Oh, Jerusalem

MAY 12—Today was an orientation day. In addition to a lecture on Islam from a Muslim scholar, we travelled as a group to three sites in Jerusalem. Father Michael McGarry of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute provided expert historical and cultural commentary as he pointed out salient features of the cityscape.

We learned, among many other things, that Jerusalem now has a population of 750,000. About one third of them are Arab, and they live predominantly in East Jerusalem. The remaining two-thirds of the people living in the city are Jewish.

We gazed at the old city of Jerusalem from our vantage on the Mount of Olives, looking down to the spot where Jesus wept for the city of Jerusalem. A group of Orthodox Jews mourned at a gravesite.

We also visited Bethany (Arabic: al-Azariyya), read the story of the death of Lazarus from the Bible and descended into the tomb from which Jesus called him forth. A lovely chapel on the site commemorates the place where Jesus liked to spend time with friends. Although this is very close to the Mount of Olives, the drive was long because a security barrier separates the Arabs from the Jews. Oh Jerusalem.