Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: You've never seen anything like Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: And then everyone put palms on the.
[00:00:11] Speaker C: Floor, their jacket, and, like, this is my first time seeing a lot of christians in this place. And it's, like, so exciting to see.
[00:00:34] Speaker D: Hello and welcome back to the Insights group, Jerusalem. If there's anything I can tell you.
[00:00:41] Speaker E: About what's happening here in Jerusalem this week, it would be the utter chaos.
[00:00:48] Speaker D: That is called Purim, which is a.
[00:00:51] Speaker E: Holiday, a jewish holiday from the book of Esther in the Bible.
[00:00:57] Speaker D: But now it's turned into this raucous.
[00:01:03] Speaker E: Event, which I can only compare to carnaval in Brazil.
[00:01:09] Speaker D: It's this two day holiday that has somehow morphed into something comparable to Halloween, but it goes on for an entire.
[00:01:19] Speaker E: Month instead of one day or two.
[00:01:22] Speaker D: Days, which it's supposed to be.
And especially you see that. I'll tell you what I never really understood what was Purim. I mean, yes. Like, before I had kids, and when I moved to Jerusalem, I was like, yeah, okay. I see people dressing up and I'm like, oh, okay, that's weird. And when I say people dressing up, I don't mean the kids. I mean everybody.
[00:01:43] Speaker E: Everybody dresses up.
[00:01:44] Speaker D: Everybody goes to a costume party. I was a little bit in shock because, you know, in the US, Halloween is for kids.
So to see everybody dressing up was a little bit shocking.
[00:01:58] Speaker E: Then I had kids, and the shock actually got a little bit larger.
[00:02:06] Speaker D: Bigger. Insane.
It's like this. You guys send your kids to school, they come home one day with a note from the school that says, oh, yay, we're celebrating purim. Here is the schedule.
[00:02:23] Speaker E: And the schedule encompasses, like, two weeks of events and things.
Days with themes, like theme days. Here you go.
[00:02:33] Speaker D: Pajama day, one day, crazy hat day, another day, props and accessory day, backwards day, gift exchange day.
[00:02:44] Speaker E: And finally, at the end of all of that, you have costume day. Oh, but wait.
[00:02:49] Speaker D: And then after that, two days off from school.
So I, like, flabbergasted by this point because they've had no school and no learning. Up until this point, every day has been a party. Every day's been like, you know, throw out the learning and show your pajamas at school instead or wear something backwards or put on a hat or whatever. But, you know, oh, then after all that, they still have two days off from school.
[00:03:19] Speaker E: So with this, we essentially start the countdown till the end of the academic year, which isn't until June 30.
[00:03:27] Speaker D: Now, mind you, we're in March and June 30, but in one month, the israeli schools will have off again for Passover, which again, with the jewish holidays God gives one command and then the.
[00:03:41] Speaker E: Jewish state gives it another.
[00:03:43] Speaker D: So a week long holiday which has somehow morphed into, like two weeks of school vacation like Purim. Two days goes to, like, a month of, you know, crazy days and whatever.
And then if you're like my kids in a school that is bilingual and.
[00:04:01] Speaker E: Promotes coexistence we have all the holidays.
[00:04:05] Speaker D: To be observed and it's even more complicated. So, for instance, while all the israeli schools are off, you know, let's say this week Sunday and Monday for Purim.
[00:04:16] Speaker E: The following week we will have off.
[00:04:18] Speaker D: For Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. Naturally.
[00:04:22] Speaker E: Then at the end of Ramadan, which.
[00:04:24] Speaker D: Is going to be like in the.
[00:04:26] Speaker E: First 2nd week of April we will have off several days for Eid al.
[00:04:30] Speaker D: Fitr and then we will have off.
[00:04:33] Speaker E: For Passover like the rest of the country. And then there are the national holidays. Then there's Eid al Adha, there's Shavu'ot. And all of this must happen between.
[00:04:43] Speaker D: Now and June 30.
[00:04:45] Speaker E: Not that we will make up for.
[00:04:47] Speaker D: Learning at the beginning of the school.
[00:04:48] Speaker E: Year which always starts on September 1. And by the way, September 1 and June 30 are the only dates you can count on for the school year. But we have then the jewish holidays.
[00:05:02] Speaker D: In early in September to early October.
[00:05:05] Speaker E: So in essence, the israeli school year.
[00:05:07] Speaker D: Doesn'T even start until November last till about February.
[00:05:12] Speaker E: Still, there's a week off, of course.
[00:05:14] Speaker D: For Hanukkah in December. And then, you know, throw in a.
[00:05:18] Speaker E: Little pandemic or, God forbid, a war and that's it. All bets are off.
[00:05:23] Speaker D: So that is what's happening right now. And that's what we're dealing with in.
[00:05:30] Speaker E: The country along with everything else.
[00:05:33] Speaker D: Now, before I get into the news, I just want to. This is actually a transition into the news that this year, Purim and as I've said about Ramadan in the first episode Ramadan is being observed in the.
[00:05:51] Speaker E: Shadow of war which was concerning for.
[00:05:53] Speaker D: A lot of people.
[00:05:54] Speaker E: But now we've come to Purim, which is supposed to be a joyful holiday.
[00:05:59] Speaker D: And, you know, the command to be merry and actually, somehow there's drinking involved and happiness and merriment.
[00:06:10] Speaker E: But this year, of course, this is happening under the shadow of war. And families who have hostages still in.
[00:06:18] Speaker D: Gaza are also, you know, approaching this.
[00:06:24] Speaker E: With, you know, not the, with none of the joy as in years before.
[00:06:30] Speaker D: Now, let me read to you from.
[00:06:33] Speaker E: The book of Esther where this command.
[00:06:36] Speaker D: Is or where, you know, the holiday.
[00:06:38] Speaker E: Starts to be marked.
[00:06:40] Speaker D: It's Esther 920 to 22.
[00:06:44] Speaker E: Mordechai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the province of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar, as the time when the Jews.
[00:06:58] Speaker D: Got relief from their enemies, and as.
[00:07:00] Speaker E: The month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote to them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
[00:07:15] Speaker D: So now the Jews in the persian empire were saved from impending annihilation and the devious plan of Haman.
[00:07:25] Speaker E: And that's something that Israelis find all the more poignant this year.
[00:07:29] Speaker D: Haman, Hamas, and the destruction that was wrought on them on October 7. Nevertheless, the country is conflicted. How to engage in the HolidaY now.
[00:07:43] Speaker E: Especially the families of the hostages.
[00:07:45] Speaker D: Now, what they did was they brought.
[00:07:49] Speaker E: The traditional gift packages, which in Hebrew is Mishloach Manot. They brought these traditional gift packages to.
[00:07:58] Speaker D: The Knesset, which is the israeli parliament. And in a somber reality check of.
[00:08:04] Speaker E: What they are going through right now, they handed these gifts. They brought 121 for each Knesset member.
[00:08:12] Speaker D: To hand them to the Knesset members. And rather than the typical gift, which includes sweets and goodies and, you know.
[00:08:23] Speaker E: Fun, happy, sugar fueled stuff, they put.
[00:08:27] Speaker D: In it what they believe is the presumed diet of the hostages right now in Gaza, which would be a quarter.
[00:08:36] Speaker E: Of a pita, a spoonful of cheese, and two olives.
Now, the situation in Gaza is dire.
[00:08:45] Speaker D: In terms of humanitarian aid. Of course, the debate is, is it getting in or not getting in? You know, the people who, if you're anti Israel, Israel is preventing the aid from coming in. If you're Israel, you're saying, no, the.
[00:09:01] Speaker E: Aid'S going in, but Hamas is preventing it from being distributed. So in any case, people are starving, whether whoever's guilty of not getting the aid in there, people are starving.
[00:09:12] Speaker D: And there is actually a prediction that there's a UN body that has determined that famine could actually be declared in.
[00:09:27] Speaker E: The month of May if there is no change. So that's in about six weeks from.
[00:09:32] Speaker D: Now or so that there could be.
[00:09:34] Speaker E: Officially labeled famine in the Gaza strip.
[00:09:38] Speaker D: But that also goes for the hostages. There's 130 israeli hostages. Hamas just released a video that saying, alleging that one of the israeli hostages died of starvation.
They, you know, Israel, of course, has not released that or addressed that yet.
[00:10:00] Speaker E: Or released the name of this hostage or confirmed it.
[00:10:03] Speaker D: So that's out there as part of what Hamas does. They release videos of hostages that they.
[00:10:11] Speaker E: Say have been killed.
[00:10:12] Speaker D: And so this would be eight in.
[00:10:15] Speaker E: The last two or three weeks. This year is the 8th hostage that.
[00:10:18] Speaker D: They claim has died, several due to bombings or israeli attacks, and this one due to starvation. So the family members went to the.
[00:10:32] Speaker E: Knesset and distributed these gifts to the Knesset members.
[00:10:36] Speaker D: And an organization that has recently formed.
[00:10:40] Speaker E: Called the Hostages Family Forum, said that in a statement, they said they hope.
[00:10:45] Speaker D: That the next time they come to.
[00:10:47] Speaker E: The Knesset, they will receive attention from each of the 120 members of Knesset who were responsible for bringing their loved ones home.
[00:10:55] Speaker D: Now, they released also some videos of the exchanges. And in them, many Knesset members did.
[00:11:02] Speaker E: Accept the gifts and spoke with the.
[00:11:03] Speaker D: Families, including arab members of Knesset, but.
[00:11:08] Speaker E: Others ignored them, including some from the current coalition.
Okay, so now let's turn to what is now the most talked about city that very few people previously ever heard of, which is Rafa, the southernmost city.
[00:11:26] Speaker D: In Gaza on the egyptian border.
[00:11:29] Speaker E: Now, Israel said it's the last stronghold of Hamas and it's possibly where the remaining hostages are being held.
There's huge international pressure on Israel to not attack Rafa.
[00:11:44] Speaker D: So US Secretary of state Antony Blinken now has made his 6th trip to.
[00:11:51] Speaker E: The region in six months since the fighting started.
[00:11:54] Speaker D: And he says attacking Rafa will be a mistake.
[00:12:00] Speaker E: For his part, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
[00:12:03] Speaker D: Has insisted that Israel cannot achieve victory.
[00:12:07] Speaker E: Total victory, without going into Rafa. And he says he has a plan and he's ready to execute it as soon as the military is ready.
[00:12:17] Speaker D: Now, this has been going on, this talk has been going on for almost a month and it has not happened yet. But here's the concern.
[00:12:24] Speaker E: Here's, this is where the concern is coming from.
[00:12:27] Speaker D: 1.4 million Palestinians are now crowded into the city.
[00:12:31] Speaker E: That's more than half the population of.
[00:12:33] Speaker D: Gaza, many of them already displaced from.
[00:12:36] Speaker E: Their homes in other parts of Gaza because of the war, because they were.
[00:12:40] Speaker D: Told to move and to head south. So now there's un run shelters that are packed, ten cities that are completely packed and overflowing with over a million people.
[00:12:58] Speaker E: So that is part of the international concern for Israel.
[00:13:04] Speaker D: Going into Rafa would be the civilian casualties that would most likely happen if there is an attack, depending what Israel's.
[00:13:14] Speaker E: Plan is, which, of course, they haven't released their plan.
[00:13:16] Speaker D: But this is why there is a lot of.
[00:13:21] Speaker E: There are countries lining up condemning, calling for ceasefire, saying to stop.
[00:13:25] Speaker D: So anyway, that's a little bit of.
[00:13:26] Speaker E: The picture of Rafael, but here's my question. Now all week, we weren't talking about Rafa here in Israel. They were talking about Shifa hospital. Shifa hospital is way north.
[00:13:41] Speaker D: It's in Gaza City, and it's actually.
[00:13:45] Speaker E: Where Israel was in November.
[00:13:48] Speaker D: Now, back in November, they had this huge operation where, you know, the army went in, they raided the hospital.
According to the israeli defense forces at the time, they released and exposed, they.
[00:14:04] Speaker E: Showed photos of a massive multi story underground Hamas tunnel network under the hospital.
[00:14:11] Speaker D: They also found evidence of israeli hostages being held there.
[00:14:15] Speaker E: They found evidence, they said, of terrorists operating the hospital.
[00:14:18] Speaker D: They found weapons.
[00:14:19] Speaker E: Anyway, why are they back?
[00:14:22] Speaker D: This is what I don't understand. Israel has said that they have controlled.
[00:14:27] Speaker E: The north, and then they moved further south to Khan Yunus, and now they want to move to Rafa, and that's.
[00:14:32] Speaker D: Like the last stronghold.
[00:14:34] Speaker E: But they have been all week running a major operation back in the north in Shifa hospital.
They said actually, from this operation, they detained and questioned 800 suspects at the hospital, and they killed more than 170 terrorists.
Says thus far, the forces eliminated more.
[00:15:01] Speaker D: Than 170 terrorists in the area of.
[00:15:03] Speaker E: The hospital, questioned over 800 suspects, and.
[00:15:06] Speaker D: Located numerous weapons and terror infrastructure.
[00:15:11] Speaker E: And yet I thought that they were.
[00:15:15] Speaker D: Sealed in the north, that it was done. Now, I was in the north a few weeks. No, I wasn't in the north.
[00:15:21] Speaker E: I was in the south of Israel.
[00:15:22] Speaker D: North of Gaza. Yeah.
[00:15:24] Speaker E: North is a different story. Rockets every day.
[00:15:27] Speaker D: Still. There were, like a couple dozen last.
[00:15:30] Speaker E: Night after a quiet day.
[00:15:31] Speaker D: Okay. That's coming from southern Lebanon into Israel, but nobody talks about that anyway until there's major damage. There's like, this cat and mouse game going on between Israel and maybe Hezbollah or Hamas forces, depending. Anyway, I'm talking about, like, go back south. Okay. So I was on one of the.
[00:15:49] Speaker E: Southernmost cities in Israel, looking into Gaza.
[00:15:52] Speaker D: And, you know, the north of Gaza and the north part that. The part I was at is no man's land.
[00:15:57] Speaker E: It's not near a city or a largely populated center. And yet I heard so much artillery fire, something.
[00:16:09] Speaker D: You know, I'm not a military expert. I can't tell you. Oh, that was this kind of gun.
[00:16:13] Speaker E: Or that was this tank or that.
[00:16:15] Speaker D: I have no idea. But there was something going on fighting. Whether it was.
I don't think it was tank launches, but, I mean, artillery fire.
[00:16:27] Speaker E: The entire time that we were there on the other side of the wall, of course, we couldn't see in from this particular location.
[00:16:34] Speaker D: But you, you know, the wall, that's a wall, cement wall right in front of us. And I was like, what is going on.
[00:16:39] Speaker E: And I asked the military escorts that.
[00:16:41] Speaker D: We were with what this could possibly be, and very vague answers. Nothing.
[00:16:46] Speaker E: Oh, nothing, nothing. I mean, if it's not safe, you wouldn't be here, blah, blah, blah.
[00:16:50] Speaker D: Okay, so I thought, but you guys control the north, so why are you, what am I hearing? So that is my big question for this week, is why Israel, that had a major operation in the Shifa hospital.
[00:17:05] Speaker E: Had to go back to the Shifa.
[00:17:07] Speaker D: Hospital, which is an entirely different section of Gaza, when all the talk right now is about Rafa?
[00:17:14] Speaker E: Anyway, I will leave that question out.
[00:17:16] Speaker D: There for waiting, waiting for an answer. When I get it, I will let you know.
[00:17:23] Speaker E: In any case, I've mentioned several times.
[00:17:27] Speaker D: Whether in my writing or in this podcast, a convergence of holidays that happens in Jerusalem, but this year even more so. We've got so many holidays happening, all.
[00:17:41] Speaker E: Right, at the same time.
[00:17:42] Speaker D: And why is this important? The holidays in Jerusalem are wonderful and.
[00:17:50] Speaker E: Full of very faithful pilgrims that come from all over the world, from all religions, to worship in this city. But it is a very highly charged.
[00:18:01] Speaker D: Time because of the, you know, crowds and the tensions and the different religions having a problem with the other religions and then the police having to do crowd control and fights with the police. And it just, it can be a very crazy time. And then when you get to Easter, by the way, I didn't even get.
[00:18:26] Speaker E: To Easter when all the christian congregations are fighting for their territory in the church of Levi Sepulchre.
[00:18:31] Speaker D: I mean, on and on and on. So when all of the holidays are happening all at the same time, you are just sitting here waiting for the match to begin. You know, there's a lot of anticipation and some of it positive, and most of it just waiting to see if the fireworks are going to go off. So, look, it doesn't take much here to, you know, touch off some funny.
[00:18:56] Speaker E: Just a little spark and, you know.
[00:18:57] Speaker D: And, but now we have a war going on. And part of this war, by the.
[00:19:03] Speaker E: Way, Hamas called their operation against Israel al Aqsafi Flood.
And al Aqsa is the name of.
[00:19:11] Speaker D: That'S the name of the mosque on.
[00:19:13] Speaker E: The Temple Mount, the al Aqsa complex.
[00:19:16] Speaker D: And right now we've got Ramadan. So Ramadan is going on. Friday is the day of prayers.
[00:19:27] Speaker E: For.
[00:19:28] Speaker D: Muslims, but during Ramadan, it's even more special to go up to pray at.
[00:19:36] Speaker E: The al Aqsa mosque on Friday. And so last week, well, this past Friday, 120,000 Muslims went up to pray at the mosque.
[00:19:49] Speaker D: So that ended peacefully and you know, by the way, Ramadan, if you don't.
[00:19:55] Speaker E: Know, is the, is a month on the muslim calendar.
[00:19:58] Speaker D: It's where they fast from sunrise to sunset.
[00:20:02] Speaker E: No food, no water, no smoking, no chewing gum, no nothing.
[00:20:07] Speaker D: It is a serious and severe fast, goes on for a month, and then there are a couple days of feasting afterwards.
[00:20:16] Speaker E: But this week, this week it's going.
[00:20:19] Speaker D: To go on for a couple more weeks. But we've got a different convergence now.
[00:20:24] Speaker E: Of course, Ramadan going on the whole month. Purim, especially for, you know, of course.
[00:20:28] Speaker D: Like, it feels like a month, but two days.
[00:20:31] Speaker E: And on one of these two days is Palm Sunday for the western christian denominations, for the Catholics and the Protestants. Now, though, normally this is a festive.
[00:20:43] Speaker D: Celebration with scouts leading the way and palm waving, and a worship service at.
[00:20:52] Speaker E: St. Anne's, which is right inside Lionsgate of the old city.
[00:20:56] Speaker D: This year it is going to be.
[00:20:58] Speaker E: A very somber affair.
The church has decided that just like.
[00:21:03] Speaker D: At Christmas this past Christmas, where they.
[00:21:07] Speaker E: Took a very subdued approach and no public celebrations and only spiritual observances, they.
[00:21:14] Speaker D: Decided that this year as well, that for Easter that it would be the same.
[00:21:17] Speaker E: So of course, Easter will be observed.
[00:21:20] Speaker D: And there will be services, but there.
[00:21:23] Speaker E: Will not be music. It will not be the usual display.
Now that's that for the Christians. The Christians are just a 2% minority.
[00:21:33] Speaker D: Here and 1% among the Palestinians.
[00:21:36] Speaker E: And in Gaza, only a thousand Christians.
[00:21:40] Speaker D: Of 2 million people. So it's very, very sad that they cannot do what they usually do, which is be proud to be Christians here in the holy land.
Normally they march and with bagpipes and drums, and it's a really festive march from the Mount of olives and up into the old city, and everybody comes out to watch. I mean, last year during the march.
[00:22:15] Speaker E: I saw, like, the street was lined even with Muslims and Jews watching and.
[00:22:20] Speaker D: Being like, wow, look at this.
[00:22:21] Speaker E: And it's the one day a year.
[00:22:23] Speaker D: Where the Christians don't feel like 2%, they feel like 98%, but that won't be this year.
[00:22:29] Speaker E: They are taking a very quiet approach to this.
[00:22:32] Speaker D: They will still worship. But anyway, let us watch this special report.
[00:22:39] Speaker E: Well, actually it's a podcast, so you're not going to watch, you're going to listen.
[00:22:41] Speaker D: If you want to watch, you can.
[00:22:42] Speaker E: Click on the link.
[00:22:43] Speaker D: I will include a link, but here is a report from last year's Palm Sunday, which should give you the color and the feel and the excitement that usually is Palm Sunday and really what.
[00:23:00] Speaker E: It does and how special it is. For the christian community here in the holy land. Let's listen.
[00:23:10] Speaker A: You've never seen anything like Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. Where else in the world can you actually retrace the steps of Jesus as he made his triumphal entry into the city last Sunday, thousands of local Christians and pilgrims from abroad took this path, which they do every year, waving palm branches and declaring Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They made their way from the Mount of Olives along the circuitous route through Gethsemane.
[00:24:25] Speaker F: There's a lot of people.
[00:24:26] Speaker G: We're in Jerusalem.
[00:24:27] Speaker F: Yes.
[00:24:29] Speaker G: In the old city. We're right by.
[00:24:31] Speaker F: You know what gate is right out there?
[00:24:33] Speaker G: Yeah, the gate. What gate?
[00:24:35] Speaker F: Lions gate.
[00:24:35] Speaker G: Oh, the lion's gate.
[00:24:37] Speaker F: Lions gate. We are actually at the beginning of the Via de la Rosa, but, like.
[00:24:43] Speaker G: There was a lot of people that walked. We have some from Italy. We have some from America. We have some from everyone.
[00:24:52] Speaker A: The procession ended with joyful worship at St. Anne's Church in the old city, located in the muslim quarter and at the beginning of the Via della Rosa, St. Anne's is dedicated to the mother of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
[00:25:19] Speaker B: Jesus said that he said to the disciples to go ahead of him and get a donkey that no one rode before and tell him to bring it. And if someone. And untie it. And if someone asked him, and if someone asked him, why? Why are you untying it? They said, the Lord wanted it, and they said, they will give it back.
[00:25:45] Speaker G: So.
[00:25:45] Speaker B: And then they used it. And then they. And then everyone put palms on the floor, their jacket. People asked, can you keep it down? Like, can you keep it down? Like, be quiet? And then Jesus said, I think if they be quiet, then the rocks. I think they go explode and everything.
[00:26:03] Speaker F: The rocks will cry out instead. Like, if the people be quiet and don't praise him, the rocks, even then the rocks are gonna praise him. That's why there's so much noise right now.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: And then I just. And then I said, that's the best story I ever heard of my life.
[00:26:41] Speaker F: So, Rita, what are your observations today of Palm Sunday?
[00:26:45] Speaker C: That there's not a lot of Christians here in Jerusalem. Yeah. They're not allowed. And, like, in our schools, there are not a lot of Christians here. And, like, this is my first time seeing a lot of Christians in this place. And it's, like, so exciting to see. When we were coming here, there was a lot of people on their balconies, throwing on us rice, and it was so funny, and. But there was a lot of people yelling like happiness. And if you hear there's a lot of music and happiness happening, and it's very exciting to hear.
[00:28:02] Speaker A: But do you want to know what else makes holy week in Jerusalem so unique?
It is the large delegations of scouts who lead the religious processions with flags and drums and bagpipes. Hundreds of scouts representing eight different christian denominations and clubs in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Bethala marched the length of the procession. Since it is their holiday according to the gregorian calendar, the Catholics led the way. They were joined by Greek Orthodox, assyrian, and armenian scout groups who marched with them for christian solidarity.
The procession ended after sunset at Newgate in Jerusalem's Old City.
[00:29:10] Speaker H: I don't know about you, but I have never experienced these holidays as I have and as I do in Jerusalem. I mean, there's nothing like it. There's such a fervent and a passion for faith like there isn't in other places.
[00:29:31] Speaker D: I mean, this is really the place.
[00:29:34] Speaker H: Where it all happens, and it's the place where it really did all happen.
Well, that's a wrap for this week's episode. Please take the time to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review which will help me get the word out to many more curious souls just like yourself.
Until next time, this is the inside scoop.
[00:29:59] Speaker E: Jerusalem sa.
