Today in the morning we were to see the wailing wall and the Al Aqsa Mosque where the temple once stood in the old city. However, Jerusalem is in lock down, especially the religious sites. I have heard that this is because of the issues with the new settlement in the West Bank announced during the vice president's visit and a new synagogue in the west bank that was to be dedicated. I haven't heard of any trouble so I assume they are just being careful. Therefore, we went with plan B, a trip to Bethlehem that was not on the original agenda. Bethlehem is less than 7 miles from Jerusalem and is totally enclosed with a 9 meter wall. You go through security similar to a border crossing and it is very difficult for Palestinians to get out. As a result there are few jobs and many empty shops. In general Israel is taking the West Bank area piece by piece (through settlements which are all over the place and very large) and squeezing out the Palestinians. We had a talk by a liberal Israeli who explained the strategy. It is like there would be a 9 meter (~27 ft) wall around Groton MA and one would have to go through security to get to Ayer MA next door. Also, for example, if you weren't Irish it would be very difficult to leave Groton.
We visited the church over the accepted birthplace of Christ and visited another church where the sheppards attended their flocks in the nativity story. They were singing Christmas carols (holy night) in a newer section of the church. The area though hilly does have some green grass growing. I have been impressed with the cleanliness of all the areas we have visited both Israeli and Palestinian. We had lunch in a Palestinian restaurant that included a talk on Israeli politics which is complex to say the least. The speaker was originally from the US and had to return to marry his Israeli bride because the conservative Jewish groups wouldn't approve his marriage because he and his parents were reform Jews in the US. There is no such thing as a civil marriage in Israel. The conservative groups have to approve each one. The population of Jerusalem is actually decreasing as many of the more secular people both Jewish and Palestinian are leaving resulting in a concentration of the radial right of both ethnic groups in the city. Also, it is a rather expensive place to live.
After the talk and lunch we went to the holocaust museum outside the western edge of Jerusalem. The west side of Jerusalem is very different with treed hills and much less exposed rock. The museum was very impressive and packed, perhaps because so much of the rest of Jerusalem was closed.
Our guide had more trouble keeping us together exclaiming that we are the worst group he has ever guided, young or old.
Tomorrow we go to Caesarea and the sea of Galilee.
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