The Road to Jerusalem

In short, this trip is a spiritual and political pilgrimage to the heart of the Zionist-Arab conflict.

What do I mean by that?  Let me explain.

The current conflict in Israel-Palestine has been ongoing since Jewish settlement began at the end of the nineteenth century and shows no signs of letting up.  During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly removed from their homes in Palestine and into refugee camps.  Currently more than 4 million Palestinians are registered refugees living in regions as far-flung as Chile, Chicago, and Saudi Arabia.  Those who still live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip undergo daily persecution at the hands of the state of Israel, which has illegally occupied these territories since 1967.  Thousands have died on both sides of the conflict.

For some reason, I want to get involved.

I have been invited to participate in a Young Adults’ Conference put on by Sabeel, a Palestinian Christian organization founded by Rev. Naim Ateek, who told me that the conference was the “next step” for me if I wanted to get more involved.

But there’s hardly any point in forking over $1200 for plane tickets halfway across the world if you’re only going to stay for ten days, is there?  My imagination, as usual, got the better of me.

I’ve divided the trip into three main stages:

The first stage is a tour of central Europe.  The goal of this time is to gain a deep sympathy for the Zionist side of the conflict by experiencing, in as intimate a way possible, the two-thousand year history of antisemitism in Europe and the Zionist movement which emerged from it.  This stage begins in Munich with a walking tour of the city under the Third Reich and a visit to Dachau, a concentration camp outside the city, moves to Berlin, Hitler’s capitol city, then to Krakow and the nearby Auschwitz, where over a million Jews were killed, and then to Budapest, the birthplace of Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, and finally Vienna, his first resting place before his remains were moved to Jerusalem.

The second stage is a tour of Israel-Palestine.  There are two sides of this tour: one is political exploration of the current political situation in the region, the other is a spiritual exploration of the lands where Jesus walked.  This leg of the tour will include visits to various museums in Tel Aviv, where Israel declared its independence in 1948, tours of various Jewish, Christian, and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, a five-day walking tour of the Sea of Galilee region where Jesus began his ministry, and the Sabeel conference itself, which will take place around Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The third stage is a tour of the Middle East.  I’ll cross the Israeli border into Egypt by bus and spend a week in Cairo, then Jordan (the scenes at the end of the third Indiana Jones were shot there), Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.  The goal here will be to immerse myself in Arab and Islamic culture.  If the first stage of my trip is about understanding the Zionist side of the Zionist-Arab conflict, then this leg is primarily about understanding the Arab side.  This region of the world continues to play an important role in world affairs, but it is sorely misunderstood by many in the West.  While in the Middle East, I hope to gain an appreciation and deep sympathy for a culture many Americans think of themselves as fundamentally opposed to.  That’s a valuable thing.

In all of this I have four main goals:

1.  To gain a deep sympathy for the experience and trauma both sides have experienced.

2.  To make lasting connections with people who are currently involved in the peacemaking process.

3.  To grow spiritually as I encounter the great holy sites of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, from Auschwitz to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

4.  To work towards the cultural competence necessary for doing ministry among both Israelis and Palestinians.

So, I’m going to be reading great books (like Elie Wiesel’s Night, for example—except I’ll read it behind the fences of Auschwitz).  I’m going to be having great conversations (like with young folks from all over the world, while touring the Old City of Jerusalem).  I’m going to be worshipping God (with a bunch of Palestinian Christians).

And I can promise you, I’ll have some great stories to share with you on the way.

Except for this one little thing: I need your help to get there.