Today began with a tour of the Kibbutz Lavi, the community which runs the hotel where we had been staying. This Kibbutz was founded as a part of the religious kibbutz movement, based on Marxist principles of sharing and contributing resources based upon one's needs and abilities. We learned today from Larry, our guide, that this kibbutz has already moved away from some of those founding principles (adapting for modernity), and are even discussing the privatization of their common dining hall (among other things) which currently serves primarily as a common meeting place for the community for lunch. This led to conversation about the New Kibbutz Movement, who are establishing new kibbutzim in Israel, and truly trying to find ways to stay within the original Marxist principles. It's difficult to imagine living in a socialist community in the capitalist world that we are surrounded by and successfully maintaining the community values, a task which has shown to be (near to or) impossible in the example of the Kibbutz Lavi.
Leaving the Kibbutz, we drove down the eastern edge of Israel, on a road that closely follows the border with Jordan towards our next destination of Beit She'an. It amazed me to think about the fact that on this drive, we were literally right next to Jordan (so close we could see the border fence, and the "no-man's land", an area of land that had been littered with land mines by Israeli forces prior to peace between the countries, and truly brought home just how small Israel is.
Our exploration of Beit She'an began with a quick history lesson of the multitude of peoples who had inhabited this area (including Romans, Byzantines, Jews and more) and a geography lesson. Beit She'an is right on the crossroad of the main thoroughfares of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley, and had an excellent source of water, and a prime hilltop lookout. The appearance of the reconstructed old city has a very Roman look to it, including an amphitheater, a Bath house, and a Tel - a large mound or hill with nothing growing out of the top, which is evidence that different tribes had come along and repeatedly built on top of whatever the previous tribe/people had built in that spot.
Leaving Beit She'an, we continued south along the eastern-most Israeli controlled road, inside of the West Bank heading towards Jerusalem. We took in the scenery (less and less vegetation as we head south) and observed multiple Palestinian refugee camps on this edge of the West Bank, which were absolutely nothing like what I would expect to see when I hear the word "refugee". These are much more permanent structures (these camps have been there, and recognized as such by the UN for more than 40 years). After passing Jericho, we headed west, up the hill to Jerusalem, passing Bedouin shepherds and their hill-side settlements, as well as Jewish Settlements within the West Bank, and stopped to take a moment to take it all in at the top of Mount Scopus inside the city.
Taking in the view of the old city, recognizing the religious significance of this place for so many people of multiple monotheistic religions - the center of the world for many - there's an indescribable feeling of pure connection to the biblical history here, regardless of faith, religion, belief, etc. It is interesting to think that for thousands of years people have had a similar reaction upon reaching Jerusalem for the first time - a genuine recognition of the significance this city holds for humanity, and I am looking forward to diving into it more tomorrow.