Though it probably didn’t originate with him, “God is in the details” is most commonly attributed to German Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It seems an excellent synopsis of my experiences these past two weeks.
My exploration began at the Israel Museum’s Jerusalem – Design Motifs exhibit where 45 years of work by architectural specialist David Kroyanker on architectural motifs in Jerusalem were highlighted. The following day, I had the honor of learning in depth about Christian religious vestments in Jerusalem from Yisca Harani. Thirdly, this week I joined 30 other Israeli and Palestinian tour guides for two days to explore “guiding the other side” with Tiyul-Rihla. For each experience, how the “dressings” we put on our buildings, bodies, and narratives impact both those subjects which they decorate and the story they tell, or can tell was central.
Each day also dealt with the multitude of narratives in Israel. For Kroyanker they were Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Modern. For Yisca, the various clothing told stories of time, denomination and rank within the Christian communities. And although the overarching narratives we were to explore with Tiyul-Rihla were Israeli and Palestinian, we quickly discovered that it was hard to separate those from the multitude of others. In fact within just a couple minutes we easily listed 25 different narrativesi through which we could guide various sites.
Although I was fascinated by so many parts of these four days, it is the visit to Shilo which began to bring them all together. By way of a quick history lesson, Shilo is located essentially in the middle of the northern West Bankii the biblical area of Menashe. The archeological remains indicate it began its existence under the Canaanites (1750bce) reaching its climax under the Israelites (~1250bce) when the Ark of the Covenant and Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting or Mishkan) (or ‘pack n’pray’ according to my colleague Joe Friedman) were housed there. Although archeologically quiet for 12 centuries it returns in the Byzantine period (4-6th c ce) with three churches, and later under the Mamlukes (13-15th c) with a mosque which still stands today. Since then the area of the teliii has essentially been abandoned.
Like most sites in the Holy Land, there are many ‘stories’ that could be told here based on the layers of archeology – our (very short) tour pointed out all four sets of remains but concentrated on the Israelite Period and the residence of the Tabernacle. Any time we guide a specific location, we must make decisions which story we tell. For me, the most neutral part of this decision is based on where else I will be guiding and what time periods I will cover in those locations as well as what the “main” story is. This is not to say that I don’t make mention of the other narratives of the site but that I don’t spend time on them. In addition, I am an educator, an Israeli, a Zionist and a Conservative Jew and I believe in treating people fairly, with human dignity and that the past does not need to inform the future. Perhaps most of all, I am an equal opportunity cynic. All of these inform the narrative I tell and how I tell it.
So then what is the modern narrative of Shilo? Most everyone will agree to the existence of all these layers and that the defining story of Shilo is the residence of the Tabernacle. How was the modern site created? It was discovered and developed by a group of self-defined Jewish Settlers who grew up on the Biblical story and went looking for the site. According to their narrative they found it using the Tanakh (her GPS can be amazing) with the assistance of the local Arab villagers. Today it is a under their jurisdiction, overseen by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism within the security area of the Jewish community of Shilo.
Since our group was there to talk about ‘both sides’ guiding the site, the first discussion was about its location – is it in Israel, Palestine, Occupied Territories, etc (naturally we had many answers). The reality on the ground is that regardless of what you want to call the area as a whole it resides within the fence of the Shilo community and under the control of their administration. A couple of my Palestinian colleagues shared stories of coming to this Palestinian site and the difficulties in entering as a result of the security of Shilo. One of the questions which followed was an attempt to clarify their emotions while speaking – were they expressing sadness, frustration, anger – or all of the above. This led into a wonderful discussion about “ownership”, “erasure”, and “sharing” of sites. How do we guide the “whole” history of this Land when we are sometimes faced with the feeling that “the other” wants to erase us from that history.
This topic continued through the rest of the day and into the evening at Neve Shalomiv. The following day, having created a safer space in which to talk, we continued our conversations at Emmaus (Imwas, Park Canada). This site which sits on the edge of the Ayalon Valley is probably best known today as a beautiful forest but it is also on the edge of where the biblical Joshua commanded the sun & the moon to stand still. It is where the first battles of the Hasmoneans against the Greeks took place, and where the risen Jesus was seen by Cleopas and Simon. During the conquest of the land by the Ayubids in the 7th c and later by the Cursaders it was considered to be a highly strategic location. More recently, in the 18th & 19th century there was Arab immigration to the area. Arab Muslims came for religious reasons, to help provide food for the Middle East (this is the ‘food basket’) and to escape persecution (particularly from Syria). Finally, the Palestinian village which existed here, on the road between Jaffa, Ramle and Jerusalem/Ramallah played a role in the battles of 1948 and 1967.
During the War of Independence/Nakba this village was on the front line – the Arab villagers fought alongside Husseini or Jordan or as a local group (there were different choices) against the Israeli forces who were trying to solidify a safe route into Jerusalem. For 19 years the area, under the control of Jordan but not annexed by them (most of the West Bank was annexed), this small village was quiet. After the 1967 War and the reunification/theft with the West Bank, Emmaus, was empty, and was bulldozed by Israel. Today it is known as Park Canada. Throughout the Middle East there are many reasons and explanations of how Arab and Jewish villages and homes were emptied (the rich left early, various armies saying get out of the way, slaughter, fear, not wanting to live under ‘the other’ etc…). Here we were looking at the remains of the village itself.
This day’s version of yesterday’s conversation went something along the lines of the Palestinian guides calling “greater Israel” Palestine and the Israeli guides asking how they were expected to respond to being erased. Some felt the Israelis were interlopers (Jews and Christians) that the Muslim Palestinian with Israeli citizenship was a traitor. Others felt that all the histories together were ‘the history’ (no one of course had many answers for the big problems). What we could agree on was there is a great deal of learning to be done, understanding to struggle with and strength to share.
The exchanges were amazing, and sometimes very difficult. One of the many things I learned was that I can talk about use of language, I can tell the facts, I can believe in a future that includes the Palestinians but when I guide this Land I do so foremost as a Jew and a Zionist, and then as a human. In contrast, most of the Palestinians guide first as Palestinians, then Christians or Muslims and then human. We can both share the story of “the other”, we can be honest about the shortcomings and challenges, but in the end the passion we bring is from our own ‘narrative’. I look forward to continuing our conversations and learning.