This morning I was lying in bed in a kibbutz, a Jewish collective, and at 5:20 a.m. I hear a Muslim call to pray. Per usual, the song that was being sung was blared over loud speakers from the minaret of the mosque. It actually sounded very nice wafting over the valley and to the top of the hill. Where Danit’s kibbutz is located is above the Arab village of Abu Ghosh. As we are driving around I keep asking David if the village or settlement we see is Arab or Jewish. Most of the time he doesn’t know, but it is safe to assume that Arabs and Jews are residing everywhere in Israel. Israel’s population is about 20% Arab and 73% Jewish. Driving to Jerusalem from Mishmar HaEmek we go along the western border of the Palestinian West Bank for several miles. Jewish settlements in the West Bank are very obvious, typically because the high rise buildings are white and rather symmetrical in style while Arab buildings are more low-rise and beige sandstone color. Of course, this is the political nightmare in Israel. And with the extreme right increasingly in control in Israel, especially the Jewish extreme right, there will never be a peaceful solution.
Danit’s kibbutz, Ma’ale HaHamisha, is a privatized kibbutz, services and operation are outsourced. It was established in the 1930s and there are now about 800 residents. It does not have a major industry, but it does have a milk production facility with a large number of cows. Carol and David’s kibbutz, still traditionally collective with a large industry, has much more capital from the very profitable Tama business to invest in the kibbutz and so the infrastructure is well-maintained. At Ma’ale HaHamisha, things are less well-maintained as there isn’t a financial collective methodology, so to speak, and no big profitable business. Carol says, though, that the social collective in the kibbutz is strong.
Today we again went to Jerusalem, this time to visit the Israeli Museum. In addition to typical art and culture displays, it has an exhibit about the Dead Sea Scrolls. A special building was built in which to exhibit several of the scrolls. The building’s shape is designed like the lid of the pottery jars containing the found scrolls.
Shrine of the Book Exhibit Hall
All of the exhibits are underground and dimly lit. The story of the Dead Sea Scrolls is pretty amazing. They were found by a Bedouin in 1947 and ultimately sold for $97.20. Another discovery in 1952 found some 14,000 scroll fragments. There have been other discoveries, not all are religious. Some are about living rules, others about the arts and culture.
Another interesting exhibit was outdoors and was a replica of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
We then went into history of Israel gallery and we marched through time from the Neolithic period to just before the Romans came. It being Friday, the museum closed at 2:00 p.m. so we had to cut our visit short. But we did learn lots and saw many interesting artifacts. One display, that David hunted all over for, came from an archeological dig at Mishmar HaEmek. Carol will take us to the dig site on the kibbutz one of these days.
What was fascinating to Christine and me was how very similar Israel’s ancient history is to Malta’s. Both were conquered by the same people, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Normans, Turks, Romans, and so on. We saw many of the same exhibits with similar artifacts in Malta. Obviously, the Mediterranean bordering countries were ripe for picking by plundering armies. But I always learn something when visiting museums, so it was a great stop.
Then David drove us around Jerusalem again. We saw some amazing sites on the opposite side of the Old City. One view was of a huge cemetery just below the wall on the downhill.
David said that the Arabs wanted to block off an entrance to the Old City so they started a cemetery there, which is just at the base of the city wall. Jews would not walk through a cemetery, so the strategy was effective. On the downhill from the wall is a mixture of Jewish and Arab burials. The photo showing the Absalom tomb is an all Jewish cemetery. David said the country is considering different approaches for Jewish burials because they are running out of land in which to bury people. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
On the road where the Absalom tomb is, we saw a Greek Orthodox Church. Up the hill behind that church was a Russian Orthodox Church and even a Mormon church. Yesterday, we drove past a Scottish church, St Andrews. There is something for everyone in Jerusalem.
It was time for lunch so we went to the First Train Station, a converted station housing lots of eateries and market stalls. It was cool because they left sections of train track in the floor, so you knew it was a train station. We had a nice lunch and walked around that neighborhood a little.
David drove us to a lovely hillside village named Ein Kerem. It was quite picturesque tucked into the hillside with lots of trees. There is a famous spring there. According to a Christian tradition which started in the 14th century, the Virgin Mary drank water from this village spring, and here is also the place where Mary and Elizabeth met. Therefore, since the 14th century the spring is known as the Fountain of the Virgin. The spring waters are considered holy by some Catholic and Orthodox Christian pilgrims who visit the site and fill their bottles. What looks like a spring is actually the end of an ancient aqueduct. Ein Kerem. When the village was inhabited by Arabs, they built a mosque and minaret on the site. That minaret is still there, although the Arabs were removed from the village after 1948.
Ein Kerem is a rather ritzy locale. David drove around the village down these very, very narrow small lanes along very old stone houses. Many of the houses had lovely views down the valley. It was an idyllic spot.
Then it was back to Danit’s apartment. We were all so tuckered out that none of us wanted to go out for dinner, so we stayed in, raided Danit’s refrigerator and prepared enough food for all of us. I will say that I have been under the weather. Two days ago I got a very sore throat and I was so afraid I might have COVID. When we were at the mall in Jerusalem, I bought a packet of home tests, much cheaper here than in the U.S. I got 5 tests for about $12! When we got home that night I took a test and sweated bullets for the 15 minutes until the results were available. Thankfully, I tested negative. Carol said it was a good thing, because if I had tested positive she would have killed me. I took another test this morning and again tested negative. I guess I just have a bad cold, but I sure have felt kind of lousy, very sore throat, runny nose and cough. Hopefully, that will improve soon, but I fear I may have infected everyone else. Fingers crossed that everyone stays healthy.
Here’s a parting shot from near Danit’s apartment.
I never went inside any museums in Israel. Glad you did.