Western Wall (The Kotel) - Jerusalem. Now and then.

 

Time to get back to the Wall.

The Shocking New Israeli Trend

The Shocking New Israeli Trend

Shalom! As an Israeli Jew and a son of a Holocaust survivor, I was more than surprised when I realized what the latest trend is in the Israeli society. Believe it or not, many Israelis are choosing to leave Israel and go live in no other than... Berlin, Germany.

It was 2003. Here we are in Berlin: My dad, my mom, my wife, my sister and her husband and two other family relatives. It felt so strange for me to be in this city, the city where both of my parents were born, the city from which an entire side of my family were taken to the gas chambers in Auschwitz. Sixty four years prior to our visit in Germany, my dad - Joseph - fled from Berlin at the age of 12 on his journey to the coasts of the Promised Land, the land of Israel.

We didn't come to Berlin just for a family vacation. Since my dad was a Holocaust survivor, we were invited by the German government to witness how the city has changed; to see in our own eyes that this new generation in Germany is nothing like the one that lived there 60-70 years ago. And indeed, the city was pretty nice actually, a beautiful fusion of old and new. I remember that during our visit I heard that some predict Berlin to be "the future capital of Europe."

But my memories from that visit are not just architectural. The days we spent in Berlin were probably among the most emotional of my life. I will never forget how my dad took us to the apartment building where he and his family used to live. Once we got there and looked at the building from the outside, my sister suggested that we go into the building and knock on the door to my dad's childhood home. And so we did. The lady that opened the door was a bit cold at first, seeing a bunch of strangers like us. It took a couple of minutes of conversing in German, which I didn't understand at all, before the lady warmed up and allowed us in.

And here I am. Standing with my dad in this tiny condo where he spent his childhood, until it was stolen from him forever. When this surreal peek into my family's history was over, we stood again on the street and looked at the old building from the outside. Unexpectedly, the grandchild of the lady that let us in was looking at us from the window. I couldn't escape the thought that this little child is almost a visual duplication of my own dad looking out of this window so many years before. The scar of this image will remain in my memory as long as I live.

Next, we headed to what would become the emotional peak of our time in Berlin. It took us about 10 minutes' walk to get there - to the synagogue - the place where my grandparents worshiped and prayed to the God of Israel, along with my dad, his younger brother and his two sisters. The synagogue was locked and in bad condition. It was obvious that it had been in that state for many years. Actually, the synagogue was inactive since the "Kristallnacht", the night of the broken glasses, when over 1,000 synagogues were burned, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were demolished and many Jewish cemeteries were desecrated. This horrific Anti-Semitic act happened in November 9-10, 1938. Yes, in just a few days it will be exactly 65 years ago. Below is a picture of one of the synagogues that were burned down on that dark night.



I will not share many details about our experience there other than saying that it was and forever will be one of the major events of my life. It was the first time that I could begin to comprehend the depths of the struggles that my dad had in believing in God and even more so - in accepting the fact that his only son (me!) had come to believe in Jesus as the promised Messiah of Israel. Indeed, when my dad came to saving faith in Jesus about 5 years later, it was truly a miracle of God.

Maybe now you can better understand why I am so shocked that Berlin became the new "IN" place for Israelis. You see, many of them probably have a German citizenship through their grandparents (like I have) which makes it possible for them to live in Germany. But why there of all places?! Germany is in the European Union, which means that one that has a German citizenship can live anywhere in Europe. What's wrong with London? Or Amsterdam?

Nevertheless, this is a fact. Israelis are immigrating to Berlin in unprecedented numbers. Why? There are several reasons for this phenomenon. The main cause is without a doubt financial. The economic situation in Israel is extremely difficult, especially for the younger generation. It is practically impossible for them to buy a decent condo in a location that is even remotely near areas of employment, unless you have very rich parents. Even the rent prices are unbelievably high. Not to mention the cost of living that is almost unbearable for most Israelis. On the other hand, while London is very expensive too, Berlin offers a much more comfortable financial environment. For Israelis, it is like a breathe of fresh air.

Others share that what attracts them to Berlin is the sense of space that they feel. In Israel everyone is in everybody's business. In Berlin, Israelis have the freedom to live in a way that they would not dare to live in Israel, away from the intense social pressure of family, friends and the Israeli society in general.

One other big attraction to Israelis is the jazz music scene in Berlin. Israeli musicians are gaining tremendous appreciation in Berlin which makes them feel right at home. In addition, there are also emotional reasons for Israelis to live in Berlin. As one Israeli woman said: "Every time I take out the garbage I say to myself 'we won.' I live here as if it is my own city."

You may be wondering how I know all that. Did I go to Berlin and interview Israelis on the street? No, there is no need to do that. Naturally, the Israelis in Berlin, just like 99% of all Israelis in that age group, are VERY active on the internet. They have their own internet websites (in Hebrew of course), Facebook groups and on-line blogs. This is where I got to know Israelis like Micha, Abraham, Michael, Liat and Tal. Yes, all of them, and thousands more, are just one click away!



What an opportunity!! Now, with a click of a button, we can share the Gospel with Israelis who are brave enough to go against the stream, who are open minded enough to go and live in the city that once was the center of unfathomable atrocities against their own families, flesh and blood. Today, many Israelis are willing to leave the past behind and search for the meaning of their lives, wherever it may be. Oh, how my heart cries out for my Jewish people in Israel and around the world! "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." (Rom. 10:1)

As 2013 draws to an end, PLEASE join forces with our ministry with a one-time special tax deductible gift.

We are privileged to live in this internet age! God gives you and me such an incredible opportunity to share the Gospel with an immeasurable number of lost Jewish souls. Together we will reach them in Israel! But we won't stop there. Together we will reach them in the US and in every corner of the world - YES, even in Berlin.

Your partner for Israel's salvation,

Ze'ev Nevo

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Shabbat Shalom around the world. Next Friday in Jerusalem!

 

Next Friday (6th day) in Jerusalem! Steve Martin

The Christian pantheon of Holy Land explorers

The Christian pantheon of Holy Land explorers

Walled off, neglected, vandalized, the Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion tells the story of a generation of legendary 19th century explorers who studied the Land of Israel • A new article by Israeli archeologists investigates this unique site. 
Nadav Shragai

The Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion |  Photo credit: Reuven Milon

Christopher Costigan was a young theology student at a Jesuit college near Dublin on his way to becoming one of the world's better known Dead Sea explorers. On the hot August days of 1835 he sailed along the Dead Sea coast for more than eight days in an effort to measure the depth of the water, but the heavy heat got the better of him and he became ill with malaria. He was evacuated to the Franciscan San Salvador monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem, where he died at the young age of 25.

Costigan was buried in the Catholic cemetery on Mount Zion. One of his successors, American explorer William Francis Lynch, who went on to study the Dead Sea for another 13 years, named the sea's northern cape after him, and to this day it is still known as Cape Costigan. Costigan himself, however, was never afforded true peace -- his body disappeared and his gravestone was vandalized and uprooted. It was only rediscovered many years later, after the 1967 Six-Day War, thanks to extensive efforts by one of Israel's best known researchers, Professor Zev Vilnay.

These days, two modern day archeologists -- Gabriel Barkai and Eli Shiller -- have recently published a new study in the periodical Ariel (a magazine geared toward lovers of the history of Israel) detailing the stories of additional characters and heroes from the gallery of 19th century explorers of this land who are buried in the Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion, not far from where Costigan was buried.

Since the second half of the 19th century, 1,040 graves were dug there in what has become a mini-pantheon of well-known explorers who studied the Holy Land during that time. But much like the mystery of Costigan's grave, here, too, the documentation becomes more and more challenging with time due to neglect and vandalism, with the cemetery's gravestones all faded and partially smashed.

There have been nearly no new graves dug in this cemetery since the 1948 War of Independence. Though the war did leave the cemetery within Israeli territory, the burial there ceased because the main Protestant centers were in the eastern part of the city -- under Jordanian sovereignty. Even after the city was reunited in 1967, the cemetery remained abandoned (with very few exceptions).

Officially, the site is among a list of British military cemeteries under the care of the British Commonwealth Council. In practice, it is not particularly cared for, but even in its state of disarray a visit to this special collection of graves can still be enlightening, fascinating and satisfying. Much like a visit to other famous burial sites in Israel, like the Kinneret Cemetery near the banks of the Sea of Galilee, 

the gravestones speak, telling the story of a generation, an era and the people who populated it. 

The Protestant section of the cemetery, which was the focus of Barkai and Shiller's paper, serves as a landmark in the history of the individuals who dedicated their lives to study the history of the Land of Israel and the discovery of its most hidden secrets.

The names on the gravestones appear in a plethora of languages: English, German, Arabic and even Hebrew. Most of the people buried there were converts to Christianity, though some were Jews who died at the various missionary hospitals in Jerusalem and subsequently rejected from Jewish cemeteries in their communities. The cemetery also houses the graves of soldiers killed during World War I as well as British soldiers and police officers killed in operations perpetrated by the Jewish underground. One such example is Thomas James Wilkin, who was killed by Lehi men during the rebellion in retribution for ordering the capture and execution of the first Lehi leader, Yair Stern.

The "celebrity" stories

In February 1867, when famous archeologist Charles Warren began excavating in Jerusalem, he was accompanied by three fellow members of the British Royal Engineers. One of them became ill, and was replaced by Corporal James Duncan, who became ill as well shortly after and died of malaria in Aug. 1868. The gravestone marking his burial site in the Protestant section of the Mount Zion cemetery is unique.

The gravestone is made of a cylinder that, according to the research of Barkai, was one of the legs of a stone table from the Second Temple era, which was taken from an underground storage room at the foot of the Temple Mount. The stone leg was too heavy to be shipped back to England, so Warren placed it on Duncan's grave. Over the course of the years, the table leg sustained extensive damage and is now split.

Another "celebrity" buried in the adjacent plot is Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake, who, a year after Duncan's death, tried to recreate the wanderings of the Israelites in the Sinai Desert. He traveled some 600 miles by foot and visited many locations that no one had explored before him.

His writings, in which he documented many additional areas of the Land of Israel that he had explored, are varied and extensive. Drake was the also the first to head the Survey of Western Palestine, which was taken over by the more well-known explorer Claude Reignier Conder only after his death.

Two more interesting personalities to have been buried at the site are James Edward Hanauer (1850-1938) and Dr. Dallas Young (1910-1980). The first was a Christian clergyman, but he was the descendant of Jews. Hanauer wrote a famous book titled "Walks About Jerusalem," but he is remembered mainly for being the first to discover the cardo -- a north-south-oriented street typical in Roman cities -- in Jerusalem, the first Byzantine-era columned avenue in the Old City of Jerusalem. Today, every tourist who visits the area knows this street.

Young was the founder and director of the American Institute of Holy Land Studies (or as it is called today, Jerusalem University College). He paved the way for hundreds of students who studied the history of the Land of Israel. The marker on his grave site is also unusual. He selected his own gravestone while he was still alive: two large hewn Second Temple-era stones from the first wall built in Hasmonean times.

Another interesting story hiding among the stones at this cemetery is the story of English doctor and researcher Ernest William Gurney Masterman (1867-1943), who was the first to explore the changes in the water level of the Dead Sea. His frequent visits to the stone he used to mark the changing water levels raised the suspicion of the area Bedouin, who made sure to destroy his markings. But the stone, which has since become a well-known landmark, can still be seen on the side of the road near Ein Feshkha.

Danish missionary Hans Nicolajsen, also known as John Nicolayson, who died in 1856, is also buried on Mount Zion. Nicolajsen founded the British mission hospital in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, which was the first hospital in the city.

Despite being buried in Jerusalem, British archeologist James Leslie Starkey, meanwhile, worked far from the city, in the Judean plains. He was the chief excavator of the first archaeological expedition to the important site of Lachish in the 1930s.

Starkey is considered to have discovered the Lachish letters. These were discovered during his third excavation of the site, in which he discovered the clay ostraca. These ostraca featured ancient Hebrew writing, apparently sent by the commander of Lachish on the eve of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of the city. The Lachish letters are considered to be a momentous discovery that has shed a lot of light on the history of the Babylonian siege. Four years after he discovered them, on Jan. 10, 1938, Starkey was murdered by Arabs.

Additional celebrities buried in this pantheon of explorers are: Paul Palmer, who drew the Madaba Map after the discovery of the floor mosaic in the early Byzantine church of Saint George at Madaba, Jordan. Palmer's drawing from 1906 still serves every beginning researcher who approaches the famous mosaic, even though it is over a hundred years old by now. Johannes Rudolph Roth, whose expedition first discovered in 1837 that the Dead Sea and the Jordan Rift Valley were situated below sea level. And Carl Sandreczki, a Polish doctor who came to Israel in 1849 and became famous for the in-depth research he conducted on street names in the Old City.

There is also one particularly sad story in the history of the Mount Zion cemetery, Shiller and Barkai recount. It involves dozens of residents of the American Colony whose bones were brought to the cemetery in the middle of the night, after having been packed in boxes. The bones were transferred from the nearby American cemetery, which no longer exists. "It was done under the directive of American Consul Selah Merrill who bore a grudge against the residents of the American Colony."

The residents of the colony were buried in improvised graves, to the right of the entrance gate, without any gravestones save one, shared by all. "And that is after some of the bones were scattered during the move to Mount Zion."

The residents of the American Colony weren't archeologists or explorers, but their photography endeavor, which documented thousands of sites across the Middle East including Israel, contributed immensely to the knowledge we have of the history of the region. Some of the photographs have become symbols of an era, documenting important historical events like the visit to the Land of Israel by German Emperor Wilhelm II in 1898. The American Colony photography department also documented British General Edmund Allenby's entry into Jerusalem via the Jaffa Gate in 1917.

They made their mark

The story of this unusual cemetery would not be complete without at least a brief mention of the two most famous people buried there: Conrad Schick, one of the 19th century's greatest explorers of Jerusalem, and Flinders Petrie, the father of archeology of the Land of Israel. In July 2012, a memorial service was held to mark 70 years since Petrie's death. The service -- an Antiquities Authority initiative -- included a tour of the Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion.

Petrie was born in Kent, England in 1853. He excavated extensively in Egypt and the Land of Israel and he was the first to show that, based on data recovered from the field, one could derive an objective chronological system using scientific-logical methods. Before Petrie, the dating of artifacts was based solely on assessments, historical speculation or biblical texts.

Petrie was also a very unusual and colorful individual. It has been said that he built the camera he used in his excavations with his own two hands out of a cookie tin. It was also said that when he worked at the ancient Giza pyramids he was habitually naked.

At the end of his days, he left instructions to submit his head to scientific study at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and indeed, his body was buried headless at the Mount Zion cemetery.

Conrad Schick (1822-1901), was a German architect, cartographer, archeologist, explorer and Protestant missionary who operated in Jerusalem during the second half of the 19th century. Schick was one of the most prominent figures in Jerusalem during his time -- the end of the Ottoman Empire -- and is considered to be among the most important explorers of the Land of Israel and Jerusalem.

He worked for many years for the British Palestine Exploration Fund and the German Society for the Exploration of Palestine, and published hundreds of articles on the physical state of the city and the archeological work being done there. As an architect, he is considered one of the prominent builders of the city in the period after the expansion beyond the walls of the Old City. He planned community buildings, health facilities and housing serving the Jewish and Christian communities.

Barkai and Shiller note that Schick planned some half a dozen buildings in Jerusalem, and that some of the more intricate ones have certainly left their mark on the landscape of the city. He planned the Tabor House (Beit Tavor), the neighborhood of Mea Shearim, the Deutsche Diakonissen-Krankenhaus, today a part of Bikur Cholim Hospital, and more.

Schick lived in Jerusalem for 55 years, and when he died, his friend Abraham Moses Luncz gave a eulogy in which he described the death as "the greatest loss" for the literature on the Land of Israel, because "ever since he came to Jerusalem as a young man, Schick invested himself entirely in the exploration of the land, served for many years as the chief engineer of Jerusalem, and, in his youth, built models of the Temple Mount and the Temple."

The gravestones on the tombs of Schick and his wife are among the most prominent in the entire Mount Zion cemetery. Schick's gravestone bears a quote, in German, from Numbers 32:12: "Because they have wholly followed the Lord."

Benedict Cumberbatch-voiced film "Jerusalem" IMAX Movie

Benedict Cumberbatch-voiced film "Jerusalem" -

Inside the making of the IMAX movie

Check out this report on the new IMAX film about Jerusalem. Absolutely stunning visuals of the ancient and wondrous capital of Israel.

Click Share and show this clip of beautiful Jerusalem to your friends!

Click here: Jerusalem Movie Clip

Amanda Cochran

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(CBS News) "Jerusalem" - a new movie narrated by actor Benedict Cumberbatch - takes viewers inside the Holy City in IMAX 3D. But how did the National Geographic Entertainment team gain such unprecedented access to the city, which is perhaps the world's most politically and religiously delicate locale?

Taran Davies, co-producer of the movie, said the film - which took five years to make - was an effort that came together "over a million cups of tea."

He said, "Jerusalem, over its 4,000-year history, it's the most fought-over place on Earth. It's been subject to 118 conflicts. It's been conquered 44 times and destroyed completely twice. But, yet, to this day, it is sacred to over half the world's population."

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Jerusalem film reveals Holy City's stunning cityscape

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He explained, "I don't think IMAX footage has ever been shot of the ancient city or of the Holy Land, so this is really a first. These images that you see have never been filmed before. In fact, when we had our script, which we showed to the experts, they sort of laughed at us and said, 'Well, you're never going to be able to get half of what it is that you're asking for.'

"Over the course of ... about three years, we met with every single authority that you can possibly imagine meeting, from the Israeli government, military, the air force, the governor of East Jerusalem, the Religious Affairs in Jordan to name just a few of the organizations we had to meet."

In the process of making the movie, Davies said, "every day was a new problem and one that you never knew that you would get over, but the wonder of the experience of making the film and the fact of bringing this giant-screen experience back to audiences here in the United States, the opportunity to visit the Holy Land, as we presented it here, is something that was worth fighting for every day for five years."

Speaking of Cumberbatch's narration, Davies said, "He's done such a good job, and do you know what he said? He turned to us during the recording, and he said, 'Why didn't anyone teach me about this stuff when I was at school?'"

For more with Davies on the Jerusalem film and the story of life in the city that it tells, watch his full interview above.

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