Day 11

watching the sunrise at Masada

"Land is tangible, peace is not." (Paul Hirshon, spokesperson of the MFA)

This quote simply explains the complexity of the situation in the Holy Land as I would like to call it between the Israeli's and Palestinians. It took me quite a while to put

... thoughts into words while exploring ideas.

It's a great difficulty to come as a foreigner 

because until their experiences become also my own,

until I can place myself in their shoes

I will never fully understand either the side of the Israeli (mainly Jews) or Palestinian (mainly Muslim with 2% Christians).

Each side has its own narrative: both people claim to the same land where Israeli's claim through biblical reference as they have been exiled from their land for over 2000 years since the destruction of the Second Temple by the Roman Empire. Palestinians claim to the land because of their past residency before the UN decided the fate of Palestine as two states: an Arab and Jewish state.

Their narratives are beliefs that can't be comprised and from there the Arab-Israeli war and conflict continues as the young state of Israel of 64 years clings to its identity. Both sides share experiences of suffering and pain as I heard from a Palestinian man who lost his father when an Israeli soldier shot him for no valid reason and an Israeli man who lost his son in the Lebanon war.

this experience of loss and suffering inevitably brought them together 

as one voice they understand the OTHER.

they used that united voice to speak of peace

in their words of suffering overcome by hope I realized

intangible peace is calls for experiences of intangile means.

HAIFA!

Baha'i Gardens

One can't pass by Haifa without admiring the beauty expressed by nature in the Baha'i gardens. With a daily staff of over 100 gardeners a day
to maintain just the precision of the symmetricity of the gardens.

I happened to meet someone from the Baha'i faith from my class,
who described the focal points of the Baha'i faith:

UNITY
in humanity as we are 1 human race,
where we come from 1 common source.

sounds perfect for today as we as humans fall into our own weaknesses of pride and greed to want to be a somebody recognized by worldly standards of wealth and power.

The other day, it was the birthday of somebody I had met just a few days ago. When I greeted her, she said that she didn't want anything special. Although I didn't know her well, I thought of an idea to make a small card with everyone's signature from the class. When I presented to her, she was very surprised and asked openingly to who had drawn the card. I chose not to mention anything as humbleness in heart, mind and soul makes no room for pride because...

we are equal, no one is better than the other
 we must see the OTHER as our own...
Neighbour, Friend, and even BROTHER/ SISTER.

...so UNITY is possible.

JERUSALEM!

Being at the heart of Jerusalem- the “Old City,” where Christians, Muslims and Jews all live or “coexist” is a blessing in disguise.  As mentioned, I’m taking a course in Jerusalem called “Coexistence in the Middle East” at Hebrew University.  

Although the numbers aren’t equal, it is right to say that in such a small area live people 
of the same past, different present, and unpredictable future.

of the same past as Abraham was the forefather of all three monotheistic religions,

perhaps of a different present overlooks Jerusalem.

the magnificent Muslim shrine 

‘the Dome of the Rock’ stands

where the First and Second Jewish Temple was built and destroyed,

not to mention that the Dome

 is almost identical in shape

 and a few steps away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians.

and of an unpredictable future.

There’s enough history, however I’d rather not stress on opinion, which can lead to subjectivity

 but to share about my own experience

... of ‘co-existing’ (living) with two Muslims, a Jew, one (who’d rather not say) and me-a Christian.

In the media, you endlessly hear of the conflicts among these groups, 

but my experience has been quite different. 

The other day, I was making some noodles for dinner when my housemate walked in from grocery shopping.  I was quite hungry, but seeing that she came home after a tiring day, I offered to make more noodles to share with her. Then another housemate came and I did the same. They also offered some of their own ingredients to the mix. We didn’t all just go into our rooms and sit in front of our computers like a typical North American society; we ate together and spoke not about the latest iPad, smartphone, shopping sales...

but of real things, of experiences, of ideas.

The idea that our differences don’t fuel disagreements and lead to discrimination,

rather they help us learn to “love our neighbour as ourselves.”

Easier said than done, but someone has to take the first step?

ISRAEL!

overlooking Bethlehem

I'm in Jerusalem, Israel.
You might think, well Donata just didn't seem to get enough from one year in Italy/ Europe.
But let me tell you what has brought me here.
When I look back, now I understand why
there was something holding me back from applying on exchange to Australia for the upcoming year.
This idea of going on exchange was so appealing, but when I looked at
my intention it was rather selfish- only to escape the reality of life in Canada.

However, when i had let go of that plan,

within a day or so, there was something even BETTER.

only because I sacrificed one weekend away from home to attend a conference,
where I met a guy who shared about this unique opportunity to participate in summer courses at Hebrew U
It gets better, the Canadian Friends of Hebrew U even grants scholarships for these summer courses.

If I continue backwards, I was fortunate to attend this conference called, "Mediterranean and Cities," in Florence, Italy last year, which was an incredibly turning point in my year off (read here).
Even further back in the past, this interest all started when I was given the topic of Middle Eastern conflicts in my 2nd-year Geography class.
I literally had no clue as it what was happening there and out of all the topics, that was what I was given.

So "You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards," once famously said by Steve Jobs to the Stanford graduating class.

how TRUE?

but often we'd rather continuously and unfailingly look into the future, 

when we forget that we live in the present. 

Now, I'm currently enrolled in a course called, "Coexistence in the Middle East," at Hebrew U in Jerusalem, which serves as an interaction to the challenges and complexities of coexistence in Israel, where civilizations, religions, nations and ideologies converge. Now my intention is rather not something selfish to travel the world, but rather a deep passion and an unfailing desire to work towards not just my dream, but that of millions others...

"that they may all be one." (Jn 17: 21)

John Paul II once said, "if the Mediterranean can find peace, then the whole world will be at peace."

Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount,
where once stood the 1st and 2nd Jewish temple
built for its comparison to the Christian`s Church of the Holy Sepulchre

mmmMM: rice with Arab spices beans
and beef with roasted almonds on top

Liana and I
my friend from the Old City of Jerusalem
(met in Italy last year in Loppiano)