More pictures!

A house in Jerusalem that I would like to pick up, move to northern Michigan, and live in.

Part of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed. We went on a very educational tour of it, but sadly, I did not retain any of the information.

A bumper sticker on the sidewalk in Jerusalem. The Hebrew reads "Is Gilad Still Alive?" Gilad Shalit is an Israeli soldier who was captured on June 25, 2006 at a border crossing between Gaza and Israel. He's been held there since and a week and a half ago there was a huge rally for him on his 24th birthday, the fifth birthday he has spent in captivity, in Jerusalem. Hamas has demanded the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad and has given a number of 24 hour ultimatums, however consensus seems to be that Gilad is still alive and keeping him alive is a huge bargaining chip for Hamas. But, Hamas has refused to let the International Red Cross or any other international body in to see him and give him medical care. This bumper sticker is all over Israel - on cars, sidewalks, giant signs on buildings. Most of them do not have the question mark at the end of the sentence, and say instead "Gilad is still alive." Gilad's parents have been living in a tent outside of the prime minister, Netanyahu's official home in Jerusalem. Gilad also has French citizenship and so Sarkozy has been vaguely involved in the politics of this. I frankly don't know as much about what his captivity means, and Israeli public opinion on how much Israel should compromise in exchange for Gilad. So, it is one of many things I need to continue to educate myself on.


This is the beautiful, welcoming sign at the entrance to Me'ah She'arim, the most orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem. We were about 30 feet from the sign on a tour of Jerusalem. Because many of us ladies were wearing shorts and tank tops given the extreme heat and the three hour walking tour, we stopped a respectful distance from the entrance to the neighborhood. However, it was not quite good enough for the residents of the neighborhood. One woman walked up to us, started yelling in Hebrew and pointing to the sign, and only left when a woman on my program stood up and started yelling back at her. In case you can't read all of the sign, the bottom says, "Please do not disturb the sanctity of our neighborhood, and our way of life as Jews committed to G-d and his torah." It should be noted, here, that the residents of Me'ah She'arim's neighborhood response to people who violate their pure way of life is to throw stones at women. They have even gone so far as to take over a few bus lines in Jerusalem which pass through their neighborhood. If you a woman who boards these buses, you most sit on the back of the bus. You also must be covered to the standards of the haredi on the bus or they will literally throw things at you until you get off the bus. I'm not an expert on Jewish law, but it seems like there is a line about not beating people somewhere in there. Oh Israel, everyone thinks your issues are just about Palestinians but you have so many other problems!