Last Saturday evening (21st) some of us went into Jerusalem to listen to a series of talks from a group called: Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition! It was a series of talks on the current situation and how the Israeli Government flouts International Law and Human Rights by demolishing Palestinian houses and building illegal settlements (which fragments and weakens the Palestinian communities).

Armenian Archbishop Aris Shirvanian of Jerusalem

An Armenian priest on his way home after Sung Vespers.

1 in 50 model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period (the time of Jesus)

Yesterday (Monday) we heard the human side of the ‘occupation’ story from the day in April 1948 when this person’s family had to leave home (she was stopped on the way to school and told ‘no school’ today…….she soon found herself on the way to ‘exile’ in Nazareth and her father (sometime later) deported with 75,000 others into Lebanon! And so it has continued in different forms until the present day!

Sheep in Ben Hinnom Valley (the valley that in Jesus' time was a symbol of hell)... one of my walks!

It is 8.30 pm and I am just back from a talk by Gershon Baskin from IPCRI (Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information based here in Tantur) on the possible solution to the situation here. He outlined what from his perspective what the situation is, the solutions and what is, as it were, on the table internationally. It was a hopeful talk but requires now very strong and determined leadership.

We had our penultimate formal lecture today on ‘Orthodox Mystical Theology/Spirituality’……..from now on it is down hill!!! Tomorrow, 26th, is ‘Thanksgiving Day’ so it will be a morning with Mass, then prayers later with all our guests followed by a celebratory lunch. My first ‘Thanksgiving’!

The Kedron Valley that Jesus walked across from the Mount of Olives to Caiaphas' palace after his arrest
(as it is now!).....one of my walks!

Yesterday I went for one of my ‘walks’: down the Hinnom Valley (southern end of Jerusalem and, in biblical times the symbol of hell: Gehenna) and up the Kedron Valley (south-eastern end) into the Mount of Olives (all a bit dusty at present because of infrastructure works). I had lunch, as the rain started, looking down on Gethsemane. Came back across the Kedron, up the eastern end of the city into Mount Zion (where the Domitian Abbey is……warmed myself up with a coffee!!). Then back to base. As I went up past Silwan (in Kedron) sadly I missed a colleague doing research on ‘accompaniment’ who was with some people who were virtually living on the street because their house has been demolished!

The Dome of the Rock from beyond the Mount of Olives on an overcast day..... one of my walks!

What am I reading at the moment…….overcoming the ‘Powers of Domination’ in a non-violent way, the way of Christ! This is one of four books on the go at present………..will I run out of time?

Until next week, Vincent

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