I’m heading to the Holy Land for eight days. This will be my fifth trip since 2004, and I hope to post daily reports on InsideCatholic. (“Holy Land” refers to the area lying between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, encompassing both Israel and Occupied Palestine and parts of Lebanon and Jordan.)
Not all of my trip itinerary is finalized, but this is what I know thus far:
- After landing in Tel Aviv, I will drive to Nazareth for two days, fitting in side trips to Haifa for a meeting with Elias Chacour, Melkite Archbishop of the Galilee and lunch on Mount Carmel.
- Returning to Nazareth, I will visit Galilee where I will tour Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes before a visit to the Church of the Annunciation and Mary’s Well.
- Driving south from Nazareth, I will pass through the northern West Bank (Biblical Samaria) visiting Biblical Shechem, Jacob’s Well, Nablus, and Ramallah before arriving in Bethlehem where I will have dinner with local Palestinian Christians.
- The next day I will tour greater Jerusalem with renowned Israeli civil rights attorney Danny Seideman, followed by a visit to the Christian sites on the Mount of Olives, and lunch with an Israeli member of the Knesset. Afterward, I leave for Ramallah for a meeting with a Palestinian political leader and back to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.
- The next day I will tour Hebron, have lunch in Jerusalem, and meet with the president of an Israeli settlers’ council at the King David Hotel before having dinner with some Israeli journalists.
- The following day will include a tour of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial, before a walking tour of the old city of Jerusalem and a visit with the Latin Patriarch. That evening I will attend a Shabbat service and dinner with Orthodox Jewish families in Jerusalem.
- After spending the night in Jerusalem, I will return to Bethlehem for a visit to the Church of the Nativity, Sister Sophie’s Creche (for abandoned children), Bethlehem Bible College, Bethlehem University, the Tent of Nations, and a meeting with some local religious leaders.
- My last day Sunday I will attend Mass with Palestinian Christians before going to Tel Aviv for a meeting with a retired Israeli brigadier general, and a sunset dinner overlooking the Mediterranean.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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