I really don't claim to have a scholarly or complete look at this. Holy Land. Europe for Foodies This is the Best of Israel. by StockFootage.com. And The other half is a mosque — where Muslims worship before their shared patriarch with equal fervor. Rick Steves Special: The Holy Land, Israelis And Palestinians Today Airs Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019 at 10 a.m. on KPBS TV Thursday, December 12, 2019 They were happy to let me join them at their restaurant table and discuss the reality of being an Arab Israeli (as opposed to an Arab living in the West Bank). And we were hanging out with the kids and the families in the parks. There is a passion for peace, and I think there is hope for peace. The olive tree gives us the olives without even needing us to do anything for it. To appreciate the impact of the Holocaust, critical in understanding the psyche of today's Israel, visit Yad Vashem. Rick: Insha'Allah. There was a history of violence during different struggles. We just want to show the world that we are a people that want peace. Watch the interview. Second student: Women, I believe, women... In this clip, we meet the director of a Palestinian refugee camp discussing the symbolic power of the key. My Holy Land Shoot Finally Arrives. Benny: Standing here, on a former Syrian position, one can understand how vulnerable was the settlements, the villages of the kibbutzim of Israel before 1967. Travel with a Mobile Device With our regular TV production in Europe, I do the scouting, rough up the script, and line up local contacts as I research my guidebooks. Watch the interview. And Jerusalem marks its sacred center. Jump to bottom. Mobile: +972/505-254-939. Jump to bottom. Daughter: I, I used to hear from her that once they were more together. They are the keys the residents of hundreds of Arab villages took with them when they fled their homes in 1948, expecting to return shortly. Rejoined by our Palestinian guide, Kamal, our first stop is Battir Natural Park — famed for its hikes through olives groves and ancient terraces. While wandering the Muslim Quarter, you may see houses fortified and festooned with Israeli flags — homes of Zionist families determined to stake out this bit of the Old City for their Jewish community. Etiquette? America has spent a lot of money in the Middle East, and lots of military capital as well. Bethlehem's skyline is a commotion of both crescents and crosses — a reminder that the town, while now mostly Muslim, still has many Christians. They're the poor man's tree. Hi, I’m Rick Steves, back with more travels. It's going to make only war. Our goal: to walk in the footsteps of the people who live here. The western foundation of this ancient temple complex survives. That's my hope. That's because this city has the tomb of Abraham, so sacred to both Israelis and Palestinians. Terms of Service | Privacy, Watch the Director's Cut without commentary, Bethlehem's Mix of Christians and Muslims, The Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today. Palestinians living in the West Bank, while nominally autonomous, are living under an Israeli occupation. Built on the site believed to be where Jesus died and was resurrected, pilgrims line up to pray at the place of the crucifixion, and a few steps away, under a grand dome, they gather to enter Jesus' tomb, or "sepulchre," and place a candle where he was buried. Watch the interview. After a year of fighting, with Israel mostly victorious, a ceasefire was declared, and temporary borders known as the "Green Line" were established. We'll visit each side and we'll do it in alphabetical order: first Israel, then Palestine. Famed (or notorious) for its fighting spirit, the city has walls crusty with political posters. I didn't want to politicize this show. They were not only willing to talk with our camera rolling, but they were well-spoken and expert at articulating the Israeli case. Until next time, keep on travelin'. In this culture, food is love, and seems to celebrate the bounty of the land. So I just believe it's right and in our interest to not shirk the responsibility of staying involved and engaged in this challenging part of the world. Watch the interview. Kamal: Why should I leave my country? And for Palestinians, the olive tree is a kind of lifeblood for their culture. Hassan helped me scout our television special and then, a year later, also helped me produce it. Jump to bottom. The people of Nablus are relatively conservative. Kamal's mother: Sahtein. Second man on balcony: Exactly. The consensus of the people we met in the West Bank, across the board, is that violence is a mistake. Rick: So what is the hope for…for the future? By the way, a century ago, about 20 percent of all Palestinians were Christian. We decided not to go with the careful, the politically correct, or the least contentious name, but to go with what the local people want to be called, taking into consideration what the consensus is among the nations in the world. And, along the way, we'll hear a few of the many perspectives here. Amazon.fr - Achetez Rick Steves' The Holy Land: Director's Cut Edition à petit prix. There are a lot of Israelis who don't support the settlements. Whenever you don't want to use it, you don't want to use it. Rick: That's beautiful. The Palestinian perspective of the situation is illustrated by maps like this, showing how their land-holdings are shrinking, since the creation of Israel in 1948, with each passing decade. (Download Adobe Acrobat for free at Adobe's website. Traveling on a pilgrimage with a small group. As a visitor, traveling from Palestinian city to city on fine, modern freeways, it's easy to underestimate the complexity of the region and the extent of Israeli control. We would talk to people in the markets in Jerusalem. These are the biblical terraces of Battir, and we call them "biblical" because they're over 2,000 years of age. — Rick. To get the most out of this opportunity to better understand Palestine, we're joined by local guide Kamal Mukarkar. I wanted a program that would encourage people to travel there themselves. In this travel lecture, Rick Steves shares his personal experience traveling through Israel and Palestine and filming his one-hour TV special "Rick Steves' The Holy Land." God intervened and saved Isaac. For the Muslims, Jesus is their second important prophet. Different rabbis set standards of how their followers should be dressed. Today, the combined population of Israel and Palestine is about 12 million — roughly half Jews and half Muslim Arabs, and only a couple percent Christian. It was important for me to understand and share both narratives, and Benny was a big help in fairly presenting the Israeli point of view. Kamal's mini-tour makes the short West Bank side trip from Jerusalem efficient, easy, economical, and filled with experiences and learning. Israel is developing settlements — fortified communities on the tops of hills — deep into the West Bank. Wandering these lanes, I can't imagine living in such dense population…the lack of privacy…being a parent with children and little money…the frustration of an uncertain future. Is this a "settlement," is this what you would consider a settlement? It was very important for our show to shine a light on the settlements to find out why people live there. While the city is mostly Palestinian, a determined and well-protected community of several hundred Israeli settlers has staked out the high ground. To me, the future and the hope for peace rests with the people who live on either side of the wall — in Israel and the West Bank — who want to live together and who believe that violence is not an answer. I felt safe the whole time. Portugal Watch the interview. Above all we must maintain our security. But I'd had no personal experience there. The traditional technique survives — though boosted by hard-working machinery — as a busy crew in oil-soaked shirts meets the demands of the harvest season. First student: It is like I don't see the whole of my country. And, with Israeli government subsidies for housing and transportation, young Jewish families can afford to live here and commute from West Bank settlements back into Israel. And when I asked him to repeat the prayer in English, his raw and simple love and acceptance that he was a child of God brought me to tears. Get to know Israelis. Here — at what's called the Western Wall — Jews mourn a horrible past, and pray for a better future. So, by looking at somebody, you can tell if he's Ashkenazi, and which movement amongst the Ashkenazi, or Sephardi, or Lithuanian, and so on and so forth. We'll start in Jerusalem, and in Israel we'll visit Tel Aviv, the Sea of Galilee, and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. And, whil In this land, so treasured by Jews, Muslims, and Christians, I'm reminded that the prophets of each of these religions taught us to love our neighbors. Our ears pop as we continue deeper into the desert and drop below sea level. Many assume that Palestinian or Arab Christians were converted in modern times. In response, Israel asserted itself more aggressively, building a controversial fence, or wall, around the West Bank in the name of "security from terrorism.". While many people travel on their own in the West Bank, a private guide is particularly helpful there (and there are many good private guides who'd love to take you around). Land is treasured, land is disputed, and land is the basis of dreams. In a trendy café, it was hard to tell who's who. At the same time, we didn't want to be clinically detached. 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