December 26, 2002

The Israeli flag marks a military outpost in the West Bank.

There are several ways to travel to Egypt: plane, car, and bus. Plane is expensive, we have no car, and Israeli busses are not transportation that recommends itself these days, even in during the lulls in attacks. Instead, we will travel by Arab Israeli bus which leaves out of Nazareth. That necessitated travel to the north, which is more expensive but both easier and more reliable these days. We took a taxi from Zababdeh to Jalame, walking up to the checkpoint. One of the soldiers there recognized Marthame from his Brazil-like experience at Salem last week and wished us well.

We caught our second taxi on the other side and picked up our bus tickets in Nazareth before meeting up with American friends and doing a bit of decompressing over snacks and dinner. Finally, it was a hymn sing and holiday treats with long-term ex-pats. The conversation was pervaded with questions of whether to stay in Israel, who was already gone, where to get gas masks, whether to get inoculations. The looming war with Iraq has serious consequences for people in Israel, as Saddam Hussein - if attacked - would probably try to attack Israel, as he did in the first Gulf War.

It seems strange to us - it's so close to home yet these worries seem a world away from the worries of the Occupied West Bank. Fancying himself (and hoping others do too) the champion of the Palestinian cause, Hussein would seek to maximize damage to Jewish Israeli areas and avoid Palestinian areas (like the West Bank). And so we take some odd comfort for our own safety in Palestine. However, in a full-scale regional war, which could easily be sparked by such an attack, all bets are off. And so we know, as we have for the past two years, that we may need to leave Palestine for our own safety. Small comfort for our friends and neighbors here, though. We have to hope against hope that our leaders will not leap into war with devastating consequences.

After treats and caroling, we said our good-byes and went to catch our bus. It's about a six hour ride, leaving from Nazareth at 10:00 pm and arriving down south in Eilat early in the morning. It's not the most restful trip - the seats could at least recline a bit.