What a Day!!!!!

Hello Everyone

My experience with the totality of Shabbat here in Israel was a truly spiritual moment for me. I woke this morning and again was hit with the quietness of the city on Shabbat morning. Noa and I went for a walk this morning and I had what was to be a day of experiencing the complexities of this land...........

There is a hill in the middle of Modiin where no building is allowed. When Modiin was being constructed, graves and other artifacts were uncovered on this hill and so it has been turned into an area where people can walk and enjoy the wonderful views of Modiin. Some of what was unearthed on this piece of land was cisterns and a mikveh (ceremonial bath) that date back over 1800 years!!!! So much of Israel is a country and cities that are modern in every sense of the word. And yet, this was a reminder that I am standing on ground that has such a long, documented history. Modiin itself, is a purely planned city that is only 15 years old.....being built around archeological artifacts from thousands of years ago.

Part of our delegation took a trip to the north today.We left Modiin on Route 6, one of the primary north-south routes in Israel, I was riding with Noa and her husband, Ronin, and their daughter, Shir. On the right of the highway was a small city. Ronin shared with me that this was an Arab city called Bakaelgarbia. I learned that no Jews live in these Arab cities. In Ronin's words, they have not been "secured" for Jews. Like all residents of Israel, the people of this city have the right to vote and have representation in the Knesset, The Israeli Parliment. But while Israeli towns and cities receive state funds at a certain level, the Arab cities receive less. The residents of the Arab cities also do not serve in the Israeli army as do all other Israeli citizens. We passed several other Arab cities and the same was true for all of them. Talk about getting a sense of two peoples living in the same country...with limited interaction. Ronin said that there is a Kibbutz in Israel where Jews and Arabs are attempting to live together but this only includes about 20 families. First lesson of the day in the immensity of the diversity issue in Israel.

We continued on to our first destination of the day...Dalyat El Carmel...a Druze village in the Carmel Mountains. Our first stop was at an old monastery that belongs to the Carmelite Order, which arrived in Israel from Europe in the 17th century. It is also believed by Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Jews to be the place of the the epic battle between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. (If interested in more on this, I will leave it up to you and Google) Lesson two of the day in the diversity of Israel. We were now standing in a Catholic Monastery. The gift shop was selling Stars of David with a cross in the middle. Can't say I have even seen such a joining of these two religious symbols. Here is a statue of Elijah...

This is the view from the top of the monastery looking over the Izrael Valley. It was very hazy today so the view is limited ....but beautiful.

The grounds around the Monastery are beautiful...it also helps that Spring has sprung in Israel. We stopped for a picnic.

We then walked through the many shops in Dalyat El Carmel. We came upon a woman who was making pita. We did have her permission to take pictures as long as her face was covered. We later had this pita with our lunch.....let me tell you folks...you cant find this pita at Wegmans!!!!!!!   Oh My!!!!!!!    You dont even need to give me anything else for lunch!!!!!!!

Here we are enjoying lunch. The hummus was amazing!!!!! Unlike anything we can get in the states. Even our Israeli friends were raving about it.

Oh...and by the way....to any of my friends who had any concerns about my safety on this trip....the only threat to my physical welfare will be from eating too much!!!!!!

The Druze are a Muslim people who enjoy a much more positive relationship with the Jewish State. They serve in the army and do much business with the Jews. Yet another facet of religious and cultural diversity in Israel.

From here, we drove to Haifa, one of the primary port cities in Israel. We were only there for a few minutes but from our vantage point, could easily see the beauty of the city.

From left, Kevin, Noa, Ronin, Shir and myself

For our last lesson in the religious and cultural diversity of this region, I present to you the Shrine of the Bab Terraces and Gardens. This breathtaking spot overlooks the port of Hiafa. The Bab was one of the central figures of the Bha'i faith, he was martyred in Iran in 1850. These imaculate gardens are maintained by people of this faith in his honor.

Our day came to an end with a quick stop for coffee on the water in Tel Aviv. As Ronin told me, Tel Aviv is Israel's Big Apple. This is where much business is done and it is the Israeli city that most resembles what most of us think of when we picture a city. It was dark by the time we arrived but it was so relaxing walking along their boardwalk and a fabulous way to end an amazing day.

Tomorrow only gets better...we are off to spend the day in Jerusalem!!!!!

I love you all

Keith

P.S. - For those of you who might be interested in other blogs from this trip:

Jan Katz:   http://edsinmodiin11.wordpress.com/

Dan Irving:   http://danielnirving.wordpress.com/