May 9, 2001

The view of Zababdeh from the Arab-American University.

Marthame headed back up to the university today to take a peek at a car for sale. It gave him a chance to enjoy the always breathtaking view of Zababdeh (they picked a great spot for a university). It was an old car, with all of the charms that come with it - missing handles, busted speedometer, etc. But a strong, strong car - an Opel. Now comes the decision process, because we were intent on looking into a new car - a lot more money, but hopefully none of the headaches of our previous automobile experience. Particularly in this political climate, a working car is far preferable to one stuck by the side of the road. But the situation here continues to deteriorate (news came of two settler youth found stoned to death in a cave), and having an evacuation plan is a reasonable thing to do - do we want to abandon a $15,000 car, or one with a missing window?

Nonetheless, the whole excursion gave us the excuse to visit with our friend who teaches Sociology and Human Rights at the University about life in Palestine, particularly as it relates to religious identities - a complex issue, but a particularly compelling one from a sociological perspective.

The shooting returned again tonight, too, about 1:00 in the morning. Fortunately (?) we weren't asleep yet...