anyway, not for self-gain, but for their country.
Rebekah Stevens in Israel: Great view from Jewish complex in the Muslim quarterRebekah Stevens in Israel: More great views from Jewish complex in the Muslim quarterRebekah Stevens in Israel: Israeli soldiers visit Muslim woman in Muslim quarter.For me, this passion for the Zionist movement is remarkable and one of the many cultural angles I fell in love with. Few Americans have the same desire and drive to make their culture more integrated and move out of their own neighborhoods to impact the culture of their nation. Yes, I am inspired by the Jewish people and truly admire them!
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces.’ ” – Psalm 122:6-7
History isn’t everything, but it would be nearly impossible to understand modern-day Israel without first looking at the history of the Jewish people and various leaders in Zionist movements. It was so powerful to experience the history and walk where so many important leaders helped shape the future and building of the nation of Israel.
My experiences in Israel began in Jerusalem with visits to the Menachem Begin and Rabbi Kook museums. Menachem Begin, who became a member of the Likud party, entered politics as a Zionist leader heading an underground movement that helped lead to the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. Begin was a member of the first Knesset and set his sights on becoming the prime minister of Israel from the very beginning.
Rebekah Stevens in Israel: At the Menachem Begin museum.Rebekah Stevens in Israel: At the Menachem Begin museum.
At Begin’s museum my group learned about how this hard-working leader refused to move out of his small one-bedroom home, despite having several kids, until his goal of becoming premier was accomplished. The sacrificial leader, eventually did become prime minister of Israel and was the first Likud Party PM.
As prime minister, Begin negotiated peace between Israel, Egypt and the U.S., something he was extremely proud of, and something that he felt would change the direction of the Middle East. Peace with Egypt was a big deal– looking back to Ancient history, the Jewish people have had wars with Egypt for thousands of years.
Visiting with Jewish friends at the Rabbi Kook museum.
At the Rabbi Kook museum we learned about the religious Zionist movement led by a Russian Jew who became the first chief rabbi in Jerusalem under British control. Rabbi Kook became a rabbi in the nineteenth century and sought to unite all Zionists including non-religious secular, toward working toward their common goal of returning to the land of Israel. When he passed away, in the late 1930s his work lived on.
Even with a push to make Israeli government less religious in areas related to the mandatory draft (Hasidic and other ultra-orthadox sects are exempted from the military draft in many cases, the current policy is referred to as the status quo), religion is a great part of Jewish government. (more on this later) No doubt some of the integration of religion and government is due to the work of individuals like Rabbi Kook.
It was impressive to see how hard these leaders worked and the sacrifices they made, not just to better their families, but the cause they believed in– Zionism and the establishment of a strong Jewish state.
I learned a lot about the foundation of the nation of Israel through these leaders and along the way made new friends with the Israelis.
Visiting these museums, filled with the writings, the books, the furniture of these Jewish leaders leaders was very powerful and helped me to experience history.
Rebekah Stevens in Israel: Israeli flag flies high over Jewish complex in the Muslim quarter
Rebekah Stevens 