Hotel Outing

In September over 40 of the staff at the Hotel went on a day’s outing to visit the other institutions run by the Church of Scotland.

First stop was Tabeetha School, where the young children sang for us and where Antony Short, the Head, was able to explain the ethos behind the school. At least one of the managers was set to enrol his daughter - if only the school were nearer Tiberias!

Then we moved on to Jerusalem, and it was an eye-opener to see the guest-house and to experience the special atmosphere there. Rev George Shand took us round the church, which again impressed everyone.

After lunch we went into the Old City, where we visited sites associated with the various faiths, walking along the Via Dolorosa and ending up at the Western Wall with views of the Dome of the Rock and El-Asqa Mosque inbetween. Interestingly, my Moslem and Jewish colleagues found the Church of the Holy Sepulchre too lax in allowing people to enter who were ‘inappropriately’ dressed (e.g. in shorts).

Finally at nearly 9 o’clock at night our bus drew into Tiberias. A good day, away from the routine of the Hotel and an opportunity to view the ‘larger picture’ of the church’s work in Israel & Palestine. Also a chance to be together in the various holy places of our faiths, which was important.

Evictions in Jerusalem

Recently I have had to travel to Jerusalem several times. Strangely I have not visited many of the churches or shrines, preferring to wander through the narrow lanes of the old city or the bustling streets of East Jerusalem, getting a feel of the place. The old city is fascinating, with every twist and turn revealing spice shops or jewellers – or, to my consternation, groups of soldiers with their loaded rifles. This is more evident in the Moslem quarter of the city and near the Damascus Gate.

I suppose they are a normal occurrence for most people, but to me it was a stark reminder of the tensions within the city and also that the old city is occupied territory. Saying that, I also noticed that some of the houses are now occupied by religious Jews, with the Israeli flags provocatively hanging outside. This seems to be a determined strategy, as many Palestinians are being evicted from their homes and the religious Jews move in. A major flashpoint is the area of East Jerusalem called Sheikh Jarrah, where several families have had to move out of their homes, to be replaced by extremists. One family have lived in their house since the early 1950s, after they had been expelled in 1948 from their original house. Now they seem to be being expelled again!

The one slightly positive thing is that many Jews have joined the protests against such actions.