Being there during the Christmas season was, for me anyway, an eye-opener. Jerusalem was flooded with Christian pilgrims from all over the globe--marching in processions, caroling, dragging crosses around (does this sound too sarcastic? sorry, my atheism is showing).
We stayed at a Catholic hospice (Austrian) and noticed the numerous other various Christian hostels and churches in the old city and in Bethlehem, Nablus and Ramallah. This is not a genius observation, but I hadn't thought much about the importance of Jerusalem and other places for Christians world wide. It's just another reason that Jerusalem, at least, should be an open international city. Which is what the Jewish state is working to eradicate. Signs of Judeaization are everywhere. "Price Tag" settler-vandals are damaging not just mosques but Christian holy sites as well. The latest propaganda campaign of Israel's is to claim that Palestinian Muslims are enemies of Palestinian Christians and that they should ally with Israeli Jews. This is easily proven to be false.
In the old city Israeli flags mark buildings where settlers have invaded Palestinian property and declared it Judiaized (see photo). The government's reaction to these thefts is to give the thieves bodyguards to confirm their illegal actions (and to laugh at the victims and tell them to go to the courts).
The construction site photo is on the grounds of the Mamillia Islamic cemetery in Jerusalem, where graves are desecrated to make way for shopping centers. The original plans to build a Simon Weisenthal Center for "Tolerance" have apparently stalled.
other photos:
In the center of Jericho is a big key, symbolizing the keys to the Palestinian homes that were stolen by Israel in 1948 and 1967.
In Bethlehem there is a "Stars & Bucks" coffee shop. Since Starbucks won't open stores in a Palestinian city, locals have taken it upon themselves to stick it to the racist company.
AlQuds (Arabic for Jerusalem) University, about 45 minutes from Jerusalem is one of the few opportunities for Palestinians to get a higher education. The group photo is of the director of the Museum of Palestinian Prisoners (on the grounds of the University) and some guests (including myself).
The finger to people who don't support the right of return is an extreme close up of a Banksy drawing on a black sweatshirt.
Two photos from Hebron: the netting over Shahouda Street to prevent settlers who siezed second floor apartments in the middle of the city from throwing objects on the Palestinian passersby. Hebron is a traditional Palestinian city where a few hundred nut-case Zionist settlers invaded the town center and are now, supported by the Jewish state, terririzing the rest of the population.
The space with the carpeted floor is the mosque in Hebron where a Jewish settler gunned down 27 unarmed people. There is a statue of this hero that was erected by Hebron settlers.
There is a photo of African Christians in a procession through the streets of the old city.
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