First, to continue on from yesterday's post: The same settlers did indeed return, last night. They returned in the late evening, then -- around midnight (when all but one of us was fast asleep, of course) -- loudly dismantled their sukkah.  (For those of you who are not Jewish -- or… Read full post »

Jean and I have spent the day camping on the patio of the Al Kurd family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Let me paint the picture:

The Al Kurds' house is part of a housing project that the Jordanian government built with the United Nations Relief and… Read full post »

So, Jean and I are now in East Jerusalem. We left Nablus this evening because my toe injury has left me unable to do the rock climbing that is often needed to harvest olives.  There is a lot to say about why we are here in East Jerusalem and our mission for… Read full post »

The first member of our team "bit the dust" today.  No, no, she's all right. But she was arrested and had to sign a condition agreeing to leave the West Bank for 15 days.  Hannah (from Pittsburgh, who I picked with on my first day of olive harvesting) went to some… Read full post »

This was day 2 of olive picking.  Because the farmer I was assigned to yesterday could not get enough other residents who were brave enough to join him in going out again in opposition to the army's warning about expected settler violence, I was assigned to another family in … Read full post »

I was not able to blog last night, so I will catch up by first recapping yesterday.  On the second day of ISM training, we focused on several topics:

• Sexual harassment. This is a reality for for some of the young women volunteering with ISM, especially blonde ones. Sexual harassment
… Read full post »

Salam alykom. (Peace be with you.)  Today was a full day of training by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), along with four French people, 2 Swedes and 2 other Americans (including Jean).  Most are here for a month or more, but two others are like Jean and me and will be… Read full post »

This morning we said good-bye to our friends at our hill-top home at Tent of Nations. It was suprisingly hard to do, because Daher, Jihan, Amal and Charly had very quickly  become very much like family. (Note that it's Charly, not Chollie. I had written it that way previously because that… Read full post »

I was not able to blog last night, because Dahar, the member of the Nassar family who stays here at the "Tent of Nations" most nights, was home with his family in Bethlehem.  (Remember, because of the Israeli restrictions, the Nassars are not allowed to have even the most basic of… Read full post »

It was a long day of travel, but here I am now,  in the most magical, almost unbelievable setting.  I'm sitting at a picnic table on a terrace of sorts on the top of a hill, with a blanket of lights from the communities below glittering in the midnight blue darkness.  Beautiful… Read full post »

It is 9:40 p.m., and Jean and I have checked into a hotel in Amman, Jordan, for one night before crossing into the West Bank tomorrow via the Allenby Bridge. As a transition from the Tunisian holiday to the Palestinian “pilgrimage,” I thought I’d get some basics out of the way:… Read full post »

Today was just a day to relax and play tourist before we begin the next, more “serious” leg of our trip. After waking up naturally to the bright light of day at about 8 a.m. – a luxury that is truly one to savor – Jean and I set off in… Read full post »

After posting Day 3, I had tried to catch up by immediately going on to Day 4. But then, after getting it all down, I lost my Internet connection just when I hit “post.” Of course I hadn’t made a copy of it. (That’s the story of my life.) So, after going… Read full post »

Unfortunately, I was not able to access the Internet until Day 3 of my journey, so I have to play some catch-up! I will start with yesterday afternoon – a truly amazing, special experience, in which it was a privilege to participate:

 

My traveling companion, Jean (a fellow activist from Ma… Read full post »

So, as I start the last day possible to get ready for the Big Trip, it seems natural to procrastinate a little longer and think about . . .all the Things That Can Go Wrong. And there are many, especially to me:

Illnesses

There's the time that I was in Rio… Read full post »

I have been sick the last two days, and I didn't think I was going to post at all until tomorrow. And then when I began to feel better, I decided I would, but that I needed to focus on something a little lighter, more fun. I mean, who wants to… Read full post »

Courtesy of Mother Jones:

Our bases are bigger than some countries:
Land occupied by U.S. bases: 46,566 square miles
Land area of North Korea: 46,541 square miles

Lessons From Rome
Roman bases at empire's peak (AD 117): 37
British bases at empire's peak (1898): 36
U.S. military sites overseas (2007): 761
T… Read full post »

Despite the fact that a good third of me feels like crawling into bed and turning into a vegetable (due to a bad cold that hit me like a ton of bricks today, which I blame all on Sarah Palin -- because, well why not?), I am trying to shake myself… Read full post »

As "D day" (departure for Tunisia and Palestine) gets closer, I am rushing to finish the book I'm reading -- both because it's hardback (and thus heavier to tote) and because it would be dangerous for me to try to carry across the border from Jordan into the West Bank. It's Trita… Read full post »

Below is my "stream of consciousness" as I watched the first presidential debate, plus some overall conclusions:

I don't think either candidate "won" this debate.  I liked Obama better in terms of the "person" he showed, though.  Several times he gave McCain his due by crediting his ex… Read full post »

I am one week away from my second trip to Palestine, and this is a good time to launch a blog. Despite some trepidation (and concerns that I'll waste time on a constant search for connectivity), I have decided to bring my laptop so that I can more easily record my thoughts… Read full post »