We traveled from Ben Gurion airport and plunged directly into some of the critical and conflictual issues of contemporary Israel.

In Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, we had an introduction to civic issues that animate Israeli life. Rabin Square was the site of the famous rally for peace at which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in October, 1995. Ophir Yarden of the Interreligious Coordinating Council of Israel, is our guide and teacher. He played the music to the Israeli song “Shir la Shalom” and spoke about how this song had become the anthem of the Israeli peace movement. We then walked to the memorial of the assassination. Rabin didn’t know the lyrics to the song and had them printed for him. After singing, he folded the paper and placed it in his pocket. Ophir showed us a blood-stained image of the lyrics that had been in Rabin’s pocket. After a short discussion about internal conflicts in each of the three Abrahamic faiths, we proceeded to Jaffa to face other conflicts.

We were met by Sami Abu-Shehada and Yuval Tamari who brought us to three different locations in Jaffa to present dual (and dueling) narratives about the city. At the first stop, near the waterfront, Sami spoke about historic Jaffa as an ancient port and a centre of commerce for surrounding Arab countries. Yuval emphasized the Biblical roots of Jaffa and its significance as a port of entry for Jews and Christians who wanted to go up to Jerusalem.

At our second stop, Sami described the 20th century growth of Jaffa as an important Arab city and Yuval discussed modern Zionism and the founding of Tel Aviv in 1908 as a Jewish city. There was growing competition between the cities and conflict between their citizens. From the Arab perspective, the need for Jews to leave Europe should not become the Arab burden. On the other hand, Jews who had been a significant part of Jaffa, felt threatened because of anti-Jewish riots in the 1920s.

At the third location, Sami and Yuval presented contrasting perspectives about the 1948 war and its aftermath, which resulted in independence for Jews and naqba for Arabs; return and restoration to an ancestral home for Jews, but defeat and exile for Arabs; opportunity and hope for Jews, but loss of people and property for Arabs. Later, in the courtyard of the Old Jaffa Museum, our participants spoke about their intellectual and emotional reactions to the dual narratives. They spoke of the partial nature of each narrative and the inability to hear/accept/teach the story told by the other side. Sami and Yuval dialogued about the challenges of hearing conflicting versions of history, living together, and teaching a new generation about co-existence.

We went up to Jerusalem, arriving in the early night. On Mt. Scopus we looked out over the old and new cities. We read Psalm 126 and Psalm 133 in Hebrew and English while, in the background, loudspeakers brought the sounds of Muslim evening prayer. It was quite a powerful moment.

After dinner we debriefed about our moments of difficulty and inspiration. Father Damian and Rev. Karen led a brief Ash Wednesday service. Jews were struck by the Hebrew Scriptural readings which reflected our prophetic selections for the Sabbath of Repentance (Shabbat Shuvah) which proceeds Yom Kippur. We also discussed the use of ashes in the Jewish tradition before the 9th of Av and (for some) during a wedding service.

What an intense first day. Tomorrow will be a long day. We have to leave the hotel at 7am. It’s already late and there won’t be much sleep.

Rav Baruch