Masada, floating on the Dead Sea, and Qumran
I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining.
I believe in love, even when I don't feel it.
I believe in God, even when God is silent.
(Words found scrawled on the wall of a cellar in Cologne at the end of World War II where Jews had been held as captives. We started our day singing this text set to a melody by Mark Miller, director of the YDS Gospel Choir.)
We hit the road early this morning to head down to Masada, site of the Zealot community holding out against the Romans for three years, from 70-73CE, following the Great Revolt and destruction of the temple. Rather than surrender to slavery and subjection to Rome, the entire community of 960 drew lots, and the people were systematically killed or committed suicide. This community occupied Herod the Great’s winter palace, which sat atop a colossal stone mountain and contained two palaces, enormous water cisterns that were filled by having water hauled up the mountain, and every convenience for the powerful king. The views of the Negev, the Dead Sea, and the surrounding countryside was unobstructed, so we could certainly understand why this protected place would have been selected by Herod for a palace. Many of our hardier souls walked down the Snake Path rather than taking it easy on the tram!
We then backtracked north to Ein Gedi, a kibbutz at which we ate lunch followed by a swim in the Dead Sea. It was unexpectedly steep and rocky to get down into the sea, but the experience of bobbing like a cork in the cool water was delightful. One emerges from the sea with a good coating of salt on the skin, and I imagine that most of the swimmers will be taking a good shower tonight even though we rinsed off in the showers at Ein Gedi.
Boarding the bus for a short drive a little further north, we came to Qumran, site of the 1947 discovery of a cave containing huge pottery jars that held inside of them scrolls composed and/or stored by the Essene community that lived there for about two centuries until the time of the Jewish Revolt in 68CE. We had seen some of the scrolls and fragments at the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, and today, we were able to get a sense of their rather miraculous discovery in a barren and remote location. Our guide, Naim Khoury, was one of the archaeologists who worked at the site in the 1960s, and Harry Attridge was able to fill in much of the historical and scriptural information since his doctoral dissertation advisor was one of the translators of the original scrolls.
A short ride from Qumran brought us to Jericho, where we will have a quiet evening at this lovely oasis resort before looking around the city tomorrow and then heading up into Galilee.
Elaine Ellis Thomas
Harry Attridge discussing Qumran
Beach at the Dead Sea
Masada
Walking path up to and down from Masada
Walkway to the top of Masada
Comments
I was shocked to see this called a trip to Israel-Palestine. The country has been called Israel since 1948, so while someone may believe that he or she was being sensitive to the Palestinian people by describing the trip in this way, as a committed Jew, I find this quite offensive. I believe in the right of the Palestinian people to exist and to have a homeland. Israel is a tiny country as I am sure you are finding out, and the mid East is a rather large mass of land. I am quite sure that a piece which would be acceptable could be carved out for the Palestinian people (e.g. Gaza which the Israelis gave back to them, having built up its infrastructure).
I would be pleased to discuss this with someone either via your blog or in person when you return from Israel.
Cindy Miller,M.D.
Associate Professor of Radiology
The trip has spent considerable time in the West Bank (in Bethlehem and Qumran, for instance), which is governed by the Palestinian Authority and is the home of the Palestinian people. This area would presumably be part of a Palestinian state if a two-state solution is reached. Describing the destination of this trip as "Israel-Palestine" is purely descriptive--they have visited Israel and Palestine.
If the Palestinian people have the right to exist and have a homeland (called Palestine), then why should this travel seminar not acknowledge that fact when it labels the places it visits?
Dr. Miller, I understand your resistance to a perceived delegitimization of Israel, but I don't believe that is what the name of the trip intends to do (I an unaffiliated with the trip, but like you am interested in the issues). "Israel-Palestine" seems an apt descriptive term for the two areas they are visiting, not an attempt to rename Israel.
The trip spends considerable time in the West Bank (Bethlehem, Hebron, Qumran, etc.), which is administered (partially) by the Palestinian Authority and which is home to the Palestinian people. Presumably, the West Bank would become part of the Palestinian state in any two-state solution, if this is the solution that is reached. Until then, it still seems appropriate to refer to the region as Palestine--it's even on the license plates! "Israel-Palestine Seminar" is an imperfect term, but what is the alternative? "Israel and the potentially-future-Palestinian-state Seminar"? Surely not. "Israel-Palestine" is ambiguous enough to allow the possibility of a single unified state or two separate states. Isn't that the best we can do until some political agreement is reached?
If the trip were only described as a trip to Israel, that be a bold political statement that the West Bank belongs to Israel, which is ethically troubling at best. If the Palestinian people have the right to exist and the right to have a homeland, isn't it appropriate that people acknowledge this right when they visit?
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