The Western Wall Tunnels (Lindsay Goldfaden)

In the period of the Second Temple, the Romans were there because it was a Roman Empire. There were also soldiers there to keep the Roman peace. The Romans threw the stone until the wall was the same height as the rubble. This was a good time for the rebellion to break because, it was Passover. Back in the old days, the Southern wall was more important then the Western Wall because, that’s where the entrance was. The double exit on the left is the exit and the double entrance on the right is the entrance. Mourners do this opposite so people can apologize to them. Around the Temple was a sign that said “if you are a non Jew, you are requested to stop outside, and he himself will be reasonable for his punishment.” Only the Kohan ha-gadol (the high priest) was allowed go into the Holy of Holies of the Temple and only on Yom Kippur. The Jews pray at the Western Wall because it is closest to the Temple. The Praying compound today is between the Arch and the Stairs. 488 meters was the full length of the Western Wall. 67 meters is the length of the Prayer area of the Western Wall. The closer you get to the center of Temple Mount, the holier you are. Jews don’t pray underground because, there is more room outside. The Ministry of Religious Affairs wants to build a Synagogue completely underground. The praying compound is a little part of the wall. Muslim houses cover up some of the wall, so today we are going under the houses. Temple Mount was a garbage dump during the Byzantine period. In 1967, Israel let the Waqf Muslim committee run affairs on Temple Mount. At that time this committee was Jordanian and now it is Palestinian. Defense Minister Dayan made a few decisions, they are all prayer on top of Temple Mount will be only Muslim and Dyan takes down a Muslim neighborhood to make room for Jews to pray. In 2000, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon went onto Temple Mount and stood between Al-Aqsa mosque and the Golden Gate. This was the trigger for what became known for that reason as the Al-Aqsa intifada. Ariel Sharon doing this makes it so non-Muslims can’t go on Temple Mount. 2 years ago they changed it so now you can go up there but not in the Dome of the Rock or the Al-Aqsa mosque. Before Ariel Sharon did this, non-Muslims were allowed in the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque. Ariel Sharon has a house in the Muslim quarter.

Christian Sects (Cherylanne Glassner)

Christian Sects
17 July 2008, tour leader Hana Bendcowsky
Submitted by Cherylanne Glassner

We began the tour by listing the different sects of Christianity present in Jerusalem. We discussed the origins of Christianity and the history of the different sects. We talked about the Roman Catholics, who are referred to as "Latin" in order to differentiate them from the Greek Orthodox, the Armenians, the Copts (Egyptian Christians), and the Ethiopians.

We began the historical tale of Christianity with the Romans. Christianity was first established on Mount Zion when a small group of Jewish reformers created a new religion. The exact time of this is hard to pinpoint, Hana pointed out, but we know that it occurred shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus. For 300 hundred years following this event, the Christians were persecuted by the Romans. In 313, with the Edict of Milan, Constantine, who was the emperor at the time, established freedom of religion, allowing the Christians to pray freely. His mother, Helen, was a religious Christian and greatly influenced his decision to do so. Due to their important contributions to Christian history, both Constantine “The Great” and Helen are regarded as saints.

In 325, Constantine gathered leaders of the Christian community in Turkey for the First Council of Nicaea. The purpose of the council was to make decisions regarding the theology of Christianity. They needed to make two decisions: the nature of Jesus (i.e., divine or human), and when to commemorate the crucifixion. The council announced a dogma which said that Jesus was of the same substance of God the Father, and that the crucifixion would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox (when the sun is directly above the equator). The Council declared that those who accept the dogma are orthodox, and anybody who did not accept the dogma was a heretic.

Another decision was made in 325 CE to create a hierarchy in the Church. Five centers were created, each of which would have its own patriarchate. The hierarchy would consist of a patriarch, archbishops, bishops, priests, and the community. The five centers included Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. Each of these five centers is autocephalic (from the Late Greek autokephalos, from Greek aut- + kephalē head), independent of external and especially patriarchal authority —used especially of Eastern national churches , while still being in communion with the others.

However, each group perceived of themselves as constituting the true orthodox while others were viewed as heretics. Those who were not accepted broke away and created their own church. For example, in 451 CE the Armenians created their own church. It is also interesting to note, however, that the Armenians were really the first ones to accept Christianity, 12 years before Constantine, a fact of which they remain very proud to this day.

In the beginning of the 5^th century, Rome was invaded by the Visigoths, which eventually led to the fall of the Roman Empire. The result of this was the separation of the Latin patriarchate from the other four. Each of the other four centers mentions each other in prayers, but with the separation of Rome, and the earlier separation of the Armenians, these two churches were excluded from such prayers.

In the 9^th century, Christianity spread through the Ukraine, and then through Russia. The Christian community there became larger than the Roman, and thus they asked for their own Patriarchate. Thus they, too, were granted an auto-cephalic Patriarchate. Today, there are 15 independent Churches that are all connected.

We also spoke about the Protestant influence in Jerusalem. The Protestants have only been here for 150 years. The Christ Church was the first Protestant Church in Jerusalem. It was founded by the Anglicans. In fact, the Anglican bishop was a Jewish convert to Christianity, and he felt that his status as a convert would help in their mission of converting Jews. The Redeemer Church in the Christian Quarter was the first Lutheran Church. The Anglicans have typically been more active in the northern parts of the country (the large majority of these Christians are Arab), and the Lutherans have been more active in Jerusalem.

Hana then went on to explain how the Armenians have fared very well in Jerusalem. When the Crusaders were on their way to Jerusalem, they met the Armenians. The Armenians helped the Crusaders, and the two groups developed a good relationship. In fact, the Crusaders built a church for the Armenians. With that said, the first major Christian landmark we visited today was the Armenian Cathedral and Monastery of St. James. It is open to tourists only during prayer hours, so not only did we get to see the church, but we got to see the service as well. Similar to the Jews, the Armenians are both a nation and a religion. All of their prayers are in Armenian. When we asked about the pointy hats that the priests wear, Hana explained that they are worn to remind the Armenians of where they come from – Mount Ararat (the resting place of Noah’s Ark) – and wearing the hats is a symbol of their nationalist ambition to control the same land that they used to have. The church itself is dedicated to Saint James. Which one? Well, there are two that are supposed to be buried there – Jesus’ brother (or another relative, there is disagreement upon this fact), Saint James the Just (or Less), who was the bishop of the first community in Jerusalem, as well as the head of Saint James the Great, one of Jesus’ apostles.

The next site we visited was the Imperial Hotel. It was built by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The most interesting thing part of the hotel is probably its shape – it is structured like a cross, a long pathway from one end to the other, as well as another pathway cutting through the middle from one side to the other. Actually, at that junction stands a column serving as a lamp post that reads “LEG X,” signifying that it was from the time of the 10^th Roman Legion that was the force that repressed the Jewish rebellion in 66-70 CE and destroyed the Second Temple.

Our next stop was outside the Greek Catholic church. The Greek Catholics are a group of Greek Orthodox who decided to join the Catholic Church. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the Catholic Church was very strong, and membership came with a lot of support. The Greek Catholics incorporate traditions from both the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic.

The most exciting part of our tour was our meeting with Aristobolus, a member of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He explained to us that some of their liturgical tradition comes from the time of the Disciples. This includes such traditions as long services, community and private prayer, dress, and hair/beard. In regards to the dress, the Greek Orthodox monks wear black. This is because they are considered to be martyrs. They are technically still alive, but they have devoted their lives to the church. Also, they do not cut their hair or shave their beard—similar to the Nazirite vows of the biblical Samson. He then also explained that there are about 20 bishops in their patriarchate that are in charge of checking on everything in the areas under the patriarchate (Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia). He also said that there are approximately one hundred priests all over the world. He compared this to embassies (for instance, the U.S. has an embassy in Israel. It is in Israel, but it is subject to U.S. law). Wherever the patriarchate of Jerusalem has a monastery, regardless of what country it is in, it is overseen by Jerusalem.

When we left the patriarchate, we had an opportunity to ask Hana some clarification questions. She first explained that there are two calendars in Jerusalem, the Julian calendar (that calendar that is used by the Orthodox Churches) and the Gregorian calendar (the calendar that is used by the Catholic Church and is most widely used today throughout the world). The other important thing Hana explained was why some of these Christians wear Kippot (yarmulkes). She told us that they do this in order to connect to their Jewish roots.

Next we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Normally, this would have been very exciting, but we had already been there. Still, the focus of the day was different, so we went back and learned even more. Quite obviously, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the holiest place for Christians – this is where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. However, the Protestants have their own place in East Jerusalem, outside the current (i.e., 15th-century) Old City walls, and thus have no rights here. It is often wondered how so many differing sects can successfully share the same place. When the Muslims took over Jerusalem, the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was given to a Muslim family. In the early days of Christianity, the way that the Christians succeeded was by investing in property. So in order to have a foot in the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, it was necessary to pay taxes. However, the Ethiopians and the Georgians had no money to pay their taxes, and as a result lost their rights in the Church. In 1852, a status quo was put into place by the ruling Ottoman Turks. The status quo determined who was allowed to come when, where they were allowed to pray, and even when and where each group was allowed to clean. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Greek Orthodox has the most rights, followed by the Armenians. It is possible to see this in the oil lamps over the stone on which Jesus was prepared for burial. The Greek have 4 lamps, the Armenians have 2, and then each the Catholic (represented in Jerusalem by the Franciscans) and the Coptic have 1. In one of the Greek rooms is a rock. Christians view this rock as the center of the world, contrary to the Jews who view the rock on Mount Moriah (Temple Mount), since the end of the seventh century covered by the Dome of the Rock, as the center of the world.

While we were at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we saw the Syrian, Copt and Ethiopian chapels/monasteries, and discussed their presence in Jerusalem. First we talked about the Copts. The Copts are Egyptian Christians who are descendants of ancient Pharaohs and whose language is derived from that of the ancient Egyptians. Inside the Church, in the Chapel of St. Nicodemus, there is an argument between the Armenians and the Syrians as to who the chapel really belongs too. The conflict was resolved by allowing the Armenians to light candles in the chapel, and the Syrians would be allowed to pray in the chapel on Sunday. However, since neither group can keep anything in the room, the Syrians would have to bring objects of prayer to every service.

Next we talked about the Ethiopians. The Ethiopians have a long history in Jerusalem, tracing their lineage back to the liaison between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. Hana told us the story which goes like this: the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon. He asked her to spend the night with him, an offer she declined. He then made a deal with her that if she took anything, she would have to spend the night with him. On her last night, he had prepared a spicy meal. Later that night, King Solomon placed a glass of water beside the Queen of Sheba’s bed. She woke in the middle of the night, thirsty. Solomon reminded her of their deal, but she drank the water anyway. They spent the night together, and when the Queen of Sheba returned home, she was "with child." She had a son, Menelik I, and one day, he went to Israel to visit his father, King Solomon. According to Ethiopian tradition, King Solomon sent the Ark of the Covenant back with his son to Ethiopia. Upon the death of his mother, Menelik assumed the throne with the new title of Emperor and King of Kings of Ethiopia. According to legend, he founded the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia. In the 4^th century, Ethiopia was converted to Christianity by Egyptian Copts. Since then, a Coptic monk has been the bishop in Ethiopia. On the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the Monastery of the King. While the Ethiopians and the Copts were together, they shared the monastery. But once the Ethiopians separated, the Copts wanted the courtyard and the chapel back for themselves. The Ethiopians argued that they had been there longer, and it was theirs. Today, the status quo that exists in the Church has halted this argument.

The day was incredibly informational. We learned so much about Christianity, especially Christianity in Jerusalem. We learned about the history of the religion, the evolution of it, and each sect’s influence in Jerusalem and throughout the world.

I just want to end with something that Aristobulos said. “The Christians have remained here without political conflict. They always obey the instruction of a political leader. The Christians try to be kind with all people, no matter what their religion or nationality is.” If this low profile has kept them out of the Israeli conflict, it is no wonder why they are able to cooperate with each other (in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and in Jerusalem in general). With the exception of the Latins (i.e., Roman Catholics) and the Armenians, they are all connected and share a deep respect for one another. For regardless of what their traditions are, they all share the same core dogma.

Parents Circle—Families Forum (Rachel Frierson)

Parents Circle—Families Forum: A Conversation with Ali Abu-‘Awad and Rami Elhanan
16 July 2008
Report submitted by Rachel Frierson

In order to get a full picture of Israel we must be challenged to explore not only the country but the conflicts as well. Prior to coming to Israel we all had our own notions of what the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was. However the opportunity to meet those engaged in the conflict has enlightened us emotionally and mentally. Thanks to Nate’s family we had the opportunity to speak with the non-profit peace group called the Parents Circle—Families Forum (PCFF).

The Parents Circle is a bi-national group of roughly 500 families who have all paid the ultimate price because of the conflict. The main goal of the group is to encourage discussion between both sides of conflict. The reality is that without negotiations and communication nothing will change. To promote this goal the Parents Circle has been involved in numerous peace efforts around the world. They have put up tents in Gaza and Tel Aviv, invited Palestinians to give blood in Israel and Israelis to give blood in the Territories, they have established a phone line called “Hello Peace” through which one million calls were made between the two sides, and they placed 1200 coffins outside the UN with Palestinian and Israeli flags on them. Those are just a few examples of their demonstrations, but they also have engaged in discussion themselves. The men we met with, Rami and Ali, have traveled the world speaking with different groups, youth or adult, to promote the ideas of dialogue and peace. We were lucky enough to be one of those groups. We heard the stories of these two “brothers “who were both broken down by the conflict but strong enough to stand up and speak for peace.

Rami is a graphic designer by profession, and a 7th generation Jew from Israel. His story centers on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar Yom Kippur. It was on this day that he fought against the Egyptians in the Sinai during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Here Rami experienced extreme loss of life of his friends and became disillusioned and disconnected due to the war and conflict. Exactly ten years later, on the eve of Yom Kippur, his daughter, Smadar, was born. He raised his family in the confines of a happy Israeli life; they did not know any Palestinians and did not let the conflict affect them negatively. Then 14 years later on September 4th, 1997 his daughter was walking down the pedestrian mall on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. That day, a few weeks before Yom Kippur, Rami would lose the joy in his life that made him forget about the conflict. Three suicide bombers simultaneously blew themselves up, killing several young Israelis and wounding many others. Rami rushed from hospital to hospital and finally the morgue only to find his world had collapsed—Smadar was one of the five young Israeli casualties that fateful day. During shiva (the Jewish seven days of mourning) he was left with numerous questions: What should I do with this anger? Should I retaliate? How can I stop others from feeling my pain? A religious Jew by the name of Yitzhak Frankenthal who knew Rami came to sit shiva with him and told him about this group, the Parents Circle. This religious Jew had had his son kidnapped by Hamas in 1994, so he too had faced the questions Rami had. The religious Jew invited him to the Parents Circle conference. Rami attended hesitant because after his pain he had no hope for peace. As he stood watching at the conference he saw famous Israelis that he respected walk in the door. Then he watched the Palestinian families crying and at the age of forty-seven he met a Palestinian for the first time as a human being. He realized their pain was his pain, and from that moment forward he would work with them to forge path for peace. Rami continues his work in the Parents Circle because he feels that only through dialogue can the cycle of blood be ended. Rami says: “We are not doomed—we can break once and for all this endless cycle, there is only one way to do it by talking to one another.” Rami’s work has left him listening and fighting to stop the pain of others and this is how he met his “brother”—a Palestinian man named Ali.

For us this was the second time we were meeting a Palestinian in a political setting (the other time was in the town of Silwan, site of the ancient City of David, where some of the local Arabs are waging a protest against the archaeological explorations under their homes). However, this time, we had the opportunity to hear a Palestinian and an Israeli speaking side-by-side.We came interested in their stories and as soon as these two men sat down next to one another and called each other brother we knew we would learn a positive message. Ali grew up in the Occupied Territories in a village outside Hebron with a mother who was actively involved in the PLO. Already as a teenager he was angered at being a refugee within the Territories and the problems encountered by his people. He felt that in his youth he was taught to hate because of his economic status. He joined the PLO during the First Intifada and threw rocks at Israeli forces. Also during this time he was arrested during the riots and by the age of 15 Ali was already in jail. He was imprisoned for being a Fatah activist (Fatah is the biggest component within the PLO). After he got out of prison a few months later he found himself higher up in the PLO, but then he and his mother were arrested again. This time he was in jail for four years. During his time in prison, in 1993, he and other prisoners went on a hunger strike for seventeen days. His personal motivation was to be allowed to see his mother, and eventually his demand was met, confirming his belief in the efficacy of non-violent protest in the manner of Mohandas Ghandi. After this strike worked he had a revelation: non violent means equal non violent ends. He was excited by the prospects of the 1992 Oslo accords, but as peace continued to fall apart so did his world. While living in Jericho he was shot in the knee by an Israeli settler. To this day Ali still carries with him twelve pieces of that bullet as a reminder of the price he has had to pay. However, the bullet in the knee wasn’t nearly as heart wrenching as the news that his brother—an innocent civilian bystander—had been shot point blank in the head by an Israeli. Ali has lost land, freedom, rights and finally a older brother who had been everything for him. At this point in his life he attempted to close himself off to the world he had fought for so long and had lost so much to. But he realized that was useless because he was always going to be part of the conflict: there were soldiers in his neighborhoods and tanks in his town and he knew he needed to be part of the solution. After his brother’s death his mother invited someone from the Parents Circle into his house. For the first time in his life he realized the Israeli Jew before him was no different than him, both were hurting and longing for peace. It is then that he joined the Parents Circle in order to help kids from becoming the angry kid he was. If the youth on both sides understand that the killing of anyone is a crime then maybe peace can be achieved. Ali has traveled to twenty-five different countries preaching that in order for things to change people need a reason to live for, not a reason to die for and that dialogue is the first way to start the change.

After Ali and Rami presented their stories, we had an opportunity to ask them a few questions. Most of our questions centered around whether they feel they have made progress and what the problems the conflict faces today. The Parent Circle is sure they have made progress—people are talking and politicians are listening. Rami and Ali have stories of the politicians they have spoken to who want peace but are not making it happen. However, according to them, the best way for people to work towards peace is to know the problems and the issues. According to them, it’s not about being pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, it’s about being pro-Humanity, because we all have blood on our hands.

In the beginning of this report I said that a lot of us came to this meeting with our own notions of what was going on. But something Rami said signified the problems with peace: “Americans don’t really know what’s going on, nor do they get the facts. Because of this they find themselves in our own little bubbles and isolated from the reality faced by those living in the rest of the world.” That was the second time we’d heard that comment in one day. Typically at hearing such a comment, most Americans would be offended, but I’m pretty sure none of us were. Part of living here is accepting that our lack of knowledge contributes to the problem. Luckily we have brave brothers like Rami and Ali to give us more facts about the issues that we’ll face in our futures.

Jerusalem: Capital of the State (Brittany Fox)

Tour: Jerusalem: Capital of the State of Israel

The Face of the Nation

Israel is a relatively new nation. Since its establishment in 1948 the nation has had to establish the “Face of the Nation.” During this tour we considered how both the City of Jerusalem and National Hill reflect the establishment of the new state through architecture and government structure.

THE KNESSET – Israeli parliament

The Knesset was established with 120 members of parliament, corresponding to the number of members of the Sanhedrin, the supreme political, religious, and judicial body in Palestine during the Roman period, both before and after the destruction of the Second Temple. Israel has never had a constitution but the Declaration of Independence has served as the foundation of a “Jewish Democratic State.” Prior to the construction of the current building the Knesset met in the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem, the Kessem Cinema building in Tel Aviv and the Froumine building in Jerusalem. The government was broke after the War of Independence, but they realized the need to create government buildings that would reflect the new nation. In 1956 the government took bids for the creation of a new Knesset building on a site in the west Jerusalem district that prior to 1948 was known as Sheikh Badr, but most architects, knowing full well the financial situation of the government did not place bids. The winning architect created a design in a style that reflects the architecture of the Greek Parthenon. In 1957 James A. de Rothschild donated all of the money to construct the building. The building was built on the edge of the cliff and there was an argument as to whether the entrance should be below the building in order to “ascend” as one did to the Temple in ancient times, or if it should be entered on the same level to show that all are citizens are equal before the law. Due to the fact that during this period (i.e., prior to the 1967 Six Day War) Jordan controlled territory within shooting range of the site, security was the ultimate determinant and so it was decided to enter from an even plane. The cornerstone was laid in 1958, but the building was not formally dedicated until 1966. Since that time three wings have been added to the original structure. For more information about the architecture, see the articles at Outside of the building there is a fence in memory of the Holocaust and a menorah (candelabrum) that was created by a Holocaust survivor as a gift from the British government. The menorah has been the emblem of the Jewish nation since time immemorial (much longer than the so-called "Star of David"), and this specific menorah has many pictures and texts that depict the history of the country. The Menorah tells the story of the destruction of the Temple, the formation of the Kibbutz movement, the Holocaust, the resurrection of the dead, Hannah's morning over the death of her seven sons, the 10 Commandments, Moses' victory over Amalek, David and Goliath, Immigration to Israel, the coming of the Messiah, the Lion and the Lamb living together in peace, Jeremiah weeping over the destroyed Temple, and a variety of other stories and sayings including the Shema--the watchword of the Jewish faith ("Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One"). For more information, see and

THE SUPREME COURT OF LAW

The Knesset is directly in line with the Supreme Court of Law and the Prime Minister's office which is currently being constructed. The original Supreme Court building was rented from the Russian Compound, but a new location was sought that would be in a more central and accessible location. Lord Rothschild donated the money for the building under the conditions that the amount of money donated would not be published and that the materials all be produced locally. In the construction of the building the architects attempted to preserve history and religion by using biblical history as much as possible. The interior was made to look like the walls of Jerusalem because in the biblical period the judges would sit at the city gates. The stairs ascending to the courtrooms are created in the same pattern as those that lead to the Temple Mount. The architecture attempted to use as much natural light as possible, to represent transparency and righteousness.

Due to the coalition system of representative government, the Supreme Court is currently the strongest and most independent branch of Israeli government. The architecture of the building is one that emphasizes the focus on the rights of the individual. As you enter the courtyard the path is wide to represent the society as a whole, but as you near the doorway the path narrows so that you are constrained to enter the building as an individual. The court system of Israel is split into 3 levels. The first division is the Shalom (peace) court that settles low domestic affairs. The District court is the second level. The Supreme Court is split into two divisions: the High Court of Justice, and the High Court of Appeal. In the Supreme Court an individual has the ability to hold the government accountable for its actions in a system where both sides of the bench are on equal standing. The Supreme Court is composed of 13 judges that are appointed by a committee made up of 3 judges, 3 politicians, and 2 attorneys. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knesset and http://www.knesset.gov.il/main/eng/home.asp

Men in Black (Emily Forrest)

Men in Black: The Hareidim (Ultra-Orthodox) Community
15 July 2008
Tour guide: Nir Ortal
Report submitted by Emily Forrest

Our tour began with a walk around the Haredi community. Haredi is derived from the Hebrew word for fear or anxiety, and in this context, one who trembles in awe of God. Israel is home to the largest concentration of Haredi Jews in the world, and they number some 600,000-800,000 out of a total Jewish Israeli population of 5.4 million. In Jerusalem their relative presence is even more pronounced and they comprise a third of the city's population. We were able to observe people walking the streets and interacting with one another. The average family size is 10 or more children. This high number can be attributed to tradition but also to the Israeli government's child allowance. This child allowance resembles a welfare system and families receive according to the amount of children they have. Within the Haredi society women and men are separated on the streets and also in synagogue to limit distraction from the Torah and also physical temptations. Not only are women and men separated in social situations but also in schools, receiving different types of education. Men are educated with the purpose of studying the Torah and strictly following Jewish law (the halakhah). While men beginning at the age of 13-18 are in the yeshivot (singular: yeshiva—an institute for advanced study of Jewish tradition), women may be educated in different subjects such as literature, math, and science. The need for differing educations is embedded in the expectations of males and females later in life.

A male role in Haredi society is to focus solely on studying the Torah. After marriage, typically the result of a shidukh (match), many continue their studies in an institution know as the kolel. Women play the role as breadwinners, going to work and also taking care of the household duties, including the children.The call to dress in modest clothing was very apparent walking around in the community. All women who were married had their hair covered and did not expose any skin other than their faces. Our tour guide mentioned some women even shave their heads in order to remain as modest as possible.

Men also were dressed extremely modestly, wearing tzitizt (ritual knotted fringes), black jackets and pants, and black hats. We also learned it was tradition that after a first son is born, husbands begin growing out their beards. Our tour guide mentioned this tradition showed the importance of a male child and carrying on the family name. Other customs such as men and women walking separately, having separate institutions, and having their own taxi services became apparent just from walking around the community.

On Shabbat the clothing changes. Both men and women change into their more fancy attire. Men of different sects of the Haredim will put on their gold threaded jackets instead of wearing their regular black. Others will change out of their everyday hat into something more special. It is custom that the wife’s family presents the husband with a special Shabbat hat, running somewhere between $600-$1500.

As mentioned, yeshiva, where boys go to school for the Torah, only teaches the religious curriculum. Girls attend schools that educate them on subjects such as math, science, and literature. This ideal of teaching girls a wide array of studies is to prepare them from the “working world.” The idea of a “working world” is still being debated within the Ultra-Orthodox community because of the risk of exposure to the perceived excesses of modern culture. Our tour guide mentioned the debate over modesty is constantly being discussed. In some communities the Internet is seen as a tool to help advance Judaism and education, while other rabbis see the Internet as tools that expose the public to immodest ways of the world. Some Haredi communities allow Internet and television; while others don’t believe either have any educational value.

We walked past the Geula Taxi station. This taxi service respects Jewish law and is seen as a way to restrict the amount of contact Haredim have with the outside world. Taxicabs from the Haredi society only play religious music, news or rabbinic sermons, allowing the people to stay focused on God without being distracted. Other institutions are also kept separate for the Haredim, such as the court systems. People are tried according to Jewish law rather than Israeli laws. The crime rate within Haredi communities is extremely low given the intensity of the court systems. This idea of separate institutions enables the Haredim to continue to exist within their bubble.

The distinct customs according to which the Haredim live go back over 200 years, giving the community a rich sense of where they came from. The different types of jackets and hats worn by the men represent the different Rabbi’s (or "courts"—as in the sense of royal court) the family follows as their leader led by a rabbi referred to in the Ashkenazi Yiddish pronunciation as "rebbe." Other traditions followed by the Haredim include speaking in Yiddish. The community believes Hebrew is a sacred religious language that should not be used in everyday context. This is why when Eliezer Ben Yehudah was not highly regarded within the ultra-orthodox community because of his efforts to revive Hebrew as a spoken language. Often Hebrew isn’t even taught in Haredi schools. This again, continues the separation of Haredim and other people of Israel.

Concluding our journey we went to the grave of the Gur rebbe, an extremely influential rabbi within Haredi society—some even claim he was the messiah. Men and women were separated in order to enter the synagogue and visit the grave. This separation within religious places is in order for people to concentrate more on God and their relationship with Him, rather than on their relationships with others of the opposite sex. This trip within the Haredi society opened a lot of people’s eyes to a different way of life and also created more questions. We received answers to why people dress in specific ways, but questions remained as to whether if the restrictions on women were for religious reasons of if they were holding women back.

For more information on the Haredim, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism

Linda Gradstein—NPR Correspondent (Elina Fonarev)

Israel in the World Press: A Conversation with NPR Correspondent Linda Gradstein
14 July 2008
Report submitted by Elina Fonarev

Ms. Gradstein prefaced her remarks with a request that they not be publicized outside of the context of the aims of our course and that they not appear in the public media. She then proceeded to deliver a talk on the prominence of Israel in the world press. According to her, Israel gets a lot of world press for four reasons. First, Israel is the largest foreign aid recipient per year at $3.5 billion. (What isn’t often cited is that most of the military aid must go to the purchase of American weaponry.) The next largest recipient happens to be Egypt, but it receives must less coverage than Israel. The second reason is that the Jewish community is prominent within the media. Many media stations are either owned or headed by Jews. Third, Evangelical Christians are curious about Israel. The fourth reason is that Israel is an easy place to work for the media. Many networks have bases stationed in Israel because it is westernized and thus the communication is better. All this leads to Israel being “over-covered” by the media. As an example of the distortion, despite the fact that Israel is only the size of New Jersey with a population of 7 million, Ms. Gradstein cited a survey conducted in China in which the respondents were asked about Israel’s size, based on its prominence in the media, many responded that Israel was three times as big as China. She also gave the example that on the day of the recent attack on Jaffa Road, in which three Israeli Jews were killed by a Palestinian skip-loader operator, the event was on the front page of all world newspapers. That same day some 80 Somalis were killed, but in the New York Times, for example, this item was buried on p. 6 . (She mentioned racism as one of the causes for lack of interest in stories about Africa.)

A Q & A session followed:

Question: What is the Israeli feeling about Evangelical support?

Answer: The right wing is happy about the Evangelical support because the Evangelical Christians are pouring a lot of money into Israel, and in their view, with the hostility Israel often faces on the world stage, it needs whatever friends it can get. The center and left wings are more ambivalent about this support given many of the Evangelists’ hard line on not ceding any of the biblical Land of Israel in exchange for peace or in order to avoid control over a population that doesn’t want Israel to exist as a Jewish state. However, despite these concerns, and the fact that the ultimate motivation behind the Evangelicals' support is to speed the End of Days and the ultimate conversion of all Jews to Christianity, most Israelis continues to welcome this financial and moral support.

Question: Is the coverage of Israel too critical?

Answer: When a country is over-covered like Israel, some of the coverage will be critical.

Question: How do you define your style of journalism?

Answer: Ms. Gradstein does not believe in so-called “balance,” in which journalists feel a need when covering a story to always present the view of the other side. In her view, this is a rather simplistic and often distorting approach. She states that she uses factual language and tries to avoid inflammatory language in her reporting. She says that she and NPR have often been accused of being anti-Israel; however, the Israeli press is much more critical of its own government and its policies. For example, the Israeli media has been especially critical of Prime Minister Olmert, who is facing many corruption scandals. Almost all Israeli news is now readily and immediately available in English translation on the web and in some cases in print and this should temper such claims of NPR's anti-Israel bias.

Question: Is the coverage of Israel changing?

Answer: Coverage of Israel is changing for three major reasons. First, most media outlets can handle only up to one or two ongoing stories at a time. Over the past few years these stories have been coming mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan. Second, a relatively quiet situation is not interesting. Since Israel is in an in-between situation where there is no war and yet no peace it is not exciting to the general public. Lastly, many fewer people are reading newspapers everyday anymore. This has led many newspapers to close their Middle East bureaus, and receive wires from larger newspapers such as the New York Times, AP, or Reuters, etc. Many outlets have tried to cut down on costs recently as well. This leads to a reduction in journalists; however, there are still about 400 foreign correspondents in Israel—a huge number, and these journalists still have to justify their existence.

Question: What kind of stories have you been doing recently?

Answer: Ms. Gradstein has lately been trying to do more human-interest pieces. She is no longer just doing the daily news (what the profession calls “bang-bang items”), as she believes that human interest pieces are inherently more probing and revealing and ultimately have greater impact. She gave examples of recent pieces on amazing advances in solar energy in Israel. She expressed some frustration with the delay that sometimes occurs in getting such pieces aired.

Question: How do you feel about coverage of the recent attack carried out on Jaffa Road, where a Palestinian worker ran amok with the skip loader he was operating, running over cars and pedestrians and flipping a public bus, and killing 3 and injuring tens of others?

Answer: Ms. Gradstein does not believe that what happened on Jaffa Rd. was a terrorist attack, but the act of an unstable person who happened to be a Palestinian. She says that just because a person happens to be Palestinian does not mean that he is a terrorist and that she is very careful in trying to use neutral language in her pieces (e.g., she avoids terms such as "terrorist" and "freedom fighter" and uses instead "gunman" or "suicide bomber"). She mentioned that for days after the attack there was a police presence at Sur Baher (the Arab village on the outskirts of Jerusalem where the attacker lived), not to investigate or check Palestinians, but to prevent possible reprisal attacks by Jews.

Question: Do you think that even identifying the man who carried out this act as a Palestinian is problematic and incendiary?

The question is somewhat moot as by the time Ms. Gradstein’s piece aired this fact had been reported everywhere, but she added that the situation here is different than in the States, where we for the most part relate to individuals who commit acts of violence as acting primarily on their own behalf and not as representatives of some national or ethnic group. This is not the case in Israel. Moreover, given the background of the conflict and the fact that the reaction in Israel and throughout the world to the attack was in large part determined by the man’s nationality, she felt this fact was deserving of mention.


Question: How do you feel about the Israeli Army’s interaction with the media?

Answer: Linda says that she thinks that the Israeli army is too slow in their response to requests for information by the media. Most of the time, the media has to report that the army is still investigating in order to avoid an unfavorable situation.

Question: What are some social problems within the Jewish Israeli population?

Answer: The rabbinic laws that govern Jewish Israeli society pose a problem to Israel. First there is the issue of immigration. A person is entitled to Israeli citizenship if they have at least one Jewish grandparent. However, to be considered Jewish according to the halakha (Jewish law) he must have a Jewish mother or convert under the auspices of the Orthodox rabbinate in order to be considered Jewish. It is important to be considered Jewish because one cannot get married to a Jew within the State of Israel unless both parties are Jewish. Civil marriages are not allowed in Israel, only orthodox marriages are permitted. If a woman wants a divorce from her husband, the husband must give her the divorce. If he chooses not to give her the divorce than she cannot get remarried, and many times the husband blackmails the woman by making her pay him to give her a divorce. These social issues occur today mostly due to the Rabbinic laws that govern today and which are shaped m have become ultra orthodox as opposed to modern orthodox that previously existed. The problem with the ultra orthodox being in charge is that they do not care to find solutions to many of the social problems in Israel. This has led to a growing gap between the rabbinic establishment and others living in Israel.

Another social problem that exists within the Jewish Israeli population has to do with schools. Once a parent chooses a school for their child they are obligated to stay with that type of community and learning environment. There are four different types of school that a parent can choose from: “mainstream” public, public religious, ultra-orthodox and Arab, and none give a diverse experience to the child or expose him to peers from other backgrounds.

Question: What is the current opinion on the possibility of peace?

Answer: There has been a change in both the Palestinians and the Jews. Both want peace according to Ms. Gradstein. The problem that exists is that both sides for good reason are skeptical of the leadership on the other side—in addition to distrusting their own leaders. She says that the only existential threat to Israel right now is Iran. She also states that there are rumors that the Israeli army has been training for an attack and that the US has given it a so-called “amber light” for such an operation.

Question: How does the younger generation feel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Answer: Palestinians and Israelis have had little contact in the recent generations. She says that not knowing causes fear and thus causes each side to demonize the other. However, she does believe that many among the younger generations are ready to settle the conflict.

Question: Are there any solutions to Jerusalem?

Answer: There are many solutions offered to the problem between the Palestinians and the Jews in Jerusalem. In her opinion, the bigger problem that must be faced is the Palestinian refugees. The creation of the Palestinian refugee problem in the course of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War is a complicated issue, but it is clear that while many fled of their own accord, the Israeli forces were also responsible for evicting many Palestinians from their homes. While at the time, in the area some 700,000 out of total 850,000 left the area that Israel would control after the war, there are now over 4 million refugees to whom the Palestinians want Israel to grant the right of return. However, across the Jewish Israeli political spectrum there is a consensus that this is simply untenable and that any large-scale return would undermine Israel’s existence as a Jewish State. Moreover, most of the villages that the Palestinians fled or were forced out of do not even exist anymore. If Israel agreed to recognize the Palestinian refugees than it would have to open up its borders to all of them. Israel will never do this, and so it refuses to compromise with the Palestinians in this respect and there is similar intransigence on the Palestinian side.

Tower of David Museum (Roman Krivochenitser)

Tower of David Museum

13 July 2008, tour leader Barak Zemer
Report submitted by Roman Krivochenitser

We began our journey through the Tower of David Museum by talking about the Return to Zion that took place under the Persian rule a few short decades after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. In 526 BCE, Nehemiah and the Jews returned to Jerusalem to reconstruct a the Temple on the site of the First Temple on the Temple Mount, thus commencing the era of the Second Temple. Construction begins in 535 BCE and the Temple is dedicated in 515 BCE. Five centuries later, King Herod (“the Builder”) (73–4 BCE) greatly expands the Temple. (Thus, it is more accurate perhaps to speak of two Second Temples. Herod's popularity within the Jewish population had begun to wane and the construction of the “most beautiful structure in the world” was to help him save face with his people. The Herodian temple compound consisted of a massive vaulted platform with an area equal to twenty-seven American football fields. This Temple is destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE in the wake of the Jewish revolt against their rule. The Roman Caesar who conquered Jerusalem, Titus, issued a coin bearing the words “Iudaea Capta,” “Jerusalem is Captured” to let it be known that the Romans are now in power. Angering the Jews further, the Roman Legion put their symbol, the boar, on top of Temple Mount. This systematic repression of the Jewish population and the calculated denigration of their religion caused wide outrage within the Jewish community, which led to what became known as the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-135 CE). The Romans were once again able to quell the revolt, killing thousands of Jews. They destroyed the last Jewish independent Jewish city, Beitar, in 135 CE on Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av. According to tradition, this is same day that both of the Jewish temples were also destroyed.

The early Romans were pagan until 324 CE when Constantine decided to convert to Christianity and make Christianity the official faith of the empire. This change was largely inspired by his mother, Helena, who came to Jerusalem to seek out the path of Jesus and had a series of visions that told her where significant events of Jesus' life and Passion had occured. She found the Holy Cross upon which Jesus was crucified on and erected the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion. Constantine also moved the capital of the empire east from Rome to Byzantium (later known as Constantinople and now Istanbul). Thus commenced the time period known as the Byzantine Era. According to the last words of Jesus, Temple Mount was not to be rebuilt and it was left in ruins, converted into a garbage dump by the Christians. The only day that Jews could visit there was on Tisha B’Av, the day the holy Temple was destroyed, as a symbol of their humiliation and God's disfavor.

During the sixth and seventh centuries, the Byzantine Empire was engaged in clashes with the other superpower of the time, the Persians--to the diminishment of both. Thus weakened, they were easy prey for the raiding Muslim conquerers exploding out of the Arabian Peninsula beginning in the fourth decade of the seventh century and conquering in the space of a few decades the entire Middle East, North Africa, Spain and the Balkans.

According to the Qur'an, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina because the rock upon which the Dome of the Rock sits (the same rock upon which according to Jewish tradition Abram was commanded to sacrifice Isaac and upon which stood both the First and Second Temples) is where Mohammed ascended to the heavens, and tradition maintains that an indentation on the rock is the footprint of the Prophet. Similarly, the Qur'an mentions a "night journey" in which Allah took his servant (Muhammad) "from the holiest mosque (Mecca) to furthest.” Muslim interpreters held that the reference was to Jerusalem. Indeed, initially, attempting to establish his claim as a continuation of the revealed religions of Judaism (and Christianity) Muhammad established Jerusalem as the first qibla, direction of prayer for Muslims. It was only later when his mission to the Jews was largely rejected that he changed the direction of prayer to Mecca. In comparison to the position of Jews under Christianity, Jews fared much better under Islam, and were allowed to return to Jerusalem and worship at the Western Wall and the Mount of Olives.

At the end of the eleventh century, the Pope announces the Crusades to liberate Jerusalem from the heathens (Jews and Muslims) and retake Jerusalem for Christianity. The Crusaders go on a rampage, killing many thousands of Jews on their path through Europe to the and Muslims in their path to take over the city. However, they do not destroy the Dome of the Rock or the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Instead, they convert the structures into Christian churches, renaming the Dome of the Rock "Templum Domini" and the Al Aqsa mosque "Templum Solomani" (mistakenly identifying it with the site of Solomon's Temple).

In the 1287 the great Muslim leader Saladin defeated the Crusaders at the decisive battle at the Horns of Hittin and drove the last Crusaders out of Jerusalem in the name of Islam. This time period became known as the Mamluke Era. The Mamlukes were slave soldiers, kidnapped by Muslim leaders from Mongolia and raised from childhood as warrors. Eventually they seized power and ruled over the empire. In the early 16th century they were defeated by the Ottoman Turks, continuing Muslim domination of the holy city. Much of the city wall we oberve today was by the Turks.

Europeans began to enter the scene as the Ottoman Empire began to decline. In 1869, the Austro-Hungarian emperor, Franz Josef II, came to Jerusalem and built the first road to the city. A short time later in 1898, the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, came to the city and the part of the wall adjacent to the Jaffa Gate was taken down so his carriages could enter Jerusalem. The same year train tracks were first laid in Jerusalem, connecting it to the port city of Jaffa. This European infiltration went hand in hand with the decline and eventual collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1917 in the wake of World War I. At this time, the empire was carved up among France and England, with the latter being assigned a Mandate over Palestine (including the territory of today's Kingdom of Jordan) by the League of Nations. . At the beginning of the Mandate in 1918, Jerusalem’s population was mostly Arab. Although the British tried to restrict immigration, Zionism was quickly picking up steam and near the end of the Mandate the population was 50% Jews and 50% Arabs. The British were increasing caught in the conflict and turned over responsibility for resolution of the conflict to the UN. In 1947 the UN passed a partition plan calling for the establishment of a Jewish and Arab state in the area west of the Jordan River. The Jewish community in Palestine accepted the terms of the plan, but the Arabs rejected it and began to attack Jewish forces. With the pullout of the British, David Ben-Gurion declared the independence of Israel on May 15, 1948 and the new state was immediately attacked by five invading Arab armies. Our tour of the Tower of David Museum concluded with the British Mandate Period. We did not have the opportunity to learn about the development of the modern state of Israel yet. However, we did see the changes that Jerusalem had gone through over the centuries and the important hold the city has on the adherents of the three Abrahamic faiths.

Jewish Exodus Out from the Old City and the Period of the British Mandate (Avram Finerman)

Jewish Exodus Out from the Old City and the Period of the British Mandate

13 July 2008, tour leader Barak Zemer
Report submitted by Avram Finerman

~Turkish Period and Mishkenot
Barak started by informing us that during the Turkish period the old city was in horrible condition. Since this location is very holy to Jews, some pious individuals overcame the difficulties, and went on religious pilgrimages and immigrated to be buried on the Mt. of Olives. At the same time the Ottoman Empire was weakening and the British and other Western powers started to gain power in the area, which allowed the Christians to make compounds outside the city walls primarily for religious pilgrims. These events also led up to founding of the first Jewish community outside the city walls in 1860. This community was named Mishkenot She'ananim, meaning safe dwelling. The community had a locked iron gate and a large stone wall for protection of the new community. All of the windows face the Old City to make it the focus.
The philanthropist, Moses Montefiore, donated all the money to build this gated community. The reason he did this was to have someone to remember him and mourn his death because he had no heirs. He ensured this place would be extremely sanitary and tight security and he put up regulations to ensure that it would be more desirable that the old city. In the end, twelve of the families were Ashkenazi and twelve Sephardim to ensure no biases but at first, it was hard to convince them, until there was a huge famine in the Old City and they knew this would be much more comfortable. Sir Montefiore was the manger of the society and decided to bring most of the construction material from England. He wanted a "New Jew" who would work in industry, so he brought a windmill, but it broke quite often and took a long time to fix which was a big problem. Now a carriage Sir Montefiore used in Europe serves as a memorial for him. Later the British did not like that the Jews could spy from the windmill so they blew the top off it. (Trivia note: It was here that our tour guide Barack proposed to his wife.)

* British
When Jerusalem was conquered from the Ottomans in December 1917, Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister, sent General Allenby a message: "I want Jerusalem as a Christmas present for the British people." The Ottoman Empire’s mayor of the Jerusalem area had an order to step down and he decided to have a ceremony handing over the city of Jerusalem to the Christian world. This Ottoman Empire really struggled on whom to give the ceremony to and went to five people until finally reaching the cornel of the British because everyone else said they were not official enough. The Jews of Jerusalem celebrated as well when Allenby walked through the Jaffa Gate into the Old City because of the British promise of a Jewish State under the terms of the Balfour Declaration. The day was seen as especially propitious as because it was the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday celebrating independence from the Seleucid Greeks. At the beginning of the British Mandate, Balfour participated in the dedication of the Hebrew University. At this time, a British officer with the surname "French" was stationed on a hill near Mt. Scopus, which until this day is referred to as French Hill. (The Hebrew name for the hill is actually a misnomer as it translates "The French Hill.")

Some interesting facts:
• The British declared Jerusalem as their capital during the Mandate.
• The British found themselves facing a large wave Jewish immigration due to growing European anti-Semitism and the promise of a Jewish homeland.
• Private Harry Potter of the British is buried in the British military cemetery atop Mt. Scopus which we walk by everyday on our way to campus.
• Mishkenot She'ananim is built atop a Second Temple burial ground.

* King David Hotel
The Mandate given to Britain included the areas both to the west and east of the Jordan River (Cis- and Transjordan, respectively. In order to reward the Hashemite clan of Arabia for their support during the First World War, the British decide to carve Jordan from part of their Mandate. The hotel's construction was financed by wealthy Cairene Jews and opened in 1931. This was the period of Arab riots protesting Jewish immigration that resulted in British White Papers limiting Jewish immigration. From 1936 to 1939, a decline in tourism allowed the British to rent the southern wing of the hotel for administrative and military headquarters. In 1946, angered by the restrictions on immigration and lack of movement on British departure from Palestine, the Irgun underground, after issuing a warning the British ignored, bombed the hotel and 91 people died—both soldiers and civilians (some of who were Jewish). Since the foundation of the State, nearly all visiting dignitaries stay at this hotel (including U.S. presidents and other celebrities). With the rich history of this building, Israel has ensured the preservation of the building's original appearance. For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel

*YMCA International Building
This YMCA, located across King David Street from the King David Hotel, opened in 1933 and set out to be an oasis of tolerance for members of the three monotheistic religions. The building was designed by Arthur Loomis Harmon, a partner of the same architectural firm that created New York’s Empire State Building in 1931. He included in the design religious symbolism: thus, for example, the twelve windows in the auditorium's dome to symbolize the number of the Israelite tribes, of Jesus' disciples, and of the original followers of Muhammad. The building aimed to connect to the past by having the foundation of the building replicate the ancient Herodian stones of the Old City. The purpose of this building was ultimately to unite the Jews and Arabs under their Mandate. Along with this, some Christians hoped by bringing back the Jews the second coming of Jesus would occur. For more information, see:
http://www.jerusalemymca.org/ENG/Building/Building.html
http://www.jerusalemymca.org/ENG/History/History.html

* Palace Hotel
The British allowed Jews and Arabs to build but the Palace Hotel was the only successful place the Arabs built. After many years of deterioration, the question was the balance of preservation vs. rebuilding of the hotel. It was decided to leave the outside but tear down the inside. A quote on the original outside says we should build as they have. The hotel took only one year to build, but the Arab uprising prevented it to succeed and just like the King David Hotel, it become a British military compound and completely rented out. During the occupation of the Palace Hotel, the British cared less about the Arab-Jewish conflict and instead only cared about their personal safety. During the 1930’s during upware- partition plan for the Jews and Arabs the British used this Hotel.

* Ben Yehuda Area during the Turkish Period
Rabbi Mikhala Sheva decided to build a settlement outside the city wall and bought the land with seven families and they registered it with the secretary. Then they raised enough money to build one house to start and had a raffle to see who would live in it. The Rabbi continued his program in 11 areas and died very accomplished yet very poor. This community had streets with a width large enough for a donkey with to sacks to pass through.

* General Post Office
During the Mandate period, a regular and efficient postal service was organized. In the Central Post Office on Jaffa Street, a mural depicts heavenly Jerusalem and the return of the Jews from Babylon to Zion. Then it shows families of farmers rebuilding the city. In the building, the British decided to use the languages of Hebrew, Arabic, and English, which became the official languages of Israel. During this time, the British also made a law that all buildings must have Jerusalem stone on the outside. In addition, they banned new buildings adjacent to the Old City in order to preserve its ambience. Finally, the city center became centered upon the Postal Service.

*Break for Lunch* at Kikar Safra (site of Jerusalem City Hall)

*Women’s Hostel – Prison during the British Mandate
The British took over the Russian Compound and converted the former women's hostel into a prison. This prison at first was just for thieves, but then they used it for the political opposition, especially for members of the Jewish underground. The Jews felt they needed to care for themselves so that is what made them create the Jewish Underground “Defense Haganah,” The British made it illegal to possess or use weapons, so if anyone was caught, they could face death or a life sentence. The main Jewish underground organization, the Haganah ("defense") was very popular among the Jews of Palestine and most chose to affiliate with it. In addition to the Haganah, there was two other Jewish underground groups--Lehi and the Etzel—that were deemed terrorist groups by the British. These groups opposed each other, reflecting the division within the Jewish community as to how to move toward statehood. Barak described how one would need to go through a series of three checkpoints in order to reach the prison. However, within the prison the prisoner’s main concern was their friends, family, and the status of their underground. Within the cells, the prisoners obtained a mat to sleep on, slippers and a blanket and nothing more, except for one inmate who received a bed and mattress because he kept order in the cell. Then we learned that the lowest member of the cell slept by the bucket used for human waste. The goal of many of the underground prisoners was to escape, so they continuously thought of escape methods to go back on duty.
Special treatment was granted to prisoners convicted of lesser crimes and these were housed in a cell adjacent to the bakery oven—this was desirable because the winters were freezing and there was no other source of heat. These prisoners also got the privilege of more outdoor time. The Revisionist leader, Ze'ev Jabotinsky, was among those arrested for possession of weapons. Many of the other Zionist leaders were arrested as well, which made the Zionist leaders nervous upon how the underground would do without them. With the Arabs riots in 1939, immigration became extrememly limited for Jews who wanted to leave Europe because of Hitler’s rise to power. Initially, Germany sought to solve its Jewish "problem" by allowing its Jews to emigrate; they were able to score a large propoganda victory and prepare the way for the Final Solution when no country would accept them. After that, Jews started illegal immigration into Palestine. The reaction of the new Yishuv was to destroy the infrastructure of the British to fight against the White Papers that limited immigration.
Some prisoners escaped by building tunnels with extreme caution and with the help of Jewish guards. We were told a story about a rabbi named Aryeh Levine would always come to be with the prisoner on Shabbat always and how beloved he was both by religious and secular prisoners. The Rabbi would memorize prisoners' messages to convey to their families because the prisoners could only write letters once a month. This Rabbi was even able to convince the British to build a kosher kitchen.

Some other interesting facts about the prison:
• Poor sanitation so horrible that mice ran around and mousetraps were set up nearly everywhere.
• Most of the prisoners only got a half hour of time outside in the yard. During one of the play times in 1947, there was an Arab- Jewish riot within the prison and that forced the British to separate Jews and Arabs.
• Two Jewish prisoners, Me'ir Feinsten and Moshe Barazani, facing execution, blow themselves up with a grenade smuggled into the prison within an orange. Menahem Begin was so moved by their action that he had himself buried next to them on the Mount of Olives.

Ottoman Decline and European Infiltration (Kallie Eisenberger)

Ottoman Decline and European Infiltration
8 July 2008, tour leader Barak Zemer
Report submitted by Kallie Eisenberger

Today we continued through time to the four-century period of Turkish rule in Jerusalem, which began in the 16th century and lasted up until the end of the First World War. We began the tour by noting that the majority of the visible Old City walls are relatively new for Jerusalem, about 450 years old, and were built by the Turks. We learned that throughout this entire time period Jerusalem was relatively unimportant and was not even the capital. We were left wondering why then did Suleiman the Magnificent, the great Ottoman builder, order the construction of the wall?

One tale describes how every night Suleiman went to sleep while his wife sang to him. One night, however, she had a sore throat and couldn’t sing for him and on this night he had a nightmare. The king dreamt he was in a field with four starved lions and when he appeared, the lions realized they finally had food. He had this dream four times a night for four nights in a row. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and decided to consult medical professionals—Muslim clergy, but no one could cure his nightmares. At last, he went to a Jewish rabbi and asked for help. The rabbi explained that the lion is Judah (the symbol of that tribe and later the kingdom of Judah) and, essentially, the people of Jerusalem, who are also starving. The king says that he will give them food, but the rabbi answers that this is not enough and that he must do something else for them. In order to protect the Jews, Suleiman rebuilds the Old City walls, and decorates one of the gates with four lions (the Lion Gate, which we viewed and entered through on our tour the previous day). Here again the theme of myth versus reality comes into play. While certainly not everything in this story can be true, there is some historical significance here as well. For instance, we are able to understand that not only was this a hard time for the Jewish people in terms of food, but also in regards to security.

In order to see the types of people living in Jerusalem during these four hundred years, we must take a step back and examine the consequences of a historical event in 1492, the expulsion of all the Jews of Spain by its Christian rulers. These Jews, known as the Sephardic Jews (from the Hebrew word for Spain) were welcomed by the Ottomans into their empire because of their business prowess, their facility with languages, and their international mercantile connections. As the Turks controlled Palestine at the time, the Jews were allowed to once again travel and settle in Jerusalem. A monument of this time is the four Sephardic synagogues in the Old City, from which we learn a lot from merely examining the outside of the buildings. Their true identity was camouflaged so as not to elicit Muslim antagonism. For example, there were no marks to distinguish it as a synagogue and there is a hemispheric protrusion in the exterior wall pointing towards Mecca in imitation of the prayer niche in a mosque (the mihrab). Most significantly, the building stands below grade and is lower than the nearby mosque as one of the regulations at the time was that no Christian or Jewish place of worship could be taller than a mosque.

After making our way around to the other side of the synagogues, the Elijah the Prophet Synagogue, Barak related to us another piece of folklore. One day the community of Sephardic Jews was gathered for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, but there were only nine males present. According to the Jewish religion, there must be ten adult males present in order for communal prayer to take place. The congregation waits and waits and just before the final hour at which prayers must begin, an old man enters the synagogue and everyone prays. No one asks the man who he is but, because he is a stranger, they want to invite him home after services. The problem is that when they look around to invite him, he is already gone and they realized that his man must be the prophet Elijah, who had ascended to heaven and is also the harbinger of the messiah. Thus, they named the synagogue after Elijah and preserved the chair he sat it, which survived until the Jordanians destroyed much of the Jewish quarter and its synagogues after the fighting in 1948 when they took control of the Old City. From this story, despite its fantastic quality, we do understand some truths about this early period of Muslim rule. We know that, because this was such a small congregation and everyone knew their fellows, that there must have been few Jews in the area during this time.

A relatively large influx of Jewish immigrants came to Jerusalem during the time of Ottoman rule because of religious reasons and because the Turks opened the border, making it easier for Jews to travel. This immigration, sometimes of entire communities, resulted in a significant need for housing. Because the Arabs owned the land and because demand was increasing, the price for housing went up. For example, Jews from Holland and Denmark purchased land in order to create housing for their members. Later on in the nineteenth century, European Jewish philanthropists donated money to create welfare housing known as Batei ha-Mahaseh. This was to be the last housing built in the old Jewish quarter.

Next we visited the Tiferet Yisra’el (“Glory of Israel”) Synagogue, which we learned was built in the middle of the nineteenth century by the Ashkenazi, or European Jews, after the Sephardic community was already here. Again, the synagogue revealed to us through its architecture a significant decrease in Turkish power relative to European empires, as this synagogue would have been much taller than the mosques in Jerusalem.

We also visited another famous 19th-century synagogue, the so-called Hurva Synagogue, which is currently being reconstructed. This place was once a beautiful representation of Jewish existence, and yet its name means “The Ruin.” Why is this? During the 1700s the Ashkenazi Jews come to Jerusalem to get ready for the coming of the messiah and want to build a synagogue. In order to do so, they borrowed money from other European Jews and Muslims. Because of the poor living and sanitary conditions in Jerusalem, however, the Ashkenazim began to die very quickly and the donations stopped coming from Europe, meaning they were stuck with a debt to the Muslims. The Muslims are able to identify who is an Ashkenazi due to their distinctive clothing and would ask every Ashkenazi Jew they came across for the money. Finally, in 1721, the Arabs burnt down the provisional, wooden synagogue—hence the name “The Ruin.” Later, the Ashkenazim want to come back but are afraid that they will again be asked for the money they owe, so they change their style of dress to that of the Sephardic Jews, and this is the style of clothing still worn today. Rothschild eventually gave the donation to build a large stone structure on the same site but the name stuck. This synagogue was blown up by the Jordanians during the 1948 war. In 1967, Israel gained control of the Old City and initially left the destroyed structure with only a commemorative arch, but during the past few years the city has decided to rebuild the synagogue as it appeared in its heyday.

Our next stop was to the Courtyard of the Old Yishuv, an old Sephardic Jewish settlement museum with several different apartments from various time periods. Our first time period was from the 16th century, where the whole room was about the size of a dorm room. The families during this time were very large, possibly ten people or more, and they all slept in the same room at night, storing the mattresses behind a curtain during the day. There were twenty of us in the room, and we barely fit, so it was hard to imagine an actually family living there. The courtyard in the middle of the building seemed to be the only relief people had from their tight living quarters, but even this was congested. We skipped ahead to the period of British rule, which began in 1917. In this room we found a typewriter, a teapot, and china and realized that living conditions had greatly improved. How did this happen?

About 200 years into the rule of the Ottomans, the Turks empire declined in power, and living conditions in Jerusalem were horrible. As a result of this and the Napoleonic Wars, which signaled to some Christians the end of the world, missionaries came to Israel. Schools and hospitals sprang up around Jerusalem, as no European country wanted to be outdone by another. It was also around this time period that Protestants began to travel to Israel, believing that they the Jews should in fact come back to Israel, but that they should also be converted to hasten the Second Coming of Christ. This, of course, made the Jewish leadership and Jews in general very uncomfortable, as they did not want to be influenced by Christianity. Jews were warned by their coreligionists that if they stepped inside a missionary hospital and died there, they would not be allowed to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. This was a great threat considering that most 19th century Jewish immigrants came here to die and be buried. There were, however, positive Christian influences here that the Jews did not mind. For example, there was no mail or post office under the Turks until the Austrians established one, no road or railroad lines from the coast until the French constructed them. We visited the Anglican compound and Christ Church established by Anglican missionaries in the mid-nineteenth century.

Towards the end of the 19th century, another significant event occurred outside of Jerusalem that signaled the coming of a change from several different perspectives. In 1898, the Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was traveling to Jerusalem and a section of wall adjacent to the Jaffa Gate was knocked down to make way for his carriages. This reveals the prominence of Germany on the world stage. A second important fact about the Kaiser’s visit was Theodore Herzl’s anxiety to meet with him. As one of the founding fathers of Zionism, Herzl hoped a meeting with the Kaiser might advance Zionist aims. Although the two men did meet very briefly, Herzl did not receive any promise of support, and a photo was not taken of the encounter. Instead, we saw a very famous photomontage of the two men together (the Kaiser on horseback with Herzl before him on foot) created for Zionist propaganda purposes from two separate pictures of the men. Herzl’s readiness to meet the Kaiser further highlights the fact that at this time the Zionist leadership was desperate to receive support for their cause from the European empires.

Our tour ended with a visit to the Russian Compound, just outside the Old City walls. Once again, there were a great number of Christian religious pilgrims coming from Russia during the 19th century, and thus the Russian government decided to build a compound in order to house them during their pilgrimage. Another church was constructed in the area, similar in style to those seen in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia, highlighting again the importance of European influence at this time.