December 23, 2000

Jaffa’s muezzin (prayer tower) with Tel Aviv in the background.

After sleeping late, we headed for a walk along the Mediterranean and a day at nearby Jaffa. Tel Aviv originally sprang up as a Jewish village (in the pre-Israel days) for people to live somewhere other than Jaffa (an Arab area). In the War of 1948, almost all the Arabs in Jaffa fled. There are a few families still there, but most of the area has been somewhat preserved (in contrast to modern Tel Aviv) as a quaint artists' colony. We tried to visit the home of Simon the Tanner (where Peter healed Tabitha), but it seems to no longer welcome pilgrims (the only word we could understand on the big sign outside was "forbidden" in Arabic). That was disappointing.

Orthodox Jewish worshipers headed to the Wailing Wall.

We met up with Elizabeth's mom and headed to Jerusalem for a night of sleep. Unfortunately, we were staying at a hostel near the Damascus Gate (portal for taxis to the West Bank - a lot of shouting, "Ramallah, Ramallah, Ramallah"). That night, there seemed to be something happening, so we went outside to investigate the commotion below. Busses full with Orthodox Jews were driving on the narrow street on their way to the Wailing Wall. Soldiers stopped all traffic to let the busses through and then walked beside them. The lights were on inside the bus, just enough to make out the recognizable silhouette of an Orthodox worshipper. Common sense would dictate taking one of the many other routes to the Wall (not one through predominantly Arab areas), but there seemed to be something deliberate at work. The Palestinian youth seemed to take a certain amount of pleasure - and emotional release - from shooting loud fireworks off near the bus.

A restful night was had by us nonetheless.