Day 16 - Farewell Jerusalem

Today was our last day in Israel. It is surreal. This trip has been so long that at times it felt like it would never end. Every day was a new adventure. On the other hand, we are ready to be home (we miss our family and our animals).

Most of our tour group went home last night. We got a late-night flight today so we would be able to have one extra day. It was another free day in Jerusalem.

We were a little nervous because last night President Trump made an announcement that the US would formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin the process of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. On the one hand, Israelis loved the gesture. It is largely symbolic - Israelis claim Jerusalem as their capital and the significant government functions (parliament, prime minister, etc.) are in Jerusalem. However, foreign countries have not recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and embassies have traditionally been located in Tel Aviv. Israelis celebrate the move because it is a recognition of their reality. However, Palestinians feel upset by the move. They feel like Jerusalem is a contested territory and that it is their capital too. The Arab nations side with the Palestinians and because other nations have not wanted to offend the nation Jerusalem has not been recognized as the official capital. American Presidents have talked about moving the embassy for over 20 years but a decision has been deferred again and again. With the announcement came a swift reaction. Protests erupted in Bethlehem and the West Bank. People were burning Israeli and American flags. The US state department released a travel advisory advising US diplomats to avoid non-essential travel to Israel. The advisory also urged caution for American citizens visiting the West Bank or the old city of Jerusalem. Alison and I followed the news closely knowing that it could impact our plans for the day. We nervously weighed the wisdom of visiting the old city.

Our first stop of the day was in a very safe area of West Jerusalem. Our friends David and Leslie Ott had also opted to take the later flight so David came with us in the morning (Leslie stayed back at the hotel to sleep in and have a relaxing morning). We took a taxi to Yad Vashem. This is the Israel memorial for the holocaust or as the Jewish people call it, Shoah. The memorial is very well done. It starts with a museum. The museum is this solid concrete structure that is built underground. It has a unique layout. You can see the exit of the museum from the start, but you cannot reach the exit unless you go through every room in the museum.

We started in the museum. It is a hard place to visit. It is unthinkable that a group of human beings could be so cruel and inhuman to another group of human beings. There is so much in the museum that it is overwhelming. I tried to take a few thoughts with me:

  1. I think the moment the terribleness of the Shoah hit me was when I walked above three concrete basins filled to the brim with old mangled shoes. These worn shoes belonged to real people. The people who wore these shoes were the victims of one of the worst atrocities ever committed. They died because they were Jewish. Because they looked different and acted differently than their peers. Then because the perpetrators thought death wasn’t enough they attempted to erase any memory that these people ever lived. As I stood there looking at these piles of shoes I thought about those people who paid the ultimate price. I was very grateful that these shoes remain to tell a very small piece of these people's stories. 
  2. Walking through the museum I thought a lot about how this could happen. It wasn’t like Hitler just decided one day that all the Jews in the world should be killed and the German people agreed to go along with it. Anti-semitism was part of European Christian culture for hundreds of years before Hitler was born. There was deep-seated racism against the Jewish people that was culturally acceptable. This enabled the persecution and extermination of millions of Jewish people. That is why it is so important that we fight racism and bigotry in every form. Racism and bigotry dehumanize the victim and have been the justification for atrocity. I think it is especially important to beware of bigotry and racism in our elected leaders. The tone at the top is real, and a bigoted racist leader can make those ideas seem mainstream and acceptable (see Hitler, Adolf). Bigotry and racism must be unequivocally stamped out in every form. 
  3. It is unbelievable that millions of Jews were tortured and murdered and that countries like the US and Britain stood by and did next to nothing. In fact, these countries prevented Jewish people from immigrating at the time they needed it most. What happened to “bring me your tired, your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore”? It makes me rage. Then I look inward and I think about how I feel about refugees. Have I done what I can to help those who are in dire need? Are we really any better than the people who failed to save the Jews? I hope we are, but sometimes I think our society has failed to learn from the lessons of history. The world we live in could use a lot more compassion and goodwill.
  4. The state of Israel has recognized individuals as righteous. To be considered righteous and recognized in the Israeli Shoah memorial an individual must have risked their lives to save the lives of others, without payment. As I walked through the exhibit dedicated to the righteous I admired these individuals who were willing to risk everything they had to help another human being. They risked life and limb because that is who they were. They could not help, but to help another who was in need. I thought, would I be one of those people? I want the answer to be yes. Then I thought - how many opportunities are there every day to be righteous? The world is full of people who could use a guardian angel.
  5. The museum ends at the Hall of Remembrance. In this chamber, they collect the names and records of all the victims they can find. The goal is to find every victim. It is the ultimate goal. They currently have 4 million names collected. I am so grateful that the victims will not be forgotten.
"And I shall give them in My house within My walls a memorial and a name (a "Yad Vashem")...that shall not be cut off" - Isaiah 56:5

After we finished walking through the museum, David headed back to the hotel to get Leslie, and Alison and I walked through the remaining sections of the memorial. We walked through the avenue of the righteous, memorial hall, Warsaw square, and the children’s monument. The Children’s monument was very moving. 1,500,000 children were murdered during the Shoah. In this memorial, there are pictures of many victims and a recording reading the names of the victims. Then you enter a dark room. In the center of the room is a glass column filled with hundreds of lit candles. The outer wall of the room is covered with mirrors creating the effect that there appear to be thousands of candles. It is a beautiful tribute.

The view at the end of the museum at Yad Vashem. It should end with a picture-perfect view of the land of Israel. 
View of the museum at Yad Vashem

Janusz Korczak & the Children of the Ghetto
The view of the outside of the Children's memorial
Another view of the museum at Yad Vashem

Pillar of Heroism celebrates heroism, both the physical heroism of the fighters and the spiritual heroism of the martyrs.
Warsaw Square
Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations. A tree has been planted or a name recorded for those who have been declared Righteous based on actions taken to save Jewish people during the Holocaust. 
After Yad Vashem, we decided to head to the old city. We would play it by ear and if at any time we felt unsafe we would leave. We grabbed a cab and had him drop us off by the cemetery on Mt. Zion. I wanted to make sure I saw Oskar Schindler’s grave while I was in Jerusalem. He never lived in Jerusalem but because he saved so many Jewish lives during the holocaust he is buried here. We found the grave and each placed a stone there out of respect.

The grave of Oskar Schindler 
We walked across the street and visited Dormition Abbey. This is the traditional site of Mary the mother of Jesus' death. It was a very beautiful church.

Dormition Abbey
The inside of Dormition Abbey
Traditional sepulcher of Mary the mother of Jesus
Next, we made our way into the old city. It was very quiet, eerily quiet. That was better than the alternative, but we weren’t sure what was going on. We were also hungry but didn’t see many open restaurants. We were in the Christian quarter so we thought we would go ask our friend Shaban what was going on. We were in luck, his shop was closed, but he was sitting in a chair outside his shop. He told us that the Palestinians were on strike because of Trump, in order from the Palestinian Authority. We asked him where we should eat and he found an open place. It was unusual because the metal gate at the front of the restaurant was mostly closed and there were a few locals inside. They were very happy to have us. They fed us bread and hummus and all kinds of salad. Alison had a half chicken and I had lamb chops. It was good food and very reasonably priced.

One of the many empty streets in Jerusalem. Nearly all the shops were closed. 
Shaban's shop. He was also closed as part of the Palestinian strike. 
One of the many cats of Jerusalem
After we ate lunch Dave and Leslie made their way to Jaffa Gate. It was close so we met them over there. We took them through the old city and found a place for them to get some shwarma. We then visited the Church of the Redeemer. This is a Protestant church very near the church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is one of the more beautiful churches that we visited. The church of the Redeemer is unique because it has a tall tower with breathtaking views of the city. The tower is 178 steps up - it is worth it. The views are amazing.

The Church of the Redeemer
Inside the Church of the Redeemer
A closer view of the stained glass in the Church of the Redeemer
A star that was hanging over a nativity in the Church of the Redeemer
View from the Church of the Redeemer. In this picture, you can see the Dome of the Rock. 
View from the Church of the Redeemer. In this picture, you can see the BYU Jerusalem Center.
View from the Church of the Redeemer. In this picture, you can see the Dome of the Rock and the lower Dome of the Church of the Redeemer. 
View from the Church of the Redeemer. In this picture, you can see the largest synagogue in the world. 
View from the Church of the Redeemer. In this picture, you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 
View from the Church of the Redeemer. In this view, you can see how empty the streets are. It was pretty crazy to see so few people in the Old City. 


View from the Church of the Redeemer. In this picture, you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 
Dave and Leslie wanted to visit the Temple Institute. We took them over to the Jewish quarter. We got a little lost along the way but made it just in time to get them into the last presentation of the day. They did get sidetracked at one shop. Dave and Leslie are big St. Louis Cardinal fans. We have given them a hard time all week because we have seen lots of Yankees gear, but no Cardinals gear. At one shop they found a Cardinals shirt that had the logo and also the name in Hebrew. Of course, they had to buy it. They were also going to buy one for Blake, but the guy didn’t have another one. He was going to print one but he couldn’t find the template. We went through the temple institute last week so while they were there we decided to follow the Via Delarosa. To get to the start we had to walk through the Muslim quarter. The shops were also closed here. It was so strange to see Jerusalem so empty. We started at the Church of the Flagellation. This is a Barlutzi church so it is built to tell the story. For example, the dome has a crown of thorns. We also went to the church of the condemnation. These are the first two stations of the cross. We continued on to station three, where Christ stumbled, and station four, where Christ saw his mother. We found station five, where Simon helps carry the cross, and station six where Veronica wipes the sweat from Christ’s face. We found station seven where Christ stumbles again, and at station eight Jesus meets the three women of Jerusalem. We also found station nine where Christ stumbles again. Stations 10-14 are all inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which we saw earlier during our trip (the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was the one place in the Old City that was still busy).

One of the few open stores was this random Alabama store in the Christian quarter. 
Another view of a nearly empty street in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was crazy there was almost no one around. 
The Church of the Flagellation 


Thorns over the doorway over the Church of the Flagellation 
Stained glass inside the Church of the Flagellation
Crown of thorns on the roof of the Church of the Flagellation
The beautiful square outside the Church of the Flagellation
Streets of Jerusalem
Streets of Jerusalem
Church of the Condemnation
Statue inside the Church of the Condemnation
The decoration inside the Church of the Condemnation
Flowers in the square in between the Church of the Flagellation and the Church of the Condemnation
Street sign for the Via Dolorosa
Sunset over the streets of Jerusalem
Station III
Statue of Christ stumbling
Station IV
Station V
Station VI
Station VII and Station VIII
Another one of the many cats of Jerusalem
Station IX
A fountain in the Christian quarter. It was a ghost town around the fountain. 
It was so quiet in the Old City. It kind of felt like the calm before the storm
The view that never gets old
We headed back to the Jewish quarter. It was nice to get back to the Jewish quarter it was well lit and people were around. We didn’t feel unsafe in the other areas but as it got dark the streets of the Christian quarter were pretty dark when all the shops are closed. We met back up with Dave and Leslie and stood looking over the Western wall before it was time to call it. We headed back to the hotel to get our bags before catching a shuttle to Ben-Gurion airport. Then we took the long plane ride home. We flew from Tel Aviv to JFK and then from JFK to SLC. It was about 15 hours in the air with an hour layover. We left on Thursday night at 11:30pm and got home on Friday at 9:30am (the time change helps). It was a great trip, but it was good to be home.

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