Jerusalem to Northern Palestine

“This is where the British hung Jews!”, I hear as I look up and see a line of barred windows where the Jewish terrorists were held. Glancing back over my left shoulder, I fancy I see, behind a grinning Satan, a long line of occupiers of the land lately called Palestine. At the very end of the line I see a man stretching out his arms whilst executing an exstatic shoulder shrug.

We’ve all heard about the Crusaders and the hideous things they did but their time in Palestine is fairly short in comparison with the list of occupiers of this land. In fact I cannot help but list them below to make the point…..

Persian rule 538 BC

Hellenistic rule 333 BC

Hasmonean dynasty 140 BC

Roman rule 39 BC

Byzantine rule 330

Islamic 630

Arab Caliphate rule 638

Umayyad rule 661

Abbasid rule 750

Fatimid rule 969

Crusader rule 1099–~1187

Mamluk rule 1270

Ottoman rule 1516

Egyptian rule 1831

Ottoman rule 1841

British Mandate 1920–1948

When I look at this list, it is no wonder that Britain was simply seen as yet another occupier of the region. “Nobody was fooled by the fact that they were mandated by the League of Nations which was succeeded by the United Nations.”

In fact, I had not come to see where the British hung Jews, although I suspect that the work being done above me was in preparation for a new museum covering that period in the history of Palestine. I had come to see the Crusader town of Acre as we refer to it. or Akko as Palestinians refer to it.

The crusaders were not nice people. But, in Europe, it was an important part of history about which a lot is written. The town of Akko is important because it is a crusader town with all the attributes you expect from these great builders. Having spent so much time looking over small palaces and buildings, the size of the crusader halls was a shock until I remembered other European buildings of the same period.

The granite columns are puzzling but it appears that they came from Caesraea south of here. Also most of the marble in the buildings was also filched from the same place. The huge halls ramble over a large area and we can see how they afforded it all when we see a huge customs cloister. It must have been a place for good living for a while at least.

The there’s the tunnel. There’s always a tunnel for us to “do”. There are varying stories about how the tunnel was discovered. One is that people used to throw their sewage into it and one day it overflowed. (They don’t tell tourists that one!) But the good news is that the tunnel or tunnels are huge. If Akko ever needs a metro, these tunnels are ready for use! Unlike Hedzekiah’s tunnel where you get wet, there is a raised platform above the water level so I stay dry this time. The tunnel goes under this amazing old town all the way to the sea front.

Making my way along the walls of the Old Town which border the sea, I come to a large market place where people are galloping horses around the place. It seems very dangerous to me and, sure enough, one of them gallops over a teenager leaving him with bleeding grazes and what looks like a broken arm. Other smaller ponies are giving rides to young children. Even the huge wild-looking horses are ridden by teenagers.

This reminds me that this is the first day of a holiday marking the end of Ramadan. This year, it coincides with the Jewish New Year celebrations. One Moslem tells me that it is compulsory for Moslems to fill themselves with food today! So I have a DIY falafel in the market place. This is a falafel place where they give you the pita bread and falafel balls and and leave it to you to take as much salad as you want from a selection of about ten. There are also eight spicy concoctions which you also have. But some are hot! I eat with a researcher from Seattle who speaks fluent Arabic. So we are brought a huge bowl of freshly-cooked falafel balls and another bowl of swarma (you must sound the “r”!!) meat. Of course this means we need more salads and so on!! All for three euros.

Just for curiosity, we go north to the Lebanese border. There are ‘grottos’ there from which you can see that very pale cobalt blue hue that arises from the bright sun hitting the white of the limestone cliffs through the water as in the cliffs of South Crete. Otherwise, the border is a non-event, as it is protected by hilly country and these cliffs at this point.

But it is Caesarea which impresses me most. This is a town which was built by Herod the Great for the Romans; hence the name. There are two hippodromes. One by the sea has been excavated. Being such desirable real estate, I presume that is the reason for building another on the outskirts of the town and using the first site for desirable seaside residences. As we know from Jerusalem, Herod was an incredible builder and this remarkable city was one way in which he placated the invaders and kept the peace. The theatre is in fairly good shape and has been restored for performances in the summer. There’s still a lot of work to be done here so we can look forward to an even more remarkable site in the future.

Haifa is a large port city but, if you go to the top of the hill overlooking the port, you can see the beautiful Bahai gardens laid out below. This is where the British, a bankrupt country after WW2, left Palestine with a great sigh of relief I imagine. This all happened over sixty one years ago so it is curious to be constantly reminded of the activities of the British ‘ruling class’ from so long ago.

After WW1, Britain held a League of Nations mandate for Palestine. Britain’s Balfour Declaration was issued in November 1917 about a month before Allenby captured Jerusalem from the Turks during WW1. At that time, the population of Palestine consisted of about 7% Christian and 9% Jews with the majority being Arab. The 9% of Jews was mainly due to the work of Theodor Herzl who is today recognised as the Founder of the state of Israel. (He died in Vienna in 1904) By 1948, when the British left, the population of Jews has increased to 33%. The United Nations in 1947 had passed a resolution dividing Palestine between the Jews and the Arabs. After the new state of Israel had effectively driven out most Arabs from their homes (normally known as ‘ethnic cleansing these days) the state of Israel consisted of 80% of Palestine

The United nations then passed a resolution ‘allowing’ Arabs to reurn to their homes. Originally there were 750,000 refugees. The remnants of these people are still in refugee camps such as Jalezone and Aida that I have visited. Israel never complied with either of the United Nations resolutions. And the steady process of house demolition and ‘landgrab’ still goes on. The ‘wall’ is just one aspect which has managed to mask the other activities of the Israeli government.

If this sort of activity continues, the establishment of a separate Palestinian state with moderate policies will no longer be possible. This is the fear of most people visiting the West Bank where the present Palestinian policy is to appeal to the rest of the world for help not only against Israel but against extremists who, in this situation, are gaining supporters and even have a majority in Gaza. Christian groups from all over the world are helping Palestinians as much as they can but the continual call I heard from Palestinians is for political help from governments.

The first port of call inland from Haifa just has to be Armageddon! In ancient times, to hold this valley was to control the whole of a huge area from Egypt to Mesopotamia. I am not a good interpreter of the Revelations but it is believed that the forces of good and evil will assemble here for the final battle.

Nazareth is a busy town which, my Palestinian friends have told me, makes the best falafels in the world. You have to remember that Jesus must have been a very skilled carpenter by the time he set out on his mission. And this is where he attained his craft.

The next stop is the sea of Galilee and Peter’s house. The Catholic church bought the area some time ago and has undertaken some remarkable excavations. As we circle the lake looking across at the Golan Heights, we pass Magdela , where Mary came from. and then one of the places where Jesus achieved the ‘multiplication’.

But a stop at a kibbutz on the site where John baptised Jesus is most moving. There are special facilities for people to change into the usual white robes so they can be rebaptised in the Jordon river. This a happy event for the participents.

We then drive along the border with Jordon all the way to the Dead Sea and stop at Jerricho. Everywhere we are surrounded by security looking out across the Jordon river. The river valley seems to be able to grow a number of crops but the surrounding country is truly desert wilderness.

I feel that it would have been wiser to take a Christian tour. Most Israeli Jews have difficulty relating to the life of Jesus; even the purely historical facts.