The West Bank

Afterthoughts and reflections

There really is no aftermath, most of the things I wrote I wrote as I experienced them… (PLUS I don't like ending on the number 13 hehehehe)

Regrets?
*I didn't get to see all my friends pictures
*I didn't get to show her sister more about oil painting
*I didn't mail the postcards
*I didn't get a chance to meet and talk to my Jewish friend (I think the politics of the whole thing had something to do with it) There are many more but I can tell you that all these are outweighed by all other things that I did and the time I spent there.

Next time,
*Bring more Imodium A-D
*Don't eat a lot of one thing, even if it is good
*Don't leave your cell phone in your bag, in a way that it can accidently get turned on by laying something on top of it
*DON'T EAT A RAW OLIVE
*When you buy a water pipe, make sure you buy the charcoal that goes with it
I think I will be looking forward to my next trip there, I would love to take the whole family, but we are on a farm and there really is no such a thing as a vacation. I would also worry about the hard questioning for my wife and boy, my daughter is too young to answer anything (but perhaps they don't question 11 year olds, I was watching to see if they did, but didn't see any)

The whole situation,
I still am having quite a time figuring out an easy explanation of how this occupation all started, the trouble in the Middleast, Israel and Palestine. It is very very complex. From what I understand, before 1948 Palestine the West Bank, was under British Mandate, Syria, Lebabon, and others under French mandate, the East Bank was governed by Jordan, a prince. In 1948 Jordanian army trained by British officers guarded what was Israel, where jews from all over were increasingly emmigrating. The UN partitioned the area into Israel and Palestine. Israel accepted this partition, and the Arabs did not. Jews formed a brigade within the British army, the British army was supposed to leave the area of the West Bank on May 15th 1948, but they left on May 14th in such a way to compel the Arabs to leave the country, the Jews were right behind the British Army occupying the area as it moved. Arabs counted on the Arab armies to help, but groups occupied more and more of the area, until it pushed Jordans borders back…. It then became the East Bank and the West Bank. In 1967 Israel attacked the West Bank and many of the opposing countries in a preemptive air strike then took over the area. Hence the refugee camps full of Arabs who's houses were taken, hence the occupation of the West Bank. The latest uprising against Israel (the intifada) was started when Ariel Sharon visited a sacred Moslim sight, causing a mass protest. Now basically it is a matter of push and pull. This is the way I understand it, there is a lot left out.. but it should suffice for a general idea.

My own opinion,
I regret not talking to my Jewish friend or any what I call average person in Israel, the opinion of someone you meet on the street, not some polititian or religious figure. I feel that for sure these checkpoints are not in anyones best interest, I think they only make things worse, they cripple the economy fiercly (I could see that in Jerusalem with the vendors). Sure there are two sides of a coin, I am sure there are radicals on both sides, this is driven by religious motives, freedom, revenge, and property rights. I will say one thing, don't believe what you hear or see or read in the news. I will tell you that while I was there, I saw news crews twice, when I came into view they purposely steered their cameras away or stopped filming (oh my! An American in the West Bank, we can't show that!… but they are there, in businesses, visiting friends and relation, you just don't see many of them). Don't you believe the news, if your convinced of something, you should be convinced by your own motives and your OWN research, not someone elses. Don't follow things blindly. I encourage you to look into things, you have a great resource right here with the internet, (of course nothing is like going over there yourself)

I tried to do this whole thing being unbiased, I wanted this to be a vacation for my friends to go home at night and spend a few minutes getting away and spending this wild vacation with me. I saw things that many Americans won't, the cool thing was this is coming from someone you work with, someone average, who lives paycheck to paycheck at times, not some big polititian or political figure, but the guy next door. I tried to present this as unbiased as possible, and I will try to keep that image up. I have lots to say about this all, but I won't say it here. Sure my vacation was great, I met wonderful; people, saw wonderful things, lived a completely different life,

the only thing was..


I got to go home after two weeks.



Thank you taking this vacation with me..

Links of interest

the City of Ramallah
This site has information on local government and public works, the city's history, culture, and more.

Ramallah Online Travel Guide
a tourist and travel guide for the area surrounding the university

Full news coverage on the MidEast Conflict
Yahoo news, a good place for information about the conflict, featuring AP wirephotos....