Jericho road pilgrimage By Skip Schiel The Jericho Road. From the Old City of Jerusalem, past the Mount of Olives , to the Separation Wall in Abu Dis—where the road is blocked. Around the Wall thru a monastery, past the tomb of Lazarus in Azarya (Bethany) and a neighboring mosque, to end at the Church of St. Lazarus (they were siblings and intimate with Jesus) for a candle and hand washing ceremony. Not more than five miles along the road to the most ancient city in the world, but significant. We wrote prayers on cards and tucked them into the Wall. We drew and wrote graffiti of what we wish for about the Wall, chalking in on. We sang in churches, read scripture, sang a Palestinian praise hymn (Yara bassa lami) and Dona Nobis Pacem, also two versions of Little Town of Bethlehem, one from Europe, the other from the United States . Our words echoed mightily in the churches. The pilgrimage capped the three month experience of this team of Ecumenical Accompaniers. Organized by Jeremy Routledge, Anna Seifert, Cathy Nichols, Mina Damons and others, a new team of accompaniers joined those departing. For me, photographing the outgoing team, the 3 hour long pilgrimage was a farewell. I’d lived and worked with each team for short periods, photographed their activities, provided photos to individuals and the organization, and generally gained access to regions and issues otherwise hidden. That experience also was a form of pilgrimage. Walking the Jericho Road awakened stories: the Good Samaritan somewhere along this road, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, the difference between the sisters Mary and Martha, Mary washing the feet of Jesus with her tears and hair, the last hours of Jesus’ freedom, and along the Via Dolorosa, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. A new reality emerged, however, that of the truncated Jericho road. When once robbers threatened travelers, now a powerful state and ideology, attempting to guarantee security for its people, threaten the peace and security of the entire planet. Finally a celebration: pizza at Pizza Roma, bringing both teams of Accompaniers together with various people from local neighborhoods who’d linked with the teams. Jeremy had asked us to visualize a future of peace and justice--asking us to visualize miracles, no less significant than those we commemorated on the Jericho Road pilgrimage--and do this in the form of two dialogs. His words: “The year is 2014 and there has been a settlement of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that is just, peaceful and environmentally sustainable. “Without being constrained by how this was achieved, place yourself in this society 10 years from now and write short dialogues between people living in this society as they go about their daily life that give us glimpses of this new society…Introduce them briefly in their imagined contexts, but [don’t include] their history and how they arrived at this point. “ #1. On the train from Ramallah to Jerusalem Two young men, Cain and Able, are riding on a commuter train between Ramallah and Jerusalem --no checkpoints, no wall, no blockages of any kind. Cain says, “I remember when I traveled with my parents between Ramallah and al-Quds ( Jerusalem ) when I was growing up. A service taxi from Ramallah to the Kalandia checkpoint, the fear I felt facing the soldiers. I recall one time when my father was turned back, I and my mother were allowed thru, we waited in the rain on the other side for the soldier’s decision. I cried as I waved goodbye to my father.” “And now,” Able replies, “we ride this train for 20 minutes and we’re at Damascus Gate, far different from the old days when this trip took one to two hours, two taxis, plus the long wait and humiliation at the checkpoint. And of course, many of us without proper papers could not even enter Jerusalem . Now the train drops us off and the al-Aqsa mosque is a five minute walk.” #2. In the sky above Hebron , having just taken off from the Hebron airport A family, father Hani (Palestinian), mother Nora (US Jew), daughters Rula and Rivkah, on their way home to Ramallah after visiting Hani’s family in Twani, a small village south of Hebron . Rula exclaims as she looks out the small plane’s window, “This view is gorgeous. Dad, look there, the Ibrahimi mosque, the line of tourists waiting to get in. I can even see kippahs on some heads, head scarves on most of the women.” And Rula replies, “Did you notice on the other side, the synagogue side, that old men in kaffiehs and young girls in long dresses (the fashion for Israeli Jewish women) are mixing together on the steps to the synagogue?” Imm Amin from Abu Dis, Personal Testimony, PENGON/Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, February 4th, 2004 |