Into The West Bank

We're bouncing along in a small bus, through the bustling city of Nablus. This was known as Shechem in the Old Testament: the city of Jacob, the town between two mountains where Joshua brought the Ark of the Covenant, home of the Samaritans (Good, Bad or Indifferent) and the burial place of Joseph. The city center of this town, the largest Palestinian population on the West Bank, teems with shops crammed with its citizens. Most women wear liberal black Arab attire, with their faces exposed, but local boutique windows sport more revealing garments and western formal wear that, we are told, are chosen by many woman for festive occasions. Within this city is an overpopulated refugee camp that has become cluttered with permanent makeshift structures during the past 60 years.









MANY CHECKPOINTS
The direction is Jericho, in the Jordan Valley, our home base for the next three nights. In this day of roaming Roman ruins around Nablus and the Samarian city of Sabastia, we've passed through several checkpoints armed by either Israelis or Palestinians. As part of the agreement for its establishment, the West Bank is a patchwork quilt of governing entities. They fall unto three categories: Palestinian-run, both militarily and administratively; Israeli-run militarily but Palestinian in administration; and, Israeli-run for both. Just as Israeli soldiers stroll the streets of Tel Aviv with rifles slung over their back, so do Palestinian soldiers in the areas they control militarily, such as Nablus and Jericho. (It takes some time getting used to the latter.) It's the expectation of both governments that an eventual Palestinian State on the West Bank will be controlled entirely by Palestinians, but negotiations are nowhere in sight, security issues for Israel remain thorny and the conservative wing of Israel's governing coalition continues to press for more West Bank Israeli settlements.

THE DWINDLING SAMARITANS
We spent about an hour with one of the high priests of the Samaritan sect, which is based just outside of Nablus. Once a major religious order in the time of Jesus, the Samaritans now number only a few hundred. I was surprised to learn how closely their rituals are based on Judaism. Their text is the first five books of the Old Testament, all major Jewish holidays are celebrated with pomp and severity, and their language is ancient, not contemporary, Hebrew.









But that's where the similarities part. Only the first five books are sacred; anything written after that, regardless of the religious influence, is considered irrelevant. And female participants have become so sparse that the Samaritan religion will likely disappear within a few generations.

JOSEPH, YASSER, RAMALLAH AND TEL JERICHO
We made many discoveries in and around Nablus. One of the most interesting was being admitted to the site where Arab tradition holds that Joseph (of the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) was buried. For those that may not recall their Old Testament, the mummified remains of Joseph were carried out of Egypt by the Israelites during the Exodus and returned to his hometown of Shechem. In today's Nablus, the site does not get the respect of one so venerated by Judaism and Islam. The tomb is exposed to the elements in a decaying chamber with an open, ruined ceiling.









The Palestinians claim that this will be rectified in time. Not surprisingly, the memorial to Yasser Arafat is splendiferous, with two Palestinian soldiers standing over that tomb on solemn attention. (I did get a kick out of peeking back after our group had exited, to see one of the soldiers doing his stretch calisthenics.)

Ramallah is the capital city of the Palestinian Authority, and it's booming. All the governmental ministries are here. It's population is energetic and very hospitable, including the military. Most of the activity was local, with very few tourists among the masses. We made our way through a large shopping bazaar that, like most similar areas in the Middle East, had just about everything imaginable for sale, with barkers encouraging us to buy their wares or try their food. During a break in shopping, I'm seen here discussing the price of eggplants with my new friend, Herman Finischel.









Our last stop of the day was at the remarkable Tel Jericho. Here is the original site of excavations at the oldest continuously occupied city on the planet.









Stone fortifications go back 8,500 years, some 5,000 years before Joshua encircled the town, blew his trumpets, and the walls came tumbling down. It makes me want to reread Michener's "The Source."

Tomorrow: a final day in Jericho, and Bethany.