July 13 - To Nazareth, with some stops along the way...

We left Taybeh in the morning and headed to the Jordan River to see the spot where Jesus had been baptized. Lots of Israeli flags around the baptismal site, and fences warning you of mines. Lovely. We had a nice time of reflection down at the water, then asked a soldier nearby to take a photo (hoping that he would put down his gun to take the picture... no such luck... prompting one participant to request that he shoot the photo, not the gun...). The river, at this point at least, is quite narrow, with Jordan (the country) just on the other side.

We then headed to the Dead Sea for a float. It was pretty neat - when I would try to put my feet on the bottom, my body would just not do what I have come to expect it to do in water. We did the mud thing too, just like we were supposed to... But I had managed, somehow, to get water in my eyes by this point - not too pleasant - so I got out to rinse in non-salty water. A few of us, instead, had a nice, relaxing float in a chlorinated kiddie pool. Kind of weird when the chlorinated pool is the refreshing, cool option...

We had a nice lunch in Jericho and saw the tree where, supposedly, Zaccheus climbed up to see Jesus. There were some people from Ramallah who were travelling with us but who could not continue with us at this point to Nazareth. They were not able to get permits (Nazareth is in Israel), so had to turn around and head back to Ramallah. The realities of the occupation for residents of the West Bank.

The drive to Nazareth that afternoon was lovely - we watched the scenery change from desert to more agricultural land. And because we crossed the "border" between the West Bank and Israel, we had another walk through the bus by a few soldiers.

When we arrived in Nazareth, we went up to the top of Mount Precipice, off of which, it is said, the people of Nazareth were ready to throw Jesus when he returned to the city. It was a beautiful view of the city.

Our meeting with Jafar Farah, the Director of Mossawa ("equality") Centre that works to promote equality for the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, gave us an interesting look at a group of people we had yet to consider in our trip - people who live in Israel, but who are Arab-Palestinian. Identity is an interesting question, Jafar told us - he lives in Israel, but is he Israeli? What does that mean? The occupation poses challenges for this group of people as well - they are cut off from family members and friends who live in the West Bank, and are not always afforded access to holy places. When asked about whether the solution lies with one or two states, Jafar cited the examples of Switzerland, Spain and Belgium. There need to be balances to run the country.

Jafar also gave us a quick tour of a new tv studio that will be dedicated in Arabic broadcasting in the area.

Another day full of activity, ideas and reflection.

I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield, down by the riverside

Down by the riverside, down by the riverside

I'm gonna lay down by sword and shield, down by the riverside

Ain't gonna study war no more