Bethlehem And The West Bank, Israel

Aside of visiting the birthplace of Jesus Christ I felt compelled to visit the West Bank to get a perspective from the other side of the fence. I’ll admit I was little out of my comfort zone as I brushed off a couple of Taxi drivers when I got off the bus in Bethlehem.

A short distance from the bus stop an Arab Palestinian approached me speaking perfect English and told me where the old city was and about catching the bus back to Jerusalem. He introduced himself, “My name in A’La. I was born in Bethlehem just like Jesus!” He claimed to have friends in Michigan. Obviously, it was a way to engage in conversation so he could try and get my business.  He made a good impression and I had a good feeling about A’La. You could tell he was experienced at dealing with tourists and quite the salesman.

I let A’La talk. He offered several variations of tours. All of which sounded reasonable based on prices at home but for the West Bank I didn’t really know for sure. I asked him if he was an official Taxi driver and told him I’d like to see his car. He led me to it, parked along the busy street. I noticed the Palestinian plates, meter, and Id. When I was convinced he was totally legit we made an agreement and I hopped in. Gut instinct told me he was honest and at the end of the tour I would not be disappointed.

The first place he took me to was the wall that separates Bethlehem and the Jerusalem area. The cement wall stands 8 meters high with lots of graffiti on the Palestinian side.  Most all of the graffiti is peace oriented and done by local and international artists. He then showed me a burned out lookout tower across from a UN school surrounded by a cement wall with barbed wire atop and bullet holes in a steel door. He said two school kids were shot there by Israeli soldiers. I didn’t ask for any details as to how and why.

From there it was through a refugee portion of Bethlehem seemingly dodgy with almost totally empty streets. A’La said not to worry, that it was safe and I could take photos. I asked him to explain the current situation in the West Bank and he was more than happy to do so. He spoke passionately about his love for his home and family. He spoke of his frustration with the news portraying them all as terrorists. He said it made him feel good to explain his side of the story to American tourists. I listened with a neutral mind and sympathized with what he as saying. I could tell A’La has a good heart. He talked of his kids, 6 months, 4, and 5. He’s just a man living in a tough part of the world trying to make the best for his family, wanting nothing more than peace.

A'La went on to explain how the wall and fence made him feel like a prisoner. He, like most Palestinians are forbidden from entering Jerusalem but can easily travel to Europe via Jordan which is a bit of irony I suppose.

As we drove out of Bethlehem he showed me some of the Jewish Settlements and explained the friction. He said he can get along fine with Israeli’s but didn’t agree with how things were being handled.

The settlements appear to be the biggest complaint.  Israel moves in and builds exclusive communities in the West Bank for Israeli, American, and Russian Jewish settlers who in turn ask Palestinians, like A’La, why they live there because the land belongs to the Jewish people.

For the first time I pondered the question of Jewish extremism. Why would an American Jew from Miami, or any Jew for that matter, want to live in a West Bank settlement of 500 that takes 2,000 Israeli soldiers to protect? There is no integration within the settlements. Settlers are totally separated by walls and dividers with Jews on one side, Palestinians on the other. It’s not like desegregation, as seen in American during the 1960’s, where blacks and whites were intentionally mixed in order to learn to get along.

In my opinion the settlements and divisions thereof are fueling tensions as the Palestinians see it as a land grab and occupation. In turn they feel like disrespected second class citizens. It’s easy to see how it can be interpreted as a civil rights issue more than anything.

A’La took me to the Shepard’s Field where Gabriel told shepherds that Jesus was about to be born. After that he took me to the Herodium, ancient Roman ruins where it’s believed King Herrod was buried. The Herodium, built atop a high hill, offers some great views of Bethlehem and the inside of the West Bank with few tourists.

From the Herodium it was bank to Bethlehem but by a different way. Israelis are forbidden to travel within the West Bank and there are large signs in Arabic, Hebrew, and English stating the danger. The signs are another big complaint of A’La and he stated how it creates fear by making people think all Palestinians are a threat and danger.  As we passed one of the big signs he said, “Now I’ll take you to where the terrorist are”, with a sarcastic tone as he rolled his eyes. We proceeded back to Bethlehem to the Birth site of Jesus and the end of the agreed tour. He had offered to take me to Hebron, which is kind of a hot spot now, but I felt like I had reached my limit with enough time to get a clear Palestinian viewpoint. Everything is a more intense when you’re alone.

When it came time to pay A’La there was no monkey business so I paid him the agreed price and a little extra. He proved himself to be a man of his word and I had no reason to believe he wasn’t being completely honest with me. Before we parted he introduced me to his friend who has a shop that makes carved items out of Olive wood. His buddy was extremely nice and I had a good conversation with him about Bethlehem and the West Bank.

I visited the Milky Grotto and Birthplace of Jesus on my own before making the 20 minute walk through the market streets of Bethlehem back to the public bus to Jerusalem. Before returning I was approached by another Palestinian tour guide offering tours to Hebron. He claimed to be with an organization for alternative tourism whose mission is to educate foreigners on the situation in West Bank from a Palestinian viewpoint. The tours take about 2 hours and are very inexpensive. We talked awhile, which was quite interesting, but I had had enough for the day and wasn’t comfortable taking off with the seemingly legit guide by myself.

Although I felt safe enough in the West Bank by more or less sticking to a tourist routine I was not totally comfortable. However, it was very enlightening and caused me to ask myself some questions. Social conditioning plays a large part in influencing our preconceptions and prejudices but so do facts. How much of a Westerners fear of the Middle East is caused by biased news, fact, or simple yet complicated cultural misunderstandings? Whereas A’La struck me as a good sincere man, and I’d like to believe most Palestinians are in line with A’La, you cannot dispute that some bad characters have come out of the West Bank.

The reason the wall and fence were built around the West Bank is because there was quite a problem with suicide bombers 10 and 12 years ago. The wall and fence have been extremely effective and now you rarely hear of any incidents. Of most concern is the question of what would happen if the Palestinians were to be given total control of the West Bank and held elections tomorrow. Most agree that Hamas, a terrorist organization that has vowed to destroy the Jewish people of Israel, would win.

I find the socio political situation of the Middle and Israel to be very interesting. Later in the day, back in Jerusalem, I found out that alternative tourism in the West Bank is indeed legit. You can go with organized groups for added comfort and safety and I might have done so if I had more time.

Visiting the West Bank and Bethlehem would be my last adventure in Israel as I would spend the next day in Jerusalem preparing to leave the country after almost a month of touring the nation.