Tour Day in Jerusalem

 The day before Yom Kippur, we went to Jerusalem for the day to understand the inter-communal conflicts within the city of Jerusalem and in Israel. Driving from Tel Aviv you will see on the side of the road relics of the War of Independence. Hollowed out trucks that did not make it to Jerusalem, which was under siege. Most of these convoys were ambushed by local Arab militias from the hills. It serves as a reminder of how much blood was spilled to keep the city. Having been to Jerusalem many times before, the city seems to always be changing. Now the city has a light rail tram in the street for instance that was not there in 2007, which was the last time I was in the city. Some of the highlights include seeing the house of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the father of the modern Hebrew language. Seeing where Rabbi Kook lived. Having Meorav Yerushalmi on Ben Yehuda St. Meeting with a city planner t understand the balagan(mess) that Jerusalem can be with its distinctive secular, Arab, and Ultra Orthodox neighborhoods. Then we had a visit with Anat Hoffman who leads a group called Women of the Wall. After that we met with a Haredi(Ultra Orthodox) Rabbi to listen to his perspective of Judaism. We unfortunately did not make it to the Kotel(Western Wall), but Jerusalem is only a 45 minute bus ride so I will be back. Like Tel Aviv, you need to stop looking at how beautiful the city is and start to study the people who live in it. Once you understand the local populous, you will finally understand the city itself. Lehitraot from Tel Aviv.