The hour-long "Rick Steves' Special: The Holy Land, Israelis And Palestinians Today" weaves together both the Israeli and the Palestinian narratives to better understand a place that is, for a third of humanity, literally holy land.
The crossroads for three great religions, the Holy Land has been coveted and fought over for centuries. Host Rick Steves visits the major sights, but delves deeper to better understand and empathize with both peoples.
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Rick Steves with a family of Palestinian olive farmers near Battir National Park.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Israeli children in the West Bank befriend Rick Steves during his taping.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Rick Steves talks with students at Birzeit University near Ramallah.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Rick Steves and crew Simon Griffith and Karel Bauer near the Ramallah checkpoint
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Monastery of St. George in the Judean Desert.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Rick Steves in Haifa, Israel.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Floating in the Dead Sea at dusk.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Rick visits Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
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Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock.
Courtesy of Rick Steves
In Israel, he goes from the venerable ramparts of Jerusalem to the vibrant modern skyline of Tel Aviv.
In Palestine, by harvesting olives near Hebron, visiting a home in Bethlehem, and popping into a university in Ramallah, he comes to know a land few tourists visit.
And all along the way, he learns about security walls, disputed settlements, and the persistent challenges facing the region as Israelis and Palestinians learn to coexist peacefully.
Our work was made much easier by the car and driver provided to us by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism. It was a long, hot hike down to the Monastery of St. George. Coming up, we were pleasantly surprised by our driver, who managed to drive his car down to a crevice in the mountain, cutting our hike by half.
Hebron, with the Tomb of Abraham — so revered by both Jews and Muslims — was the place where I feel the most tension in the West Bank. Jews expect access, and so do Muslims, and, with a history of massacres on both sides, trust is fragile here. Palestinians can do little but annoy the huge number of soldiers stationed here. Talking with soldiers who seemed to have little empathy for the people they were controlling, I thought of the troubling fact that in World War I, the French and Germans were so willing and able to slaughter each other on the Western Front because the vast majority of them had never broken bread with someone from the other team. The society here seems purposefully structured to prevent people from knowing each other. (I asked a Jew why, in a lifetime of living here, he had never shared a meal with a neighboring Muslim, and he blamed dietary restrictions of their religions.) Seemingly likeable young soldiers were fun to chat with. Then, when it was time to go, one of them told me, "Time to bust down a door." Here's a little clip taken on the no-man's land street....until a soldier tells me not to shoot here.
Visiting several Israeli settlements (built over the border from Israel in Palestinian West Bank territory, and therefore controversial), I can see the appeal of these neighborhoods — especially for young families. But I've learned that these settlements embitter the Palestinians as much as violent resistance embitters Israelis. And the more settlements are built, the more the West Bank becomes fragmented, and the more difficult a mutually agreeable two-state solution — or any solution — may become. While I hope it's not true, the aggressive establishment of these settlements today could haunt Israel's prospects for a happy resolution of the tensions in the Middle East tomorrow.
Christians from around the world come to Jerusalem to follow the Via Dolorosa ("Way of Grief"), and to follow the route Jesus walked when he carried his cross to Golgotha to be crucified. Today most of the Via Dolorosa feels like a touristy shopping mall through Muslim and Christian quarters of the old city, but the presence of devout pilgrims like this Eastern European congregation gives it a sacred feeling nevertheless.
Sitting down to our first lunch in Israel, in the Crusader town of Akko, we were treated to a typical and colorful array of mezze-style plates: delightful dips, soups, and salads that are a daily edible reminder of how fertile Israel is.
Late on my first night in Palestine, after dinner with my guides, I came back to my hotel and met a dozen Lutheran pastors in the lobby. They were heading into a 2,000-year-old cave, upon which the hotel was built, for a devotion service and invited me along. I was really tired but followed my current travel ethic: If an opportunity presents itself, say "Yes." The pastors were just finishing a multi-year Pastoral Leadership Institute program. Their theme (as taught by English church leader Mike Breen): up, in, and out ("up" is relationship with God, "in" is relationship with community, "out" is outreach beyond their immediate community). I climbed down into the cave with them and enjoyed a wonderful hour of singing, reading, and sharing. While our image of "no room at the inn" is brick and wood, the "inn" of Bible fame was very likely a series of caves. And "no room" meant a woman about to give birth would not be welcome in the main quarters, as it was an unclean thing. Mary was sent to the manger cave where the animals hung out to give birth to Jesus. The next day I told my guide about the wonderful evening. He said, "Yes, but if you hear it as much as me, it is annoying." Nearly all the tourism in Palestine is religious tourism.
About The Series:
Rick Steves advocates smart, affordable, perspective-broadening travel. As host and writer of the popular public television series RICK STEVES' EUROPE, and best-selling author of over 50 European travel books, he encourages Americans to travel as "temporary locals." He helps American travelers connect much more intimately and authentically with Europe — and Europeans — for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.
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