Israel Update #8

9.10.08: last tour day in Israel! it seems like I have been here for ever!! i've loved almost every minute of it though!
breakfast: eggs, 2 french toast, chocolate croissant (sound familiar?) but this time I put chocolate sauce on my french toast.. yummy.
Our first stop is the Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem.. Our tour guide gives a speil before it opens. When God wants to build something, the enemy wants to destroy it. Their is a bigger context of God versus evil. Their is fine line when considering political correctness... being good and giving up, political correctness is good but borders on giving in. The Holocaust vividly expresses the power of evil. The church failed against the struggle of evil, so people stopped going (the story of Europe), there is no trust in the church. What kind of stance did we take? What kind of people are we? We do nothing, what do we expect, that people will join our church? Christians wanted to convert or destroy Jews, the Jews were betrayed. The church was so weak. But there were Christians who took their faith seriously and there is an alley dedicated to them. It is irrational to risk your own life to save "dirty filthy Jews" but this is the kingdom of God, where God calls for the irrational. We need to be told about the Christians who did help the Jews, they are a powerful witness, a real witness, not just a pamphlet, but real evangelism. Israel is not allowed to have missionaries, but how powerful is it to learn about Christians who did help the Jews, just wish there were more. I got about 1/3 of the way through the historical part and took notes on interesting things that added to, complemented or reminded me of things I already knew from classes.
After the Germans were defeated in WWI, there was economic, social and political crises. Propaganda flooded the country, blaming the Jew. I saw a one million mark note that read, "The Jew has taken our gold, silver, and fat, and left us with this garbage." Children's books about antisemitism: "Poison Mushroom" and board games "Swastika's race for victory." and "Out with the Jews." Christians had a bad image of Jews, blamed for Jesus' death (from class: they said no! [to Jesus]). Painting of Juda, a jew, blamed for death, paintings of Jews blind and degraded, in Hell, the pig as the Jew's mother. Christians rejected the Jews' economic acheivements. Anti-semitism was bred as a comprehensive and simplistic way for an explanation of their fears. Came up with crazy Jewish conspiracies "Protocols of Elders of Zion" a detailed plot of Jews taking over the world, etc. There were plates, beer mugs "foreign, moneyed and exploitive Jews...", ashtrays, statues, and other artifacts degrading the Jews, ads and hotel signs saying NO JEWS HERE, Jews were subhuman. This all paved the way for Hitler. Adolf served in the military and fought in WWI (we are breeding our own criminals!).
Boycott day was April 1, 1933, when Germans boycotted Jewish stores. no voting rights starting 1935. Media censorship - radios had one station, the Nazi station. 1st concentration camp was built- Dauchau for the communists, social democrats, intellectuals, clergymen, .. sent for "re-education" and to threaten others. Next were the homosexuals, Jehovah's Witness and gypsies.
Artifacts from camp: a paper chess set and urns with names engraved and pics of children inside!
Even Jews who had sincerely converted to Christianity were sent away and killed (the Kaulla family). Racial theory was taught in schools, tools were created to take measurements of bodies (diff, sizes used to discriminate) and racial classification charts. Saw a ticket for the railroad that said "one way to Jerusalem, no returns, 4th class." The Euthansia program began in October 1939. 70,000 Germans and Austrian died because they were disabled or elderly (therefore not part of the master race). In August 1941, the camps were closed due to protests frm the Churches!! (if only churches would have protested the killing of jews as well!!!). The personnel from that camp were sent to Poland to kill Jews. (sigh!) The rest of the world thought persecution of the Jews was an internal problem.
On Nov 9-10, 1938, Kristallnacht, mass murder (100 killed) and imprisionment of Jews, destroyed houses and burned synagogue. The museum has the Torah scroll rescued from a synagogue.
Emigration information began to be printed for the Jews about where they could do. Some learned Spanish to travel to S. America. 939 Jewish refugees sailed on The ship, St Louis, to Cuba, but were denied access at last minute. Also denied in America. Some headed to Britian, while others back home to die! President Roosevelt in July 1938 refused to change current immigration policies at the Evian Conference, along with several other countries. (mostly because of the recent war). A cartoon was published in 1939 depicting the statue of liberty holding out a sign that said "KEEP OUT." with the St Louis ship in the waters below. Senator Taft objected to admitting 20,000 Jewish children on June 9, 1939, because their were children in America that needed food and shelter first.
Hitler began to invade and take over countries. There is a picture of Hitler and his men in front of the Eiffel Tower, after conquering the city. Then Poland, the Netherlands, France, Albert Memmi wrote, "all of Europe has turned into a monster." Then Tunisia and North Africa, Romania.
I read an anonymous diary, written from May 5-Aug 3, 1944 at Lodz Ghetto, in English, Yiddish, Polish, and Hebrew in the margins of a french novel. There were 1000 ghettos from 1939-1942. Nathan Alterman in 1942 wrote about how the Pope Pius XII did nothing. There was silence of the issue, he even shelved a letter his predecessor had been writing about racism. What a travesty! Just because he wanted to maintain power of the church in Nazi areas instead of maintaining the power of Christ through love!!
Skipped a big section because not enough time. Saw a room dedicated to the Righteous Among the Nations, those who risked their lives to help the Jews (the alley of trees also dedicated to them. They were the model of heroism, humane and moral behavior, preservation of the sanctity of human life. ie. Schlinder, Germany. Raoul Wallenberg, Sweden, Dr. Adelaide Hautual, France, Zajneba and Mustafa Hardaga. Piotr Bielewicz, Belarus, and Leopold Socha, Poland.
Then I entered the Hall of Names. I went frm being very angry to very sad almost instantly. Above the door way is written: "I shall give them in My house and within My walls a memorial and a name" Isaiah 56:5. On the right side is written: "Remember only that I was innocent and just like you, mortal on that day. I, too, had a face marked by rage, by pity, and joy, quite simply, a human face." Benjamin Fondane, "Exodus" murdered Auschwitz 1944. Inside were binders FULL of names of people who perished. Pictures and names on the ceiling, and a round empty pit below in the middle. Also Isaiah LVI.5 in different languages.
Then quickly visited the Children's memorial, a room full of candles and mirrors, with a recording of all the names of the children who died.

I am SO angry! We did this!! We are capable of doing this! And we are still doing this today! We need to make a museum of artifacts and journals and pictures of other genocides too! If these evangelical christians can feel compassion for the Jews due to this memorial, maybe, just maybe, we can feel compassion for others too! The Africans and Haitians and Indians and SO many others!! I used to think that it was easiest to get people to care when the concern is familiar, based on family (ie. Relay for Life), because people do not take heed to Jesus' words to deny your mother and love ALL. But after seeing American Evangelical Christians' reactions to the Holocaust, I am convinced we can get them to care about others too! Get them to cry! to see children dying, even today! Maybe that will help, But not on TV or the news or even movies, but in a place, to have an experience (like me and the candy art exhibit about AIDS). We need a museum with real pictures and things they can touch and read and live. 6 million Jews died in the the Holocaust, 29,000 Children die due to hunger! So many more die in Rwanda and Darfur, and so many other places! The church cannot STILL be silent like they were in the Holocaust; we have not learned the lesson. We are convinced that preaching about evolution and salvation is enough, but it is NOT brothers and sisters. It is NOT! (ok I am done with my rant for now)

Next we go back to the Old City, to the wall that stands on the former border of Jordan and Israel.. in fact you can see bullet holes in the walls from 1948 and 1967. We go to the Temple Institute (an ... interesting...) place that is recreating artifacts for the temple out of real materials to be used when the third temple is built ("God-willing"), real gold, real string, etc. I am still not sure what to think of it... to think that these outdated artifacts would actually be used in a 21st or 22nd century temple seems mildly absurd... but I suppose it is outlined in the bible...
Anyways, so we see the High Priest outfits, which include under pants and a tunic all woven from a single thread (the sleeves are stitched on later). The string is called shesh, which means 6 in Hebrew because the thread has 6 strings. Over the tunic is a cloth with 12 gems (real!) representing the tribes of Israel (each gem with a letter of the alphabet). Tradition has it that when questions were asked of him, he would consult the gems and the the letters would shine, and he would use the letters to spell the answer. amazing, miraculous, or an ancient Ouija Board?? On his shoulders are plates with 6 tribes each on them, to remind him that he is the connection of the nation to God but also it is a burdern. He must fight for them and serve them. Also a golden crown, written "Holy to God."
See also a golden alter (gold and wood), where the offering of incense happened. Another miracle happened, the incense did not ever burn the wood during the offering. The incense is made of 12 different plants (the tribes), people of every nation.. but also a bad smell was put int, to remind people of the sin in every nation. We have to have the bad, it is an integral part. We still love them and need them (kinda like I feel about the people on the bus), but they have a soul and are a part of God!!
Also saw lyre and trumpets and harps. The lady at the museum gave us an analogy of King David being too busy to write the book of Psalms by asking "when would George W have time to write the book?" The guy next to me said, "George W couldn't write a book if his life depended on it" HAHAHAHAH!!!! perfect! glad someone on this trip agrees with me. A lot of people in Israel seem to really like George W. How odd. Anyways, the tradition is that King David did find time to write the psalms... je would wake up to the sound of the wind blowing the harp and he would write to that tune. The harp has 22 strings for the 22 letters of Hebrew alphabet, each having their own sound and melody.
Next we saw the table for show bread that belonged in the temple, again made of pure gold. [[do you really think God would approve of spending of money on pure gold for a bread showcase, instead of helping the needy?]] Tradition has it that the 12 showbread that were put on the table (of course, 12 tribes again) that would stay there for one week after shabbat, did not mold or smell, but was fresh, as if just baked. The 12 loaves also were able to feed all the priests and they were filled from just a piece of the showbread. Another miracle of the temple. In King Solomon's temple, he put 10 menorahs, instead of just one, makng 70 candles, for the 70 nations, so each country has one candle.
The Institute has not made the sacrificial altar because the altar can only be made in the exact spot, where Abraham was willing to kill Isaac.
So in "The Holy" of the temple is the golden menorah in the South: spiritual blessing of the world, divine light; the Table of Show Bread in the North: physical blessing of sustanance, and the incense alter in the center, both blessings. The third temple is hoped to built for unity, peace and wealth (hmmm wealth.. how interesting). I asked our host about animal sacrifice in the third temple, and she said there are different interpretations of whether animal sacrifice will be done- some say yes, some say no- we will all be vegetarians like in the time of Adam and Eve (though I thought Adam and Eve were given authority to eat meat?) and some say only some sacrifices will be used, like incense. We leave the institute, and I have the weirdest feeling about this whole third temple idea. And I think back to when Herod built the second temple... it was huge, expensive, grand... slaves built in with sweat and blood; it was way more than anyone needed... and Herod did it to show off... yet it is now considered so holy and special by all the Jews. What was wrong with the small humble temple?
Next, we have lunch, on our own... and I felt comfortable walking around the small area of the city we were in by myself, which was so relieving. I liked being on my own, not having to wait for people to catch, not having to be dragged forward, but to go on my owhn pace. Ate a felafel pita with veggies and sauce and hummus, much better than in Galilee. Played with a stray cat, and walked around some of the shops.
Next we walk through the old city and go through two sets of metal detectors to go on top of the temple mount (which is Muslim, where the Dome of the Rock is). We are about to go up the ramp, where the guards stop us. There has been a bomb scare. One guard tells us to stay, the other to go back down... finally we go back down and wait in the little room where the metal detectors are. We are there for at least 15 minutes. Everyone has left the area near the Western Wall, sirens were on and they made announcements over speakers. Finally, we were able to go. Some in our group were really scared; I actually wasn't, considering we used to have bomb scares all the time in high school. Granted, this is Israel, where there is much more likelihood of a bomb, but I really wasnt that scared. Just a twinge of fear. So go up to the Temple Mount, stand on the platform of the temple, which is 32 acres. This is where the temple used to be, but now stands the Muslim Mosque, which is beautiful in its own right. Further down is the Muslim school which stands on the fortress. People of all Abrahamic faiths understand the very tremendous and powerful way God has expressed Godsself in this place, Mt Moriah, the Temple Mount. So many religious things have been said to happen here, there is much power here.

Then we walk through Arab alleyways with shops and stands and lots of people and traffic, to the Garden Tomb, another possible place where Jesus was crucified and buried. The tour there starts at a mountainside that looks like a skull (hard to imagine that exact rock formation would be the same 2000 years ago) but an archeologist, Gordon, saw that skull and thought that this could be Golgotha. Found underneath the "skull" was evidence of Roman executions and other crucifixions...ankle bones with nails in them, skulls with dents to show stoning. The area is a junction of major roads, the cross was not far away. but up close, God with us , Emmanuel, even in death. This is where Jesus would have uttered his last words, it is finished. Then we walk to an area where the 3rd largest cistern (1 million liters) was discovered, proving that ths area would have been a grape/olive grove, a garden once upon a time like scripture says. Nearby, one of the largest wine presses was also found. Then to the tomb that was discovered. Found outside: floor was not original, was part of a church, with a footwashing basin, so other worshippers thought this place was special and built a church there. In the tomb, there is a large chamber, a weeping chamber, which is exceptionally larger than most. Only once place is cut for feet in the body area, proving that only one person was ever buried there, so the tomb was brand new. The tomb is not natural, but is cut into the stone. This tomb could be the tomb Joseph of Arimethea built for his family and put Jesus' body in, and then it was never used again. Perhaps the garnde belonged to Joseph as well. This is the place for evangelicals to worship the resurrection of Jesus, though scholars perfer the Holy Sepulcher area. Throughout the Garden area, tons of people gather in groups and sing songs in different languages. It is very beautiful, so many people worshipping this place. We have a communion service as well, as Joe reads the oldest communion account in 1st Corinthians, we can SEE the things mentioned. Its amazing. Then Mickey gave his testimony, about how as a teenager he was called to "come back to the God of your forefathers." The more and more he knows Jesus, the more and more Jewish he becomes. He charges us to go back home and still remember.
Back to hotel, cant believe its all over. dinner: rice, veggies, turkey with spices (not good), corned beef (good), lots of yummy desserts and gelato (which made up the majority of my meal, haha), said goodbye to everyone... i'm glad to be leaving, but i will miss them. sleep at 7:30pm before my 1am departure for the airport.