Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

I don't know if you have heard about what has been going in this part of the world lately, but apparently it has some people concerned. On Thursday, 8 young people were killed in west Jerusalem at a yeshiva (which is kind of like a seminary). It was a religious-Zionist yeshiva. The shooter was a Palestinian from east Jerusalem. This does not bode well for us here at the Jerusalem Center. I'm not saying that anyone will target us because I don't think they will, but it may mean that we will not be able to stay at the center. When we got home yesterday, we were met with a sign informing us that we could not go into east Jerusalem until further notice (see above). Whenever there has been a security risk, we have only been barred from going into east Jerusalem. Now, something worse has come. There is no place that is safe, at least for the present time. I don't know what that means for us. I hope it doesn't mean we will be sent back to the states. Maybe we could go somewhere else and finish our program. (Left - Sarah and me on the beach of the Gulf of Aqabah, from the Israeli side. If you look out across the gulf, you can see Jordan. A little to the south is Saudi Arabia). But I would rather stay here. So I am asking you all to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
The problem with the conflict here is that it is not as simple as the media makes it out to be. Both sides are at fault and it goes back about one hundred years. In fact, you could say that it was largely caused by the British. That may not be politically correct, but from what I've been studying, that is the impression I get. (Right - a beat up American flag flying in front of the underwater restaurant). It is interesting that people are so quick to give away land that belongs to other people. It wasn't helped by the Jews. In fact, when Zionism first began, the leader of the movement wanted A homeland for the Jews, but didn't necessarily think it should be in Palestine. But, when offered a piece of land in Africa (which I'm sure would have caused a different conflict if it had been accepted) many Zionists refused any land but Palestine. The cause was not helped by Palestinians who in the beginning took out their frustration by violence, the few radicals effectively destroying the Palestinian position in the eyes of the world. Then, when offered a two state solution in the early years, that wasn't good enough. (Left - flags of three nations that are in someway connected to be flying in front of the underwater restaurant. We have the US flag-my home, the Israeli flag-my current home, and the Russian flag-my home away from home). It was all or nothing for them, though really all is what they wanted. And so in the end, they got nothing. It is further complicated by the Israeli's lack of willingness to move towards peace. That is a complicated issue and I don't really want to get into it, but it seems that they are willing to talk of peace, but not willing to implement any steps towards that peace. (Right - me and Megan at our table in the underwater restaurant. You can see the sea behind us). I understand that that is also complicated by Hamas in the Gaza strip. So, this is not an easy situation. I just wish that everyone involved could begin to see the others' perspective. Then maybe peace would come.
On a happier note, I went to Eilat this morning. We left around 5:45 am and drove down to the southern most portion of Israel. We went to a nature preserve on the Gulf of Aqabah (also known as the Gulf of Eilat) which is part of the Red Sea. There we went snorkeling. It was a lot of fun. I spent most of my time in the water looking at fish and talking with others. The water was salty, so it was easy to stay afloat. But, as a consequence, the back of my legs are burnt to a crisp. It is very painful. I did put sunscreen on, but I think I didn't wait long enough before getting in the water and I also think I should have put it on more often. (Left - can you find the fish in this picture? It is hard to see, but there is a cool looking lion fish that swam up to watch us eat). Oh well, there is nothing that can be done about that now. We were there from about 10:30 am until 3:30 am when we got out and drove to another part of Eilat. There we walked around and ate dinner. I didn't really feel like eating after getting so much sun, but I had a little ice cream from an underwater restaurant. That was a fun place, but very expensive (that is why we only got dessert). We continued on and stopped at a place where some people got schwarmas. Then we stopped at McDonalds where some people got food before walking along the boardwalk. That was fun. But, I was glad when it came time to leave and even gladder when we arrived back at the center. That was until we got a message that tomorrow we are not allowed to leave the center. Even worse news is that they are doing a security assessment that should be finished by Sunday morning. Then we will know our fate. So please, once again, pray for the peace of Jerusalem!