Palestine Report: Arrival and Jerusalem

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday June 26, 2003 17:14 by Zardoz

Colm Walsh is a Dublin based activist with Working Class Action and is in Palestine for two months working with the International Solidarity Movement. He will be sending back regular reports on the situation there. Here is the first one.

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First Day Arrival and Jerusalem (26th June 2003)
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Well, I made it.

Fairly minimal hassles at the airport. Jerusalem is an interesting if slightly
bizzare city. I'm staying at a Christian guesthouse which is fairly kumbaya
in its evangelicalism but still slightly scary! I've just had a guest there
tell me to stay away from the Muslim Quarter because they will only try
to convert me...kinda ironic really, but I let it drop and made my excuses
and left him to his Bible study.

This morning I overheard a conversation between two American Orthodox Jews
talking excessively loudly whilst overlooking the Wailing Wall about how
Jesus was going to come back "very soon" to raise the dead and smite all
non-believers. Also imminent according to this guy was the complete annexation
of East Jerusalem, also that all Christians were heathens and Mary was a
"sex goddess". At this point I felt a smile break across my face and had
to walk away. Still, when you look at her in a certain light she was a bit
of a catch- ok, that's the sun talking!!

Anyways, looking forward to starting work. All this religion could make
a guy kinda crazy.

Colm.

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More information on Working Class Action at http://www.geocities.com/wcaireland.