January 6, 2001

Elizabeth’s mom surveys the lovely carpets in the Old City of Jaffa, Israel.

We spent some time wandering through Jaffa and enjoyed another delicious meal overlooking the sea. Then it was off to the Tel Aviv bus station, where Mom took the bus to the airport and we to Nazareth. We finally made it back to Zababdeh with a few bumps, but no major headaches (could've been worse - could've been raining). More roads have been closed off between the checkpoint and Zababdeh since we last came, making travel that much more fun.

We arrived to find out that Zababdeh had no running water and everyone in our building has empty water tanks (except us--our two-week absence must have helped our cause) because of a broken or sabotaged (we're not sure) pipe, and that there has been nightly shooting between Palestinian gunmen and the Israeli soldiers in the camp. Add to all of this that today was the first day of school, and re-entry becomes a difficult task! We have a new neighbor in our building - the other one left his job at the University because of "The Situation" (hereafter known as "The Euphemism") to be with his family in Jordan.

Israeli flares overhead in Zababdeh, Palestine.

Tonight there was an incident worth relating. On our way to the store to do some shopping this evening, we heard the usual gunfire exchanges in the distance - Palestinian shebab (that is, youth) firing from the hills near the camp, and the Israeli jeesh (that is, soldiers) returning fire. We gathered with a crowd of folks along the road to see what can be seen - sometimes the red lights of Israeli tracer bullets (we think) can be seen disappearing into the hills. Suddenly, we saw one of these lovely red lights headed in the direction of our gathered crowd - thirty feet in the air and to the left (it wouldn't be a field goal), but in our general direction. Everyone scattered - Marthame went one way, Elizabeth another. Five or ten more followed suit afterwards, no one was really sure what was happening.

We connected again after perhaps a minute (as the shooting continued) and headed back home, where we knew we were safe. Everyone wanted to know what was happening, and there was a delicate balance of informing everyone and not worrying the kids too much. We know without a doubt that there was no firing at the camp from the direction these bullets headed. We heard some houses were damaged, but have not been able to find out with any certainty. In any case, it seemed clear that this was a deliberate effort to frighten the civilian population of Zababdeh. It worked.