Day 4

Well, basically what I have been doing for the past two days is eating.

We started out at friends in Nazareth yesterday and were invited to eat at her mother's house. Her mother is one of the best cooks I have ever met and we ate until we could simply not move. Phew - so much food, handmade down to the last crumb. Our older son Golan slept over with our friends (they have kids his age), and it was nice to see them getting along in spite of the language barrier. Golan understands quite a bit of Hebrew, and Fauzi understands a bit of Hebrew and speaks a bit of English...I guess nobody needs a common language when it comes to kids playing.

We should learn our lesson.

It was funny to hear the reaction from a couple of people when we said that Golan was staying in Nazareth overnight: an incredulous "WHAT????" It is sad that there is such a separation here, within the country itself (not talking about the OT's) when in the end we live side by side, eat the same foods, speak a language that is almost identical.... and yet we put up these barriers - and these barriers are put up.

Her sister works for an organization based in New Mexico that brings Israeli and Palestinian girls together for 3 weeks in the US (somewhat like Seeds of Peace).

This morning we drove back to Nazareth and then from there to Umm al Fahm, where we were invited to celebrate Eid. And of course more food...omygod, you can't believe how much food. Said is the co-founder and director of the Umm al Fahm Art Gallery, which is internationally renowned for its joint Arab-Jewish initiatives and exhibits. Probably most famous was an exhibit of Yoko Ono's work some 10 years back. http://www.umelfahemgallery.org/about.html

Said is in the process of adding to this gallery a museum which will focus on the lost history and culture of the area. This is a big initiative, and the competition for the architect is taking place now. There were over 120 submissions from architects all over the world. The hope is that this museum will help Umm al Fahm go from town that nobody's heard of to a place where people go to learn.

It's difficult seeing the difference between the Arab towns and the Jewish ones. Especially when the Jewish town I'm staying in and used to live in is an 'upper class' town. Our friends in Nazareth said that their parents made sure to have a big area outside for their grandkids to play in bc there are no parks in Nazareth. And here right outside the window of my sister's house is a gorgeous park, any kids envy. The Arab towns are dirty, garbage not picked up. I have often heard Jewish people say that the reason for this is that Arabs just don't care about how they live and they litter etc...

My suggestion to those people (and really anyone else) is to read Susan Nathan's book "The Other Side of Israel". It is a personal account of a Jewish woman who moved to Israel from England (she is of South African descent) and eventually moves to an Arab town - unheard of. It is quite the read, certainly for those who don't really know what is going on but also for those who do.

Tomorrow - Jerusalem. It's quite cool here, only 10-12, and the temps in Jslm are not supposed to be more than that in the next few days (it's going down to 2 degrees tomorrow night). Jerusalem is quite cool as it is in the mountains.

Next week I hope to participate in some sort of political activity or activities - it is a bit tricky with the kids but I really hope I'll be able to manage to find a way. I will definitely visit Windows in Tel Aviv (joint Pal-Israeli organization) and there is the Jaffa Conference which takes place next Thursday, sponsored by the Citizens' Accord Forum Between Jews and Arabs in Israel, although it seems a bit heavy on the government parcitipation which makes me a bit suspicious.

OK - this post was a bit less 'heavy'. I guess I'm too full :)

Ronit
BTW - thanks everyone who has commented - either on the blog or by email. I appreciate your thoughts!!!