After a few months in Israel, and our steady diet of politics, religion and tension, A and I decided we needed to see how the other half lived. The other half being the Palestinians. Palestine is made up of two territories - the West Bank and Gaza. While Gaza is completely off-limits, parts of Palestine are possible to visit. Ramallah is experiencing a boom in economics and education and is easily visited as long as you are not Israeli - still possible, but most will not go. A tour of Hebron is an option - a highly contested area occupied by Palestinians and Orthodox Jewish settlements. Then there is Bethlehem - birthplace of Jesus (so far, they are finding evidence it may be elsewhere - that ought to set christians a crumblin'!) where the religious make pilgramages to visit the Church of the Nativity, the Grotto of the Nativity, Solomons Pools, King Davids Wells, or Rachels Tomb. Also, and more my speed, to see the graffiti art of Banksy. We figured this would be an easy entree into the culture.

I originally became aware that Bethlehem was in the West Bank because of a yoga connection. The best, most inspiring person ever on the face of the earth (AG from Three Dog Yoga) e-introduced me to a friend of hers who teaches yoga in Israel. Apparently, the Olive Tree Yoga Foundation is actually located in Bethlehem. While I had high hopes of joining a yoga class there, I never did make it there. The 3+ hour roundtrip commute was a deterent. Still I am absolutely awed by their efforts to bring yoga teacher training classes to Palestinian women and to have yoga classes for children. Teaching kids to chant ‘I am peace’ at the beginning of class, and then to do yoga, is an icredible affirmation to instill in the children of this new generation.

Downward @ Three Dog and Forward! at Olive Tree

Because of the logistics of crossing the Border into Palestine, it was necessary to hire a driver who had a resident of Israel ID combined with Palestinian citizenship. Our driver was born and lives in Bethlehem, but keeps an apartment in East Jerusalem to maintain his resident status and all of the benefits that go with it, including being able to drive all over Israel as well as Palestine. He drove us across the border, without a stop, and dropped us in front of a big red sign to wait for our guide L. The red sign warned all Israelis that they were risking their lives and that the Israeli government could do nothing to protect them.

L drove up in a gansta-looking stretch MB from the 1970s. He boasted about the 2 million kilometers that he had amassed on his odometer. He was super friendly, lived in Canada for several years and spoke perfect English. He started out by saying he had lots of Israeli friends, he believed that everyone should be equal, and that he taught his kids to respect all religions. I was relieved that he was open minded, but as we toured he would begin to relax and blame most, if not all of the issues, on the Israelis.

We visited the farmers market, a sad line up of vendors with a limited offering of fruits and vegetables. It was strategically placed near the boarder crossing so that workers could shop on their way home from a days work in Israel. L told us that all of the fruits and vegetables are from Israel. I asked why they couldn't develop their own farms in Bethlehem? he said it was because Israelis control the water and so there is no water. This is huge problem for them. I asked about water catchment systems to harness the rainwater? Surely Israel can't control the rain? he said there is no rain, this is a desert. I decided to drop it.

We walked up, down and around the wall. It is made of massive concrete slabs that stand 20’+ tall. Its not a straight line, it cuts left, right, in and around buildings and looks more serpentine in some areas. Claire's House is one example. It's s large two-story free-standing home/B+B/tourist shop with a large front yard. The 'yard' is more of a local dump - littered with paper, furniture, building materials and trash. The house is surrounded on three sides with the ominous and aggressive looking wall. It would make anyone angry and upset with Israel. Claires House is unfortunately situated next to a holy site called Rachels Tomb. Apparently the wall was erected as a result of two Israeli soldiers that were killed by Palestinian snipers while guarding the Tomb during the Intifada.

It was really horrible. While i could imagine her indignation at an offer to move to another location so they could replace her ancestral home with a separation wall, i wouldn't have been able to tolerate the daily concrete slap in the face when looking out 3/4s of the windows of her home. I wanted to call Claire to volunteer to hire a bunch of locals to clean up the debris, plant a garden and give her at least one nice view. A didn't believe this was possible. He thought she (and/or the palestinians) would never allow to her give up getting the reaction of outrage that I just had.

We continued walking along the wall, heavily covered in graffiti, most of it newer, louder pieces than the subtle politically charged stencils that Banksy uses. There’s even a nouveau Guernica. It turns out our Guide L worked with Banksys crew when they were sent over in 2007. Banksy is a well known yet mysterious Graffitti/Performance artist from London. If you happen to live in NYC you may have been aware of his presence during October 2013. If not, below is link to some of the brilliant work he did there. Many of the famous Banksy pieces in Palestine have since been defaced, painted over or sold to the highest bidder. They have even removed walls and shipped them to collectors. But out of context, would they even make sense?

http://untappedcities.com/2013/11/04/photos-all-31-days-banksy-nyc-residency-better-out-than-in-map-of-locations/

The road to the center Bethlehem was blocked car to car and lined with police and guards. Our guide L, being a local, knew everyone - the kids in the refugee camps, restaurant owners and some police. He was able to find out that the Church of the Nativity was being visited by the President of Belgium, so it was closed to the public. We instead had lunch and took a walking tour of the pristine polished stone walkways and corridors in the souk.

Look at the floors! Vegetables are one thing.....

But this clean in a Butcher shop?  Impossible! — But this clean in a Butcher shop? Impossible!

The souks in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are working class in comparison to this, vendors selling the produce and fish and leave the remnants on the floor for people to grind into the concrete. It was obvious that Bethlehem was designed for tourists. They had an silly play on Starbucks - Stars+Bucks for to go coffee, and several other fast food type restaurants. It was also obvious that tourism here has been hit hard by the Arab Spring and the on-going civil war in Syria - It was virtually empty. L said tourists tend to feel unsafe because of the tensions with Israel, and opt to do Bethlehem as a day trip instead of booking hotels in Jerusalem, missing out on 4 star rooms at 1 star prices.

There are actually three variations on this. Clever.

L took us on a drive to see the rocky cliffside olive groves and to buy some local wine at a monastery. We had an incredible view of the separation wall lining the freeway on two sides, which suddenly stops. The day-workers from Palestine take advantage of this break to make their way down to the freeway where shuttles pick them up and take them into Israel for work. This allows them to avoid the crowded border crossing (and waking up at 3am!) to make it to their 6am jobs. It seems like an arrangement that works for everyone as long as someone doesn't call too much attention to it.

The Serpentine Wall. Not complete on either side if you look right, into the distance.....

We were interested to see inside the 60+ year old refugee camp, more of a slum-like city than a tented camp. People that have refugee status are given a monthly check from the UN so most of them really haven’t worked in generations. We carefully drove inside, I say carefully because the tiny streets and alleyways could barely accommodate the stretch Mercedes L drove. Instead of being upset at the audacity of L, they laughed, and happily guided us through the maze of the camp. All the kids kicked around soccer balls, laughing in the streets, and were genuinely happy to see us. I think he coaches a kids soccer team in his spare time.

We were surprised at how easily the day passed and how welcoming everyone was. L was a charming guide except for several of his mis-conceptions and mis-information regarding some of the significant historic episodes between the Palestinians and the Jews. With my lack of history and knowledge of the issues, I wouldn't have really noticed, but by the time we returned to Israel, A was fuming about it. We're just not sure if this is what he was taught in school or what he believed really happened. In the end there was one thing they could both agree on - to Blame it on the British. Maybe that's why Banksy came back? to add his British commentary generations later?

This one is painted over or sold? Its the saddest of all. Palestinans have never been to the gorgeous Israeli beaches!