PILGRIMS, STARS AND MONEY

By Sergio Granillo

November 24, 2019

Last week I came back from a trip to the Middle East. It was, no doubt, a very exciting experience from the religious perspective, but also on the human and social sides for what it means to live in Israel and Jordan presently.

Two days after landing in Tel Aviv we traveled north of the country, to the region of Galilee, close to the border with Syria. That night we saw on the news that Israel had murdered an important Palestinian leader in Gaza, which triggered a renewed fight between the 2 nations. Gaza launched 400 missiles against Israeli territory, but the so called “iron shield” of Israel avoided further damage, except a few explosions near roads, even when the objective of the attacks was Tel Aviv.

The economic and military power of Israel is way bigger than Gaza’s, and in retaliation several bombs were launched on their territory; Arabic media showed serious damage in urban areas and dozens of casualties, civilians were killed, even children –they claimed.

Tour guides, meanwhile, never mentioned the issue; on the streets live was business as usual. It seemed to me that there were no newspaper-stands anywhere in the several cities that we visited in Israel.

Sabbath was about to start, we were arriving in Jerusalem, the downtown streets were full of young soldiers, men and women, carrying long guns all of them. Our tour guide explained that they were coming from their postings to the city to spend the holiday with their families.

By the way, the tour guides do not agree on one thing, what city is the capital of Israel; one said it is Tel Aviv (a vibrant port on the Mediterranean Sea), another said it is Jerusalem, the largest urban location of the country; that after the US Government decided to move their embassy to the second city. The country looks stable even when their Prime Minister is struggling to get a coalition and the Israelites will have a third election in less than a year.

This part of the world has historically struggled to keep the peace. Presently, to go from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea or to Bethlehem (both very attractive tourist destination), you have to cross Palestinian territory of the West Bank (not at war with Israel like Gaza). We were able to see firsthand the famous wall that separates that region from Israel; of which the international media said that Donald Trump promised to build a “sister wall” between Mexico and the United States, on his last visit.

As a Christian tourist, it is so exciting to travel by regions and cities, whose names we have been reading or hearing all our live on the Bible or at church. On our way to the Dead Sea, the guide pointed out at a road that lead to the church of the Good Samaritan, presumably built on the exact spot where the story told by Jesus happened. We took a ride at the Sea of Galilee on a small boat –Peter’s style they said; and even had for lunch the same kind of fish that the apostles used to catch 2000 years ago.

Walk on a little part of the Garden of Gethsemane, saw the rock where Jesus laid to pray the night before his dead. We tried to retrace the route of the Passion, but it is almost impossible to get it because all the old Jerusalem is a market place! You have to walk by merchants’ stands, bicycles, motorcycles, people carrying heavy parcels, and of course lots of pilgrims and tourists singing in different languages.

You can be baptized on the Jordan River, but pay attention, in our group we made a long stop at a tourist spot on the Israeli side of the river, where most of this kind of rituals take place, (there is a big “duty free” store full of products and souvenirs, where you can rent towels and special robes). Days later, on our trip to Jordan, on the other side of the river, we were told that the very Vatican had confirmed on that side the actual location where Jesus was baptized. A spot where tourists are not taken (or are they?)

Israel is a country of a very long tradition as a tourist destination, probably longer than its own existence as a country (1948). You can see dozens of big buses everywhere, crowds lead by guides holding a little flag of using radio receivers to listen to the stories and instructions. You notice a tighten security only when you cross borders. Either with intention or by lack of experience, we lived a bad moment when crossing to Jordan.

In this countries you pay when you leave not when you arrive! We paid our fare to leave Israel (US $ 35.00) and took a short ride to the entrance of Jordan.

A new guide received us and told to all the group that according to a new bylaw (worsened by the attacks to Gaza) we could not bring into the country any object depicting the State of Israel (stars of David, menorahs, flags, etc.) or you could go to jail! When we came back and asked the new guides about our souvenirs left behind, they said: “oh you were robbed, that is not true!”

Another down moment was –ironically, at the grand finale event, the visit to the Holy Sepulcher in the old city of Jerusalem. Just before getting into the massive building, our guide said I don’t get in there, is pure madness, and she left; we had to figure out how to go back to our respective hotels. Once inside, it felt like a Middle Ages scene: sound of drums opened the space to the entry of the authorities (Orthodox Christians) in the temple. Crowds and crowds of people, some kneeled down praying, others lighting candles. No signs or directions.

We made our way towards the Holy Sepulcher, the long messy line of it. After waiting for a few hours, we heard a man yelling and pushing the crowds towards the wall, we among that people, it was a police officer who basically took us out of the line because the line was overwhelming, much more people than what they can handle.

No explanation given, we learned later that inside the crypt pictures were not allowed… except if you know somebody controlling the access, as I witnessed myself. Anyways, we were tired, we decided to go back to our hotel (next day was the trip to Jordan), we found our way via light train (just after the end of the Sabbath, Saturday night).

Overall it was a beautiful trip, Israel is a very new country with a lot of young people, making the desert to blossom, like this great initiative to plant millions of trees around Jerusalem, and many people ask their friends to donate to it on special occasions like weddings and baptisms.

It feels like things have not changed too much in 2000 years, hatred between Jews and Muslims, fight for the lands of their ancestors, or the abuse of some religious institutions, but also the hope of a better future.