Hallelujah, I'm a (beach) Bum!

Last night I returned from a weekend trip to Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest, and perhaps hippest, city. We left Friday morning on a school-sponsored tour to see the oldest part of the city, Neve Tzedek. I must admit, I wasn’t that impressed by the historical spot. It is scarcely over 100 years old, and the tour guide seemed hard-pressed for stories about the significance of the area. We saw, for example, a dilapidated kiosk that was, according to our guide, the “second oldest in Tel Aviv.” It reminded me, though, that the modern state of Israel is so young (approaching 60 years), and that contemporary history there doesn’t go very far back.

After the tour we visited an artists fair. We had a lunch of humus and pita -- something I’ve eaten much of here -- in a small café, and then headed down to the beach. The weather in Tel Aviv is significantly warmer than in Jerusalem. Friday the weather was in the low to mid-60’s, and Saturday it was around 70, with bright sunshine nearly all day. We hung out at the beach both days, getting ourselves sunburned, wading in the ocean (the water was still chilly), and enjoying the nearly-tropical weather. Friday night we stayed in a $10/night hostel, which was cosier and far more eclectic than a hotel. Overall, it was a great, sun-filled weekend. If I return to Tel Aviv, it will certainly be for the beaches there.

I was able to spend some more time speaking with my Christian Palestinian shopkeeper friend in the Old City, this past week. He is actually an elder in his church, a very dangerous position in which to find oneself in the largely-Muslim West Bank. He told me that at his church are former Muslims and former Hamas members, and that, if certain people knew he was a pastor, he could lose his life. He also shared that there is a large underground church in the West Bank where people secretly worship Christ out of fear that they may be hurt or killed for their beliefs. span>

The pastor told me that he, and most Palestinian Christians, believe in replacement theology. This set of beliefs teaches that the Church has completely replaced Israel in God’s plan of redemption for mankind. Thus, God’s old covenant with Israel no longer is applicable and his new covenant with the Church, inaugurated in Christ, is the only covenant that matters. With this view, Jews no longer hold any special place in God’s unfolding plan, and the modern state of Israel cannot be justified using biblical or theological arguments.

My Palestinian ach (brother, in Hebrew) lives in a refugee camp in the West Bank with his family. He has to cross the wall that Israel is building to separate the West Bank from the rest of Israel every day on his way to work. He shared with me that he had once been asked for a 500 shekel bribe from an Israeli soldier for easy passage.

He said the Church in the West Bank is continually in a difficult situation because it is neither Jewish nor Muslim. It seems to get caught in the crossfire of the two groups, and suffers particularly under the PA leadership (http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp490.htm). Recently, many churches in the West Bank have been persecuted for the European cartoons of Allah. He, and many other Palestinian pastors, published an ad in the Palestinian newspapers renouncing the cartoonery.

When I told him that my mom, neighbor, and youth pastor were coming to visit, he invited us all over to dinner at his home in the refugee camp. He said we’d be all right as long as we went with him. When I told Mom about the idea, she sounded thrilled.

I’m making plans to visit Petra next weekend with some Jewish and Christian friends. Let me say, though, that traveling with Christians is much easier than with Jews. This past weekend in Tel Aviv I was with a mixed group. As Christians, we were able to eat anywhere regardless of dietary regulations. Our Jewish friends, though, needed to eat at Kosher restaurants. They also were not able to drive anywhere on Shabbat so, while we took a sherut (a giant cab) back to Jerusalem in the afternoon, they waited until after dark to return. Next weekend, my Jewish friends want to spend Shabbat in Israel instead of in Jordan. We have a long weekend, and doing this would allow us only a day and a half in Jordan. The group is certainly going to split up, with me and some Christian friends remaining in Petra and the devout Jews probably going back early to Israel. Knowing all of these Jewish rule and regulations certainly gives me a greater appreciation for the practical freedoms from the Law that I have as Gentile Christian.