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.

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.

Shabbat

Shabbat is about to begin here in Israel. From Friday night to Saturday night, all the stores, restaurants, and places of employment close. The Western Wall is a popular place on Friday night before sundown. The sections in front of the wall are divided into a men's section and a women's section.


The men, who are leaving the wall, are dressed in their Shabbat attire. Even in the summer, some Jewish men wear fur hats as opposed to other fabrics better suited to the climate. The style of hat denotes the county from which they come.

The View From My Temporary Accomodations

Jerusalem is considered a focal point for the three main monotheistic religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The view from the balcony of the apartment where I am staying this week is of the Mount of Olives. From biblical times until today, the mountain has been used as a Jewish cemetery. For many centuries, Jewish people have sought to be buried there because they believe the Mount of Olives will be the place where the dead will be resurrected. Christians also look to the Mount of Olives as a place where future events will occur. In the book of Zechariah, located within the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament, the return of the Messiah is described. According to Zechariah, the Messiah will stand on the Mount of Olives during a time in which all nations are gathered together to battle against Jerusalem. When the Messiah stands on the Mount of Olives, it will split in two, forming a valley through which people can escape. Currently, the Mount of Olives is an Arab neighborhood, complete with many minarets. A minaret is a tower used in Islamic architecture from which Muslim believers are called to prayer five times a day by a muezzin (a Muslim religious leader). All three monotheistic religions consider the Mount of Olives to be a significant piece of real estate.

The view to the left of the balcony is part of the Old City in Jerusalem, a greatly contested piece of real estate. It is a 0.35 square mile area located within the modern city of Jerusalem. The walls around the city are not the original walls . The current walls were built in 1538 by Suleiman the Magnificent. I’ll post more on the Old City later.