My OneWorld Around The World Trip: Arrival in Israel at the historic American Colony

Upon arriving from Amman, I expected an arduous trial passing through security into Israel. However, it was really very similar to anything I have seen since 9/11 anywhere. We passed through immigration, and were grilled maybe a little more than typically, with the agent asking questions about our prior and subsequent destinations, and double checking to be sure our hotel reservation was legitimate. However, customs was virtually non-existent, and we walked right on out the “Nothing to Declare” exit without any delay, and found the car for the hotel.

Our driver was an ardent Palestinian who readily opened up about his views on the Israeli state and the situation there. The drive up from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was breathtaking, passing through the mountainous terrain between those cities, and lasting about an hour. We did see the wall separating the Palestinian territory from Israeli, and the driver was quick to point out how destructive, and in his view, unfair, the wall is to his people. However, I asked him a lot of follow up questions, and he did concede points regarding the treatment of his people (which, despite inconveniences and even hardships, is not inhumane as treatment of most Arab people in other countries in the Middle East) and the circumstances surrounding the construction of the wall (i.e., not constructed out of malice, but out of self defense due to repeated suicide attacks and continued refusal of any Palestinian government to acknowledge Israel's right to exist). While I felt sympathetic for his plight, my existing view did not change after hearing his arguments, though admittedly, the course of our entire conversation lasted just an hour or so before he dropped us off.

I really pondered this a lot and tried to keep my eyes wide open during my visit to Israel. In fact, I found wanting to learn the truth of the entire situation to be an even higher priority than visiting historic or pilgrimage sites, personally. So, I will share some of my thoughts.

Note: No doubt for some, I may overstep my bounds to talk about political topics, and pass even into the realm of being a complete buffoon, for writing these observations on a “blog” potentially perceived as self-indulgent and even vain. If you are offended, please do feel free to stop reading, and forgive me for any differences we may have. I am primarily writing this for my own record to remember this momentous month in my own life, and what was going on in my own mind, as well as what we did, and of course, for friends and family who may find it interesting. But for those who may object or find this unappealing, by no means do I mean to impose upon you, and I hope you will forgive me and take me on my own merits as though you had never read my potentially controversial ramblings then.

So without further ado... Some thoughts on the Israeli situation: One argument I found particularly interesting was our cab driver's belief that American support of Israel is primarily rooted in Christian fundamentalist belief that Jews are “God’s chosen people”, and should therefore be supported regardless of the reality of the situation, whether their actions are good or evil. I know this view is commonly held by critics of America’s support of Israel, but I do not believe it is actually the case. I am in fact a prime example of one of the “Christian fundamentalists”, although I did not point this out to the driver! I know from my own experience, although there may be some small element of truth in some circles for his belief, in fact, the majority of other fundamentalist Christians I know hold the same view I do. While I do believe the Jews were God’s chosen people in history, in order to illustrate his love for all mankind and the depth of his righteousness, and to create the circumstances necessary for the Messiah to be born, etc., I do not believe that Jews should be accorded any special status above any other people simply because of their lineage, any more than I believe royalty should be accorded special legal status just because of their lineage (a fundamental American view), or that children of criminals should be subject to recrimination because of the acts of their parents, for that matter. In fact, this principle is entirely Biblical in origin, and was quite novel at the time of its introduction, when the common code of law throughout all civilizations was significantly more brutal – where a rich man, or man of noble birth, was accorded an entirely different set of rules, purely based upon the fact of his ancestry, than others, and often, entire families were punished for the crimes of a single member.

In truth, my support of the modern state of Israel has nothing to do whatsoever with my religious views. This may not be universally true, but from my experience, this is the much more commonly held view among Christians. My support for Israel is primarily rooted in patriotism for my country and the revolutionary founding principles upon which it was created, and recognition of Israel’s long established and faithful allegiance, and similar view of individual rights and freedom in a region where condemnation and calls for American destruction are the most common order of the day. Friends are often hard to come by for a nation so deeply committed to upending the ancient political order that oppressed a thousand generations before we were ever born. In just a few short centuries, that is exactly what the United States has done, though, and despite previously unfathomable success we achieved, there remains widespread opposition among the remaining tyrants on the earth to the endeavor our founding fathers undertook. That is why I support Israel, a nation who has always unfailingly supported my own, and who, despite travails and difficulties innumerable, persists in striving to achieve true freedom for all its people, Jew and non-Jew alike, to this very day. One interesting an unavoidable fact Palestinians do not have any reasonable answer for is that fully 1 in 6 Israeli citizens are Arab, with full rights just as Jewish citizens enjoy, with the only difference being that they are exempted from mandatory military service at age 18, as Jewish citizens are not. When I asked several Palestinians about this, they retorted that it would be disgraceful in their communities, and they would be shunned in fact, should they choose to become Israeli citizens. So although they have been offered citizenship in Israel, they refuse to accept it.

I have a lot more thoughts on the situation, after talking much more with our guide, Sam, over the course of our visit, who is a Palestinian Christian, and no fan of the Israeli nation, either, although he is more neutral than most, and does recognize the antagonistic actions taken by many non-Christian Palestinians plays a major role in the problems that persist today. I will share more of these in subsequent posts, no doubt.

When we arrived at the hotel, we could tell right away this was going to be something special. I originally wanted to stay at the famous King David hotel in Jerusalem, which has been the home for many presidents and dignitaries, and also the victim of a brutal terrorist bombing in the past – truly a historic location. However, the rooms at the hotel are extremely expensive, even for standard rooms that are not anything special. Our guide suggested instead we might consider the American Colony, so we went with his suggestion. It is still considered one of the top hotels in Jerusalem, and in fact, in the whole world, but its rates are not much more expensive than typically found in the US, and very reasonable for Jerusalem, where prices can really soar. Our guide is also employed with the United Nations, so he got us a really generous discount that made the decision very easy.

When we arrived, we were struck immediately by the lush gardens surrounding the hotel, and the very well preserved antique structures, some dating to the early 1800s. On our first night, we took in the surroundings, and walked through an exhibit off the lobby, which details some of the history there. The main “house” was originally a mansion occupied by the Pasha, a sort of judge, who ruled Jerusalem. It was bought from him by a most unique group of American settlers in the early 1900s. Their story is very famous in fact, and both tragic and inspiring. The founders were a wealthy Chicago couple, and devout Christians. After the Great Chicago Fire, which left much of the population of that city in severe poverty, they spent much of their wealth in supporting and helping their fellow citizens. They were true “Good Samaritans”. After several years, they were quite exhausted though, and so planned a family trip across the ocean on one of the great liners of the day, with their four young daughters. Due to last minute business that came up, the father of the family stayed behind, planning to catch another ship shortly after, while the mother went ahead with the four girls. Tragically, though, their ship was wrecked, and all four daughters were killed. The mother was rescued, and telegraphed home two heartbreaking words – “Saved alone”. Her husband came quickly thereafter, and they mourned together. It was during his voyage across the Atlantic ocean that he wrote a most famous hymn, well known to me and throughout the Protestant churches, called “It is well with my soul”. This has in fact always been one of my favorite of the old hymns, and I had heard the story before, but never had any idea I was staying at a hotel founded by these people! The original words he penned were on display in the exhibit, scrawled on a piece of hotel stationary from the hotel where he was staying when he got the news, and this hangs in the exhibit there now. I love the beautiful first verse, which I still know by heart:

When peace like a river attendeth my soul,

When sorrows like sea billows role,

Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to sing,

It is well. It is well, with my soul.

It was after the terrible tragedy that the founders decided to take a whole new direction in their lives. They made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, after which they were inspired to move, together with 16 others from the Swedish Evangelical church (the mothers’ family was from Europe and they were still closely linked), to Jerusalem. Their intent was not necessarily to be missionaries, but to simply live the life Jesus had lived, as the early Church did. They used their wealth to purchase the Pasha’s property, and set about establishing a new life in Jerusalem. It was in fact quite controversial in the States at the time, as we might imagine, too, and articles were written in papers of the time wondering pointedly whether these people were fit to raise children, as there were some children in the group too, from the other settlers. But in fact, the group soon established close ties to the neighbors in Jerusalem, Christian, Jew and Muslim alike, and became a fixture in the community. Over the generations, they were in fact responsible for much of the early development of the modern tourism industry which allows so many pilgrims to see the Holy Land and its treasures. They helped local people learn carpentry, and how to make the ubiquitous olive wood sculptures which are sold, and even helped them set up shops by the Jaffa gate, near the colony. In time, some people suggested they should convert some rooms of the mansion into guest rooms for visitors, and before long, the operation turned into a full scale business, and eventually evolved into the hotel it is today. The original family still owns majority shares in the hotel, too.

One famous anecdote that demonstrates the kind of relationship the American Colony had with even the Muslim community in the midst of wars, is the story of the surrender of Jerusalem to the British forces just before Christmas, in 1918. The mayor of Jerusalem stopped by the American Colony on his way to inform the British of his surrender, and told the mother that he just wanted her to be the first to know, and brought her a bouquet of flowers. She warned him that he must not go up to the Jaffa gate without a white flag of surrender, lest he be shot by the British who might not realize his peaceful intent. Since no flag was found, they tore a sheet from one of the beds in the hotel then, and he took this out to offer his surrender. This ended bitter fighting in Israel, between the Allies (Britain, the United States, others) against the Central powers, which were Germany and the Ottoman empire and others, in WWI.

Many famous people have stayed at American Colony over the years, including presidents and prime ministers, in fact, and I had heard Winston Churchill stayed there. Being one of my heroes as he is, I asked the front desk about this, and could hardly believe when they told me the very room where he stayed was available, although not for our entire stay. But I was able to stay there, for one night, in the beautifully appointed room where none other than Sir Winston Churchill himself stayed, complete with the exquisite original Persian rug and many other fine furnishings. It was truly the most memorable hotel stay I have every experienced, and I felt deeply honored to have that opportunity. We spent a good part of the evening taking in the exhibits about the history of the hotel, and walking through the garden, and we dined in the courtyard where many famous people have dined before us, including of course Sir Winston, and also Prime Minister Tony Blair, and other great names from Hollywood and politics. Even today, delegations meet, and there are rooms just beside the Winston Churchill room which are secured, and reserved for the Quartet negotiations, a delegation from various European nations who are working toward peace in the Holy Land.

Not that I am a big fan of movie stars, but still, it was cool to see names like Uma Thurman, Ingrid Bergman, and many others on a plaque commemorating some notable names from the guest book. I guess it was a fitting way to spend the time we had at our last major destination in our trip of a lifetime though, and I still cannot believe all we have seen and done in this last month. It will truly be one of the defining periods of our lives, experiences we will cherish as long as we live.

So, I called home of course, and had to share the exciting news with my folks before bed. Finally, after a long day of travel, it was time again for rest, and I drifted peacefully off to sleep with visions of cabinet meetings and political intrigue dancing in my head… I had some dreams about it even, although I forgot now what they were specifically. In the morning, I woke and had forgotten while sleeping that I was in Sir Winston’s room. It was a real thrill to find reality even surpassing my dreams as I woke to soft chirping of birds outside the room in the garden! David and I enjoyed some lively political discussion in the sitting area in the room, almost just for fun, to imagine we were some diplomats discussing policy. It was a lot of fun to pretend, and we also were genuinely discussing our thoughts and opinions so far, but we also pursued that line of discussion sort of as a fun way to enjoy the location even more...