Bethlehem lies in Arab, Palestinian territory. After a wholesome breakfast of orange juice and shukshika we forked over seven shekels and caught the #231 bus that would take us beyond the wall separating Palestine from Israel. Bethlehem is famously underwhelming, although the few stops we made proved diamonds in rough country. The Church of the Nativity was one of these gems. The fourth century church recently underwent an ambitious restoration project. Original sections of Byzantine mosaics sparkled and shimmered on the floor and walls in the main section of the church. Underneath lies a small maze of caves where Mary and Joseph are suspected to have hidden from Herod's massacre of the innocence and where Jesus may have been born. This same place is also where St. Jerome burnt through many candles writing the Vulgate, the Greek to Latin translation of Scripture.
We continued on searching for souvenirs for folks at home, stumbling upon the Israeli West Bank Barrier. A quick Wikipedia search will tell you the Israelis consider the wall a defensive structure whereas the Palestinians see the structure as racial segregation. These were tense moments as we scanned a generous portion of wall decorated with images of resistance.
Hours later Mr. Baber, Mr. Reiser and I shared a session interfacing with some of you during your community period at Prep. I'd like to thank those of you who were present and look forward to answering the many other questions we were not able to touch on today when I return!
Tomorrow: Massada, the Dead Sea, and rambling through Tel Aviv.