Yad Vashem

Today, 27 January, is International Holocaust Memorial Day, commemorating the day in 1945 that Allied troops captured the Auschwitz concentration camp. This painting was Jan’s initial response to our visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Centre in Jerusalem. See the post she has written today on her Jubilación blog.

Sun 1 Nov

Yad Vashem is truly shocking. 

The Memorial Centre commemorates the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis in the biggest, most organised and most cynical attempt at mass extermination in human history.

The existence of the concentration camps, and the full horror of what they had been used for, only became apparent to the rest of the world in the last few months of the war as the Allies captured them one by one, and discovered the incinerators, the mass graves and the few helpless survivors. The memorial centre documents Jewish life in western, central and eastern Europe through the centuries, up to and including the Nazi régime. 

From 1933 onwards the Nazis brought in measures banning Jews from the professions, from public office, from publishing, from commerce, and from education. They encouraged violent attacks on Jewish people and property including public beatings and humiliations and the burning of homes, shops and synagogues. They forced Jews to wear an identifying yellow star, forced them out of their homes and crammed them into ghettos, confiscated their property, then deported them to forced labour camps and concentration camps and finally murdered hundreds of thousands if not millions in gas chambers.

So Yad Vashem, which documents all this, is truly shocking. 

The visit 
The Centre displays original pieces such as photographs, letters and personal items such as clothing, which are particularly touching because they relate to individual, often named people. It also reconstructs a number of scenes including ghetto streets, the cattle trucks in which people were transported to the camps, the bunks in which people were crammed 3 to a bunk 3 tiers high.  All bar one or two items in the Centre use original materials, so you walk down a reconstructed Warsaw Ghetto street, and you stand before one of the cattle trucks and try to imagine how hundreds of people could have been forced into it and shunted off to certain death.

The most affecting part for me was the final area, the Hall of Names, where, after you have seen the exhibits and reconstructions, read the panels and listened to the guide, you enter a domed hall in which the names of all known victims of the Holocaust are recorded, hundreds of photographs are displayed, and files kept documenting what happened to at least some of them. Looking at the photos here and elsewhere in the Centre, I kept seeing myself in the little boys and young men, and my parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts - sometimes it would be a likeness, with others it would be the look in a person's eyes, or the pose they struck. It could have been me; it could have been us.

The Centre houses an enormous amount of material, and the guide very sensitively took us round a selection of exhibits for the best part of two hours, explaining and answering questions in a very straightforward manner. For some members of our group it was the first time they had been in a position in which they had had to confront such horrors. 

Amongst other visitors while we were there we noted two groups of people in their late teens or early twenties - a group of Arab (Palestinian?) students, and a group of Israeli soldiers in uniform; the members of both of these groups looked and sounded as numbed and shocked as we did.


As for myself, I had visited Buchenwald and Majdanek concentration camps on visits to Germany and Poland when I was their age, in the 1960s; I cried then and I cried again at Yad Vashem.

Responses

I found myself responding on several levels, both during and after the visit. Each brought up an array of unanswerable questions. 

First and foremost, as a human being - how could human beings inflict such suffering on other human beings? How could they justify their actions to themselves? How could thousands of other, seemingly normal, people, be persuaded to carry out these atrocities? What religious creed could sanction them? How could millions of other, supposedly sane, members of that society tolerate what was going on? How could they possibly not know what was going on? If they did know, how could they live with their consciences?

Then, as a Jew, born in England during the war - what if I had been born elsewhere? In Germany, say?  How can a persecuted group respond to such persecution? Could this have happened in the UK? How does all this affect my own sense of Jewish identity?

Finally, as the particular individual that I am - what happened in the areas of eastern Poland and Belarus from which my grandparents came to the UK over 100 years ago? Were any members of my family still there during the years of occupation and war? What happened to them? Did they survive? Where are they now? How can I find them?

And underlying all of these questions the one inescapable, fearful thought: it could have been me. It could have been us.

--------------------------
NB: The Yad Vashem website has an enormous collection of information and documents on the Holocaust, including images and media items, which hugely extends the range of material available in the Centre itself.

Checkpoint Bethlehem

Fri 13 Nov

On the way back to Jerusalem from Bustan Qaraaqa we went through the Separation Wall at the Gilo checkpoint in Bethlehem. It took us an hour of standing in line, in a zigzag cage to the entry point. We were unlucky in that we’d forgotten it was a Friday and people would be wanting to go to Jerusalem, from the West Bank, to the Al Aqsa mosque for Friday prayers. We were lucky in that it can take up to 3 hours. Peace be upon Us All.

Once through two turnstiles (a fraught experience as people get stuck in it as the gate locks, only letting a few through at a time) we were hauled out of the queue by soldiers to go through the X-ray machine as tourists. Once on a 241, we got back to J’salem, and into the souk… 

See the Slideshow from the checkpoint.

Western Wall Tunnels

Slideshow

Sun 1 Nov

Deep under the Old City a 500 metre-long tunnel runs alongside the original foundations of the Western Wall, so its path, and much of the stonework, dates back 2000 years or more.

The slab in the picture is said to be one of the biggest bricks in the world, and you wonder where they got it from, how they got it here, how they cut it to size, and how they got it into place. The museum has a natty little film answering these questions, complete with cartoon workers pulleying pulleys, levering levers, and rolling logs.

At various points along the route various civilisations have built cisterns for the city's water supply, some of which are still there and in use. You can also see the different courses of stone set down during reconstructions of the Wall in different historical periods. At one point you stand on paving stones of a street laid in King Herod's time (over 2000 years ago); part of the passage follows the route of an aqueduct dating from the Hasmonean period around 100BC.

Part-way along you step through an arch in the stone into a small space provided with a couple of chairs. As we passed by there were a couple of women sitting deep in prayer, and another waiting her turn. When we came by on our way back 20 minutes later one of them was still there. This spot functions as a tiny synagogue, and is physically the closest any observant Jew can get to the Holy of Holies, at the heart of the ancient Temple, which lies on the other side of the Wall, within the Dome of the Rock mosque some 60 (?) metres away.

More Western Wall

Western Wall by night: slideshow

Sun 1 Nov

The Western Wall by night

The Western Wall has a special atmosphere at night - there are fewer tourists but the Orthodox groups keep coming, until at least 10pm. The square is quieter than during the day, but the murmur of prayer is still all-pervasive. The Wall is floodlit, and this light reflects across the square and casts strong shadows on the ground.

Mon 2 Nov

It's a Barmitzvah!

This is not normal behaviour - a line of women standing on chairs to get a view over to the men's area? The whole purpose of the separation of men and women for prayer is to avoid the possibility of distraction from the business in hand, and the temptation to think un-holy thoughts. Some kindly women made space so I could peep over, and all became clear - it's a Barmitzvah!

Western Wall

 
Slideshow

Sat 31 Oct

The Western Wall, in Hebrew the Kotel, is said to be the most significant site in the world for the Jewish people. It is the last remnant of the Temple, which was the focal point of Jewish worship in ancient times.

Belief

Jews believe that the creation of the world began on Mount Moriah, now known as Temple Mount, at a point marked by the Foundation Stone. The stone was enclosed in a space known as the Holy of Holies, which became the central point of the First and Second Temples.

History

King Herod undertook the expansion and renovation of the Temple, and in the course of this work built four massive walls around the whole Temple area. The Romans later destroyed the Temple and expelled the Jews, and during the early years of the spread of  Mohammedanism, the Muslims raised two mosques on the site, the golden-topped Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque. The Foundation Stone and the Holy of Holies are also venerated by Muslims, and are at the centre of the Dome of the Rock.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, the Israelis captured the whole of the city of Jerusalem, which they continue to administer. However they handed the Temple Mount, with its two mosques, over to a Muslim council. Non-Muslims can visit the Mount but are not allowed to enter the mosques, and the Israeli Rabbinate forbids Jews to enter the Temple Mount area at all.

The Wall today

Jews particularly venerate the Western Wall, as it is the closest point they can get to the Holy of Holies and the Foundation Stone. Men and women pray separately, as in a synagogue, with the women allocated a small area to the right of the men's space. Men must cover their heads, and a stall at the entrance hands out paper kippas to anyone who does not have their own.

The men pray individually or in groups; some of the Orthodox sects gather for prayer meetings at particular times, and seem to gravitate to wherever there appears to be sufficient space. People bring their holy books, and there are chairs, tables and a few bookstands available for anyone to use. Many go up to the Wall, press up against it, and speak or pray to it. All around there is the constant murmuring rise and fall of Jewish prayer, as each man recites the prayer in his own way, with his own emphases and at his own speed.

Some leave messages to the Almighty on folded pieces of paper in the gaps between the stones of the Wall. The bits of paper - called tzetel - are gathered up every now and then, but I don't know what happens to them then. You can even send a tzetel online :-)

A personal note

Although some family members of my own generation have visited Jerusalem and been to the Wall, I was very conscious that very few if any of my ancestors would have been able to. My grandparents on both sides came to the UK from Eastern Europe over 100 years ago; their families had probably been in Russia and Poland for several centuries, and before that had undertaken who knows how many generations of migration, from who knows where to who knows where. Every year during the Pesach celebrations they have expressed the wish to meet "next year in Jerusalem". So I touched the Wall for them.

Old City Souk

"Hello!"

The Souk is a maze of mostly covered alleyways that criss-cross the heart of the old city. Every building is a stall, tempting your senses with a never-ending parade of spices, food, drinks, clothing, jewellery, lamps, tiles, ouds - and that's just in these pictures.

There's every colour in the rainbow, every culinary smell imaginable. You don't have to buy, but it's a constant challenge to resist.

"You're welcome!"

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Slideshow

Sat 31 Oct

This, like most of the rest of Jerusalem, is a strange place. It is believed to be where Jesus died and was buried, and so is one of many major pilgrimage sites in the city. In its turn it houses several major Christian shrines. It struck me as a collection of disparate elements that seem to exist independently of each other, albeit in the same building.

The first thing you see is a crowd of people on their knees, huddled round a stone slab. They are praying at the Stone of Unction, which commemorates the preparation of Jesus' body for burial. They touch the stone, rest their forehead, place a cross, or precious or personal item on it. Above it hangs a row of decorative lamps.

Just round the corner is the tomb of Christ, and nearby, up a stone staircase, are not one but two Calvaries. There are several other chapels, crypts and relics. A believer could spend a good deal of time in there. We only had 20 minutes, so we didn't join the queue for the tomb, and probably missed some other good bits. Here's some of the bits we did get to see.

Given the building's focus on a key part of the Christian story, it is only natural that most of the main Christian denominations feel they have a stake in it. It is jointly run by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian, and Roman Catholic Churches, and the Coptic, Syrian and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches are also represented. They all get along fine, especially the Greeks and Armenians, as attested in this news report.

....and Jan says
"Do you know the way to the Church of the Holy Sepultree?"

This is what an American asked me … I wonder why he thought it was pronounced this way? I didn’t ‘twig’ what he wanted to start with, but as Michael has said, it’s…. strange… but full of marvellous things. As a non-believer brought up on bible stories in Welsh Chapel, I have a curiosity which is more related to the ‘reality’ of people’s experience … and the question Why? I marvelled at the mosaic that shows Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat, in the Armenian chapel, I loved the oil lamps and the incense as spectacle, I gawped at the queues of people waiting – under police control – to go into the holiest place, and frankly I was amazed at the plastic bags full of clothes that the East Europeans wiped in the rose oil on the slab. BUT I also did wipe a scarf and wore it! I was entranced by the Armenian chapel, and the Orthodox icons. I loved the lit candles, and I can completely understand the fighting in the YouTube video! Encompassing the CHS was the church of the Knights of St John, and the square of the five fountains – marvellous chicken sharwarma & falafel! 

Via Dolorosa

Slideshow

Sat 31 Oct  

This street zig-zags across the Old City from Lions' Gate in the east to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the west. It is held to be the route taken by Jesus carrying the cross to his crucifixion, although modern archaeology suggests the historical route may have been a few metres away.

The route, which can only be a couple of kilometres long at most, now offers a kaleidoscope of cultures, religions and historical periods, too much to take in at one go. Rather like Israel itself, really. There are the stations of the cross (some marked by churches), and the prison Jesus is believed to have stayed in on his last night; there are Roman remains, medieval walls and an Arab cemetery.

And of course all the while you, the outsider, are passing through an old town going about its 21st century business, where Orthodox Jews stride through the covered Arab souk, Arab shopkeepers solicit your custom ("Hello!"), and Muslim mothers pushing prams stop to chat, each in their own world, oblivious of the others.

We managed to detach ourselves from the group at one point - even sat down for a coffee and baklava :-) - and were able to stop and look around, at our own speed. We had a street map, the Lonely Planet, and our cameras, and were in our element.

Mount of Olives

Slideshow

Sat 31 Oct  

Well, it had to be a photo of olive trees, didn't it? In fact the Mount affords a series of quite stunning views of the city of Jerusalem on the hill opposite, with the golden Dome of the Rock always prominent, and also houses the most enormous cemetery you are likely to see anywhere in the world.

The Mount - Har Hazeitim in Hebrew - has been a holy place for Jews since Biblical times: the olive branch carried by the dove to Noah's Ark after the flood is said to have been plucked from the Mount, King David fled Jerusalem via the Mount, during the Temple periods ritual sacrifices were prepared there, and its olive oil was used to anoint kings and in Temple services. It was a place of pilgrimage, and on a more practical note, bonfires were lit there to announce the start of each new month.

Above all, it is the place from which Jews believe that, in the 'end of days', the Redemption of the Dead will begin. Hence its popularity as a burial place since the period of the First Temple - the closer you are to to the foot of the Mount, the sooner you will be redeemed. The cemetery was widely desecrated during the period 1948-1967, when the Jordanians held the West Bank. Since then the Israelis have restored some graves, and opened up the area for even more.

As you walk down the hill you come across a series of churches belonging to various Christian creeds - you can't miss the Russian onion spires - and at the bottom is the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus and the disciples prayed the night before the crucifixion. Some of the olive trees in the garden look old enough to have witnessed the scene.

However it is the cemetery that defines the Mount, as seen from both sides of the valley. The dead are all around you, awaiting their day.

Can you see my iPod?

Jerusalem streets

No, I can't either. Nor my little voice recorder. They were stolen from my bag in the Souk in the Old City in Jerusalem. Well, I suppose it was Friday the 13th, something had to happen.

After midday prayers

Jerusalem streets

Thousands of people cross the Old City of Jerusalem after midday prayers in the major mosques; many come into East Jerusalem through the Damascus Gate.

Cheesy snacks

Slideshow

Filling that gap at a café in Jerusalem.

Street shawarma

Slideshow

Fast food in Jerusalem, opposite the Damascus Gate.

Bethlehem by bus

A one-hour journey that was full of interest, even in the dark.

On the way out from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to stay at Bustan Qaraaqa, we caught the 21, from the Arab bus station near the Damascus Gate. In fact there are TWO Arab bus stations and when we eventually got to the right one (Jerusalem East) we were quite late in the evening. In any case, we knew that this 21 took us under the Separation Wall, past the checkpoints and that anyone going into Palestine/West Bank would not be stopped – it’s coming the other way that takes the time! I gleaned this from a blog entry linked to the Bustan Qaraqaa website, where "michael" takes you through the journey. The other bus is the 241, which does get checked.

Once in Bethlehem we got a taxi – of course the young man driving had NO idea where we were going, and stopped several times at shops to ask the way – we ended up at a house above BQ, and a woman from there got into the taxi to make sure we were delivered to the right place. Local knowledge vs. The Knowledge – is it only London taxi drivers who do this test? Of course it cost us 50 shekels (£6.50 ) rather than the 30 we had agreed.

Bethlehem was NOTHING like I thought it would be, very commercial and shabby - it seems like real exploitation of people’s belief, and of a mythic experience, although we did not go to the Church of the Nativity or Manger Square. The taxi driver was quite surprised we didn’t want to go there! Peace be upon Us All.

NB: for the return journey on the 241, see Checkpoint Bethlehem.

The Armenian Quarter

Slideshow

This area of Old Jerusalem has been inhabited by Armenians for several hundred years. Along with the Jewish Quarter nearby, it was destroyed during the Six-Day War in 1967, and has been rebuilt in typical Jerusalem stone.

Mea Shearim

Slideshow

Sun 1 Nov

Mea Shearim is an Ultra-Orthodox district of Jerusalem, built in the late 19th century as one of the first settlements outside the walls of the Old City.  It was originally populated by immigrants from Bulgaria and Rumania, and is said to have something of the atmosphere of an East European shtetl of that period; some of the groups there use Yiddish rather than Hebrew as the language of everyday life.

We were advised to walk through the area in small groups so as not to cause offence, and having seen the notice plastered on the wall on the street corner: "Please - stop this", I was reluctant to be too obvious with my camera, so the pictures are all from the iPhone, and a bit snatched.

There are something like 70 different religious groupings or sects in Mea Shearim, and they all clamour for attention with wordy wall-posters. Unfortunately I can't read Hebrew, so I've no idea what they're about. When you see a poster in English you know it's addressed to you - the outsider.

Women in Black

Slideshow

Fri 30 Oct

Every Friday lunchtime a group of Israeli women hold a demonstration against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Terrirtories. They dress in black, and stand in a little square in the centre of Jerusalem near the residence of the prime minister.

Jenny and her group were taking part in the demonstration that afternoon, so we went along with them, and chatted with some of the demonstrators. They get a mixed reception from passers-by, ranging from encouragement to abuse, but they come back every week to make their point, and have been doing so for over 20 years.

After the demo we managed to grab a standing lunch in the last sandwich shop still open - Shabat was closing in fast. Jenny's group then went on to a meeting with the Campaign against House Demolitions, who try to support Palestinians whose houses are torn down to make way for the expansion of Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

Jerusalem in the rain

Slideshow

Fri 30 Oct

We took a walk round the Old City, and it rained. And rained. And rained.

We'd overshot the mark on the bus, and had to walk a fair way back and across to get to the Jaffa Gate, and then meet up with Jenny. So quite by chance our first views of the Old City were from the hill to the west, which gave us some gorgeous views. It's only now, looking more closely at the photos, that I realise we had our first view of the Separation Wall that morning. We were to see it several times a day for the next fortnight - it's everywhere.

Look who I met in Jerusalem

Look who I met in Jerusalem

Fri 30 Oct

By complete coincidence, Jenny and I found we were both in Jerusalem the same day. So we met up, as cousins do, and had Arab coffee and baklava - the first of many - in the Four Seasons, opposite the Damascus Gate.

Jenny and Tony were on a visit to Ramallah with the Oxford Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and they were able to advise us on many things, for which many thanks :-) .