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Wednesday
It’s hard not to notice that Israel is in full celebration of Independence Day today. There are festive gatherings all around. It’s 9:30 a.m. and from the window of our tour bus it appears that the parks are becoming quite crowded. Children seem to be enjoying their play while grownups appear to be busy making preparations for picnics. The barbeque grills remind me of home on the Fourth of July.
After breakfast this morning, the group met with Khaled Abu Toameh, a very informed and knowledgeable Israeli Arab journalist and documentary filmmaker. He provided an opportunity for informal discussion. The session was quite interesting and provided me with a little better insight into Israeli Arab relations.
Following our session with Journalist Toameh we had a tour of several neighborhoods in Jerusalem. There were new and old residential housing and apartment living. Many of these neighborhoods were enclosed with physical barriers or anti-terrorist fences. The beautiful flower gardens were quite impressive. I don’t believe I have ever seen roses with such large blossoms. The architectural design of a community center in one neighborhood was most interesting. As we continued our tour, in one area, we could look over and see an Arab neighborhood.
It was a beautiful, pleasant day today and we had a wonderful tour of lovely neighborhoods. Some of our group members will join in with continued Independence Day celebrations. There is a March of the Living for a Happening in Safra Square, followed by a march to the Kotel and after dinner, there is a March of the Living evening event.
We are packing our bags tonight for early checkout of the Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem. Tomorrow we are headed to Tel Aviv.
Israel is blessed.

Thursday

We started our day with another great breakfast and the opportunity to meet and hear the story of a young Ethiopian immigrant. Against many odds, this young lady and her family made it to 'their promise land.'. As noted in her presentation, she is currently working very hard to help improve the lives of others in Israel. She stated that there are now more than 110,000 Ethiopians living in Israel - more than 30,000 are Israeli by birth.
After checking out of the Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem, on our way to the airport, there was a visit to the Temple Mount – 'a site holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians' and a visit to the Yad B'Yad School – 'an alternative model of education, integrating Arab and Jewish children, by teaching bilingualism, multiculturalism and equality as essential educational elements.' We listened to very interesting interviews with the students. It was interesting to note how they approached studying and working and living together in harmony.
We continued on to Tel Aviv where we had an opportunity to shop or walk on the beach. We ended the evening with a delightful dinner and a reflection session – "“The Mission as a Bridge for our Community."
Now, on to Ben Gurion International Airport for our 11:50 p.m. departure for Greensboro, North Carolina.
What a wonderfully fascinating journey!

Friday

The Israeli experience for the Greensboro Interfaith Study Mission to Israel comes to an end today. We landed in Greensboro at approximately 9:47 a.m. I believe that the sights, smells, tastes, sounds and awesome Biblical history of Israel will forever be engrained in our minds. I, personally, feel especially blessed to have visited my Special friend’s –Jesus’ hometowns (and what a privilege) to have been able to trace the footsteps of Jesus and gain first hand knowledge of the cultures of the ancient cities.
Many thanks are extended to the Greensboro Jewish Federation, the National Conference for Community and Justice and the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro for this wonderful opportunity. The administration, planning and organization of this Mission trip were first class.
As I said goodbye to Israel, I wondered about the opportunity to some day return. But for now – this ‘Israeli journey’ is simply a dream come true. I am excited and eager to share my experience with others. Perhaps, by saying just a word or two about this blessed, majestic land – I, too, can help make this world an even better place in which to live.
Now that my journey has ended – how do I feel? Today, I feel a sense of wonderful calm, and a sense of great satisfaction, love and joy and I believe these feelings will dominate my presence for the rest of my life.