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Israel - Part 1

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Israel: Caught on the Wrong Side of the Fence

by Pastor David H. Brooks
April 2009

Fences in Israel are as essential a part of the landscape as olive trees, cedars and rocks. From massive edifices of concrete and barbed wire to simple hand-strung affairs, fences define life in Israel proper and in the disputed Palestinian territories. Even moving through the airport involves "fencing" people off into manageable clusters for inscrutable security purposes.

And now we were on the wrong side of a fence, which meant there were about to be winners and losers.

My wife Sharon and I were in Israel as part of a church tour group. While Israel was not high on the list of places the two of us had listed as "a must visit," the opportunity was simply too good to pass by. So it was we became a part of a private tour that made what was called a "pilgrim journey" to the land of Israel.

Our group arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv in the late afternoon. After moving through customs and collecting our luggage, our tour guide greeted us and then shepherded us to a waiting bus. The bus would become an essential part of our day-to-day reality. We spent the night in Tel Aviv; Sharon and I mustered our energy to go out and at least explore briefly this vibrant Mediterranean city. The neighborhood in which we were staying boasted several sidewalk cafes and interesting shops. We stopped for an espresso and sat enjoying the mild evening weather—a far cry from the November climate we had left back in the States!

The next day we rose early and drove north from Tel Aviv to the city of Caesarea. Largely constructed by Herod the Great in the 20s BCE, it boasted many public buildings built after the Roman style, including an Amphitheater, a Hippodrome and a lavish palace for Herod. Much of the ancient portion of the city lay in ruins, rediscovered by archeologists over the last 100 or so years. Caesarea has been fought over again and again, and everywhere one finds the ruins of walls built by Herod, the Romans, the Muslims, and the Crusaders — centuries of failed fences.

From Caesarea we traveled through the Jezreel Valley to Mt. Carmel: the traditional site for the famous battle between the Biblical Elijah and the prophets of Baal. A Carmelite monastery sits on the mountain today, and from the summit you can see the entire valley — a breathtaking view that takes in many of the important sites of the Scriptures. A few quick pictures, and back down the mountain to find some lunch.

Meals in Israel are a variation on what you find in Europe, with a generous infusion of Middle Eastern cuisine. Roadside cafeterias are not hard to find, with a broad selection of hot items and fresh salads. Even easier to find are the nearly ubiquitous "sandwich shoppes" that serve falafel (a spicy fried patty or ball made from ground chickpeas or fava beans) or shwarma (grilled meat shaved thin, with tomatoes, cucumber and hummus) served in a pita.

After lunch we traveled to the abandoned ruins of Tel Megiddo, a city first established around 3500 BCE. Tel Megiddo sits on a low hill hard against the main caravan road that connected Egypt and Mesopotamia. Because of its strategic location it was fought over again and again: Canaanite, Egyptian, Israelite, Assyrian and later empires stretching into the 20th century record their victories over this piece of earth. So many battles have been fought over Tel Megiddo that it has entered the Western imagination as the place of ultimate war, for Tel Megiddo in Greek would be ‘Ar Megiddo, or Armageddon.

After exploring Tel Megiddo we boarded our trusty bus and drove to the city of Nazareth and the Church of the Annunciation. Built to commemorate the event of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary, the mother of Jesus, the current church sits over the remains of several earlier buildings — the first built in the 4th century. After a short visit we continued north to the church built to commemorate Jesus when he appeared at a wedding in the village of Cana. Again, a short visit and back on the bus, for we were due for our evening meal in Tiberius.

Tiberius sits on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, and is a popular tourist/vacation destination. Originally founded by Herod Antipas and named for his patron, the Roman emperor Tiberius, it is like many Israeli cities: an interesting mix of modern city and ancient history. Tiberius boasts beaches, family entertainment, and hotels and restaurants sophisticated and simple. Like many places in Israel, it bears the marks of many battles, and depending on who you question you will get a different story of who built what fence and why.

We used Tiberius as a "base of operations" to explore the area around Galilee. In one day we toured the entire northern half of the lake —for the Sea of Galilee is not overly large. This reality is one of the things that strikes the traveler in Israel: it is a tiny land with an oversized history. Israel is slightly smaller than New Jersey, and many of the villages and sites mentioned in sacred story and history books are not more than a day’s journey on foot. In the course of a single morning we took in the churches built to commemorate the Sermon on the Mount and the breakfast encounter between the risen Christ and Peter; toured the ruins of Capernaum, where Peter and his family lived; and took a leisurely trip by boat across the water — just in time for a lunch featuring the local "St. Peter’s fish" that have sustained Galilean fishermen for centuries. As we journeyed we saw people that we realized represented many of the tribes, nations and cultures of Europe, the Middle East and beyond — all together in this little land.

After lunch we went to Mt. Tabor, the traditional site of the Transfiguration. While the monastery and church at the top are beautiful, it is the trip up and down the twisted mountain road by local taxi that makes for the better story.

The next morning we started our touring at the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, built to commemorate Jesus feeding the multitudes from meager provisions. It is a simple, elegant church, with an interior courtyard that invites a moment of contemplation.

From there we traveled into the northern Galilean highlands to the town of Safed. Although it has historical roots into antiquity, Safed first rose to prominence because of Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. They brought with them an intense religious fervor, and Safed became a center of Kabbalah. Today it is also known for its vibrant artist community.

After touring Safed we continued north toward the ruins of Caesarea Philippi, a city built by Herod’s son Philip. The area also was the home for an ancient shrine to the Greek god Pan, established after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The Gospels mention the city as the setting for Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah. The area is now a national park, but as we hiked the trails around the springs and the ruins we saw lots of barbed wire. The area rests within the Golan Heights, and the wire is the remnants of fences built by the Syrians and the Israelis over the years.

Before boarding the bus, we planned to eat lunch. Spotting a local eatery, several of our group entered into the parking lot through a gate in the fence that separated the restaurant from the park, and waited for our companions. As the rest of our group walked up, our tour guide spotted us. Worse, the restaurant owner spotted us at the same moment, standing on his side of the fence! Our guide’s face said it all; he would have to negotiate with part of his ante already in his opponent’s pocket…

(To be continued next month.)

David H. Brooks is the Associate Pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cary.

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