Foods

I eat a lot of falafel sandwiches. Falafel is chickpeas, smashed and deep-fried in sort of flattened balls. Throw some into a pita, add some tomatoes, cucumbers and runny white sauce to make a good sandwich. Humus, also made from chickpeas I think, is popular here as well. Whip it up and eat it with pita bread. And if you love olives, you would like it here. Black or green, they are all delicious.

Religion and Settlements

In Beit Sahour, most Palestinians are Christian. In Bethlehem, most are Muslims. There are a few Jews who sort of live in the area, but they have no contact with anyone else. They live secluded in neighborhoods called "settlements". These are pocket communities built on Palestinian land. There are a lot of other places to build, but for some reason the Israeli government chooses Palestinian land.

Palestinians rightfully feel the land was taken illegally, so this really makes them mad. (It irritates me too. If someone just took over our family farmland for no reason, I'd be mad.) Israel gives great bargains on apartments in these settlements -- if you're crazy enough to move into one. The settlers take over the Palestinians roads in the area too, so Palestinians aren't allowed to travel on them. They become private settlement roads. This too disturbs the Palestinians. Not only have they lost their land, they also can't travel on their own roads anymore! I think no Jew really wants to live there, unless they are trying to rub it in. Israel always stations a large group of soldiers around the settlements. Many times there are many more soldiers than residents. Israel claims that it needs soldiers to protect the settlements, but I think it wants the settlements so that their tanks have a clear shot at Palestine.

If you're interested in learning more about the issues in the Middle East, I urge you to check:

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/

It's been an interesting ride, but at the moment it is peaceful in the area, and we hope it remains that way, inshallah (God willing).

Peace in the Middle East,
Bob

Andreas and me after a website project