The Rise in Human Trafficking

Sex trafficking is the 2nd largest criminal industry in the world, surpassed only by drug trafficking.

Every 15 seconds, a new victim is trafficked.

UNICEF estimates that every minute, 2 children are sold for sexual abuse.

UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children are sold to sex traffickers every year.

The average age of girls trafficked in the US is 14.

Fast Food

Falafel is to Israel what McDonald's is to America: fast food. Falafel (the thing in the pita) is fried chick pea with different types of "salad" including pickles, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion, hot sauce, and french fries, which are called chips here. Falafel stands are everywhere.

Also very common at the lunch table is humus, the brown spread made from chick peas and/or garbanzo beans. It is served at many meals, usually with fresh pita.

Bet El

This is a picture of part of the Jewish settlement Bet El (Bethel), located in the area where the Jewish Bible tells of the Jewish patriarch Jacob's dream about a ladder that went from earth to Heaven, on which the angels of God were ascending and descending. It is also a place where the Jewish Bible describes and encounter between Jewish patriarch Abraham and God. The Torah tells how God told Abraham to go forth from his country to the land which God would show him, a land God gave to Abraham's descendants in this encounter. In Bet El, Abraham built an altar based on this experience.


Jewish settlements often start with mobile homes like this and then usually become more permanent with the building of houses. This settlement is located in the West Bank. The West Bank is an area within Israel, but not always governed by Israel. The PA (Palestinian Authority) has been given autonomy to rule many Arab cities within the West Bank. There is often a fence and security checkpoint separating the West Bank from the rest of Israel. Many of the negotiations (of which the US is also involved) include the possible giving of the West Bank territory to the Palestinians to form a separate Palestinian state. One problem negotiators encounter is that there are many Jewish settlements and even some large Jewish cities within the West Bank, including Hebron and Shiloh. An even bigger obstacle is that both sides (Jew and Arab) want Jerusalem. Religious Jewish people do not want to give any land away because they believe all of Israel (and a bit more) was given to them by God through the irrevocable covenant discussed above and elsewhere in the Jewish Bible. Some non-religious Jews are more open to a "two-state settlement". I have not yet met any Arab Muslims that believe Jews have any right to any part of Israel. I do not know what Christian Arabs believe.

The territory on the map labeled Gaza is Palestinian, but is different from the other territories. It has been forcibly taken over by the militant Arab group Hamas. People I have met in support of Hamas think that the Palestinian Authority and Fatah (current gov't of the West Bank) are "puppets of the west" and have no ruling power. Hamas waits for an opportune time to make a take over attempt of the West Bank.

Old City Walls

The current wall around the old city in Jerusalem was built in 1538 by Suleiman I, the longest reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. This Turkish empire had control of the land that is now Israel from the late 1400's to the early 1900's.

The holes in the wall were used be soldiers to attack anyone trying to capture the city.

Camels vs. Cars

I was traveling through the Negev Desert in southern Israel last week where it is more common to see a camel parked next to a house rather than a car.

While they make for a bumpy ride, you can't beat their gas mileage!

Dome of the Rock

The building with the gold dome is called the Dome of the Rock, which was completed in 691 AD. Gold was not put on the outside of the dome until 1998, after an 8.2 million donation was made from King Hussein of Jordon, who sold one of his houses in London to fund the project. The Dome of the Rock is located on top of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, above the Western Wall.

The Temple Mount (see black and white diagram), the man-made platform on which the Dome rests, was greatly enlarged under King Herod the Great. Today, the Dome of the Rock is a shrine, rather than a functional mosque. The functional mosque located on the Temple Mount, the Al Aqsa Mosque (the shorter building shown), was finished in 705 AD. Al Aqsa translates to "the farthest mosque".

The world religion Islam was founded by an Arabian from Mecca named Muhammad (Muhammed, Mohammed)(ca.570-632 AD), who claimed he received repeated supernatural revelations from God through the angel Gabriel. Muslims believe this began at age 40 in the Islamic month of Ramadan. These revelations were memorized and written down by his followers and were then compiled into the Muslim bible, the Koran (Qur'an). Muhammad died in 632 at the age of 63 after battling a sickness. Some manuscripts say he was buried in the place where he died. Other manuscripts say Muhammad went on a night journey from Mecca to the farthest Mosque, translated Al Aqsa, and there ascended from the rock to Heaven accompanied by Gabriel. Based on this information, The Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque together are considered the third most holy site to Muslims, behind Mecca and Medina.

Many people today believe that the Dome of the Rock was also the exact former sight of the First and Second Jewish Temples, destroyed in 587 BC and 70 AD respectively. Jews are still discussing the exact location of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the temple, in preparation for the construction of a third temple. Jews agree that this location is on top of the Temple Mount. Herein lies the reason that the Temple Mount is one of the most contested pieces of property today.

Ayelet

This is Ayelet (eye-ael-ate), one of the Israelis that Sunshine Community Development has been helping. She made aliyah (the imigration of a Jewish person to Israel) from the Ukraine just after her 17th birthday. Arriving in Israel all alone since her parents were not able to come at the that time, she stayed in an Israeli aliyah youth "camp" with other young Russians during her first year. There she was taught basic Hebrew as well as the customs of Israel. The camp was a very difficult time for her as she was alone and young.

Three years later, she now works in a stationary store for minimum wage, which is not really enough to pay rent and bills here. Israel will pay for her to go to college, but she does not have enough money for daily living expenses and must work. Ayelet would like a good job but, like many youth, she is not sure of the direction she should pursue. Sunshine CD helped her with transportation and food expenses this month. Thank you for your donations!