First of all, I have to give credit where credit is due. Although I had planned nearly every detail of our Israel/Jordan trip, I did not include a day in the West Bank when we were in Jerusalem. It was David’s idea to go to Bethlehem, and he was the one that found our awesome local guide, Abood. It ended up being one of the most interesting days of the trip, and one that I have continued to reflect on long after it was over. David found Abood through TripAdvisor, but you can also reach him directly here.

Getting to the West Bank

While Abood would be driving us around the West Bank in his VW Beetle, he couldn’t come to Jerusalem to pick us up since he was Palestinian. He told us that we could possibly find an Arab taxi driver to take us to Bethlehem, but it would be easiest to take the bus. Although I’ll be the first to admit that I like luxury, I actually enjoy taking public transportation, especially when it’s safe, clean and efficient. The bus to Bethlehem checked all those boxes – except at the beginning and end of our ride, when the efficiency piece went completely out the window.

David and I walked to the bus stop from our hotel and waited for the right bus to arrive. Then we waited some more. And we kept on waiting. Finally, our bus was pulling up to the stop. Then it didn’t even bother to stop and drove on by us. Seriously? Meanwhile, I was sweating up a storm in my conservative midi dress and jean jacket. Things were not off to a good start.

I should also mention all the young members of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) that we passed on our walk to the bus stop. I knew that it was mandatory for Israelis to serve in the military, and that it was common to see the soldiers walking around town, but it was still disarming to see so many kids that couldn’t be even twenty years old wearing combat boots and army fatigues, with giant machine guns slung over their shoulders.

A bus finally stopped for us and we boarded, along with a number of other tourists bound for the holy sites in Bethlehem. From that point on, the ride was relatively relaxed. We stopped a bunch, and people got on or off, as you would expect when riding a bus. The checkpoint entering Palestine went quickly. Then, as we neared the final stop in Bethlehem, we encountered a wrinkle. The narrow road that we needed to cross was blocked by a minor car accident, and the cars weren’t moving. One-by-one, the cars behind us reversed until they could get to an open road and find an alternate route. The impatient side of me wanted to jump out of the bus and walk to the designated meeting point, but Abood told us (via WhatsApps) to just wait and let him know when we finally got to the stop. Reversing through a small, crowded street in a giant bus was not the most calming of experiences, but we eventually made it out of the clusterf*** and were let off the bus.

Holy Sites of Bethlehem

Next we found Abood and his cute little VW Beetle. He was understanding about the delays that we encountered before meeting up with him (I’m guessing that it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence).

Our ride for the day
It was tight in the backseat, and the car didn’t have seatbelts or air conditioning, but I didn’t mind
This famous Banksy painting was right behind the gas station where we stopped for some petrol
David insisted on taking silly pictures like this one. I was not amused.

We discussed our plan for the day with Abood and agreed to start with the holy sites. While David and I weren’t personally religious, we agreed that we couldn’t go to Bethlehem and not see the place where Jesus was supposedly born.

This is Shepherd’s Field, where the shepherds allegedly first learned about Jesus’s birth from angels. The site also featured an ancient winery from the sixth century (no longer operational, but still piqued my interest)
From here we could also see evidence of the places where Israel had established some of its controversial settlements on Palestinian land
Next we visited the extremely crowded Church of the Nativity. Abood was incredible at helping us cut through all the lines and get in and out as quickly as possible. Don’t mistake the expression on my face for anything other than an overwhelming desire for space and air conditioning. The church was packed with people and I was starting to over-heat.
This was the alleged site of Jesus’s birth
Everyone lined up to take turns kissing the site. I just watched and hoped that they were all sanitizing properly before and after their kisses.
The external view of the Church of the Nativity. Inside there were Armenian, Greek and Catholic sections (we saw them all).
The beautiful Mosque of Omar was directly across the square from the Church of the Nativity
Fun fact: David loves Amstel Light. We saw a shop selling plain Amstel, which David had never seen before, on the way back to Abood’s Beetle. David asked if he could buy a beer for the road. Abood’s response? “It’s Palestine.” While the locals didn’t drink, they apparently didn’t mind if a tourist walked around with a beer.

The Separation Wall

Just like we couldn’t visit Bethlehem and not see the site of Jesus’s birth, we couldn’t go to the West Bank and not see the separation wall. A source of much debate, the wall was built by Israel as a protection against violent terrorist attacks from the Palestinians, although Palestine argues that the wall represents apartheid. On the way to the wall, we drove by one of the Palestinian refugee camps that housed people (and their families) displaced in 1948 (Arab-Israeli War) or 1967 (Six Day War). According to Abood, the conditions weren’t great.

The infamous wall. Note the portrait of Trump on the far left, closest to the security tower.
I found it to be a much more emotional experience seeing the wall versus seeing all the religious sites in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. I knew that the Jews and Arabs had a complicated history, but it was heartbreaking that they still hadn’t been able to figure things out.
The wall did have some pretty fun art
Another Banksy piece across from the wall
Last picture of me looking sad
I promise this is the last Banksy reference. He (she? they?) designed this hotel, which opened in 2017, across from the wall
I loved this store across from the wall as well
Another silly pose from David

After our walk around the wall, Abood dropped us off at the bus stop so we could get back to Jerusalem. David and I had brought our passports for the checkpoint to re-enter Israel, but they weren’t necessary. Once we reached the checkpoint, all the Palestinians with worker permits (predominantly women) got off the bus to show their passes to the border control officers. Meanwhile, all the tourists stayed onboard and watched awkwardly. David and I both looked at each other with dismay during the entire process. “They treat them like shit!” he remarked later. Even David was feeling empathy for the Palestinians. It was an educational day for both of us.

Back in Jerusalem: Trump Rally

Walking around Jerusalem later in the evening, we stumbled upon a biker bar with a large group of people outside. We noticed a couple American flags waving in the breeze, so we decided to check out the scene, and were aghast to discover it was a Trump/Pence rally. Let me correct that statement: I was aghast. David and I do not share similar political views.

Scene from the rally
Just ew. Some of the people were holding signs reading “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” I suppose Trump kept his promises to Israel, but he certainly wasn’t doing much for America.

I hadn’t realized how tight Trump was with Netanyahu, the long-serving Israeli prime minister now embroiled in scandal around charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust (he has since been indicted, but has not yet been convicted). I also hadn’t realized how much the United States government had supported Israel (well, Netanyahu) in its quest to annex Palestinian land. As disturbing as it was, the Trump-Netanyahu allegiance made sense as I thought about it more. I wish I had gotten a picture of one of the massive billboards of Trump promoting Netanyahu’s reelection. At the time that I was in Israel, the country was preparing for a second election after an inconclusive first election. They ended up needing to hold a third election, and still remained undecided afterward.

While I hadn’t previously sought out politics during my travels, my trip to Palestine really opened my eyes. I’m embarrassed that it took so long for me to become interested in the conflict. I have a stepbrother who worked for a non-profit promoting peace between Palestinians and Israelis for years, yet I never bothered to learn more about the situation myself. From a broader perspective, this visit strengthened my resolve in the importance of travel in connecting us all. While I wasn’t yet sure what I could do to help (first step: not vote for Trump), I at least now had a greater awareness of what was happening in Israel and Palestine, and I’d be able to bring that knowledge home with me.

P.S. A great book about the complicated Israel-Palestine conflict is Apeirogon, but Colum McCann. I read it months after returning from the Middle East and it was heart-breaking, but excellent.

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