Readings and Websites

"Wedding feast at Cana," Greek Catholic Patriarchate, Jerusalem (Photo: James Heinsch, OFM)

The following web sites marked by * are institutions, places, and groups which have been visited on the 1996, 1999, and/or 2001 study tours. Other sites have related information. The sites are divided into the categories of "General," "Women," and "Education and Children," but topics often overlap from one category to the other.

To develop understanding and skills in critical analysis, one needs to read sources from many perspectives. While one may disagree, it is valuable to be aware of differing points of view.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Al-Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary http://www.al-aqsa.com/

Al-Bushra http://www.al-bushra.org

Alternative Information Center http://www.alternativenews.org/

*Alternative Tourism Group http://www.patg.com

*Applied Research Institute Jerusalem : http://www.arij.org

A menorah, reminiscent of Jewish women kindling the festival lights, is used as a symbolic sculpture in front of the Kenneset. (Photo: Martha Ann Kirk)

*Archeological Sites in Israel
http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Archaeology/archintro.html

*Bible Lands Museum http://www.blmj.org/

*Christian Information Centre
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/cic/CICmain.html

Encounter: http://www.salam-shalom.net

*Eastern Rite Churches http://www.music.princeton.edu/chant-html/east.html

Foundation for Middle East Peace http://www.fmep.org/

Gush Shalom http://www.gush-shalom.org

The pools of Bethsaida, according to an ancient story were where Anne and Joachim the parents of mary lived and prayed for a child. Jesus worked a miracle there and the Crusaders built St. Anne's Church there. (Photo by Alan P. Bowslaugh)

Holy Land Alternatives http://www.holylandalternatives.net

International Fellowship of Reconciliation HTTP://WWW.IFOR.ORG

*Israel Museum http://www.imj.org.il/

Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information http://www.ipcri.org/

Israeli-Palestinian Human Rights and Peace Groups
http://www.ariga.com/humanrights/index.asp

Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Group http://www.igc.org/traubman/dg-prog.htm

Jewish Peace Fellowship http://www.jewishpeacefellowship.org

*Knesset, the Israeli Parliament http://www.knesset.gov.il/index.html

*Kol Haneshama Synagogue http://www.kolhaneshama.org.il

Middle East Report http://www.merip.org

New Israel Fund http://www.nif.org

Nonviolence Web http://www.nonviolence.org/

Not in My Name http://www.nimn.org

Palestine Media Watch http://www.pmwatch.org

Palestinians for Peace and Democracy http://www.p4pd.org

Peacewatch HTTP://WWW.ARIGA.COM/PEACEWATCH

These millstones at Capernaum give an image of Jesus' saying about two women turning them and grinding grain together.

*Rapprochement Center http://www.rapprochement.org/

Rabbis for Human Rights http://www.rhr.israel.net

Refusnik Watch  http://oznik.com/

*Sabeel Theology Centre http://www.sabeel.org

Shalom-Salaam http://www.salaam.8k.com

*Tantur Ecumenical Center http://www.come.to/tantur

Tikkun, a Bimonthly Jewish Critique of Politics, Culture & Society
http://www.tikkun.org

Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/

We Are Jews, Not Zionists http://www.ifrance.com/israelonline/

Welcome to Palestine http://www.palestine-net.com/

Wi'am http://www.planet.edu/~alaslah/

WOMEN:

Arab Association for Human Rights, Women's Human Rights http://www.arabhra.org/core/whrgeneral.htm

"Tradition Continued," a painting by Salwa Arnous Elaydi.

*Bat Shalom http://www.batshalom.org

*Women's Center of Berzeit University http://www.birzeit.edu

*Coalition of Women for a Just Peace
www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org

Gender Issues and Feminism in Peace Building http://www3.undp.org/ww/women-armdconf/msg00095.html

Machsomwatch, Women for Human Rights http://www.btselem.org/

*New Profile http://www.newprofile.org

United Nations Development Fund for Women http://www.undp.org/unifem/csw98.htm

*Women in Black http://www.womeninblack.net/
And http://www.international-alert.org/women/peaceprize/winblack.html

EDUCATION AND CHILDREN:

The story of David seeing Bathsheba taking a bath is more understandable as one sees the views of the houses on the side of the hill in this area of David's city. (Photo: Alan P. Bowslaugh)

*Berzeit University http://www.birzeit.edu and
http://home.birzeit.edu/pas/living.html

Defense for Children International/Palestine Section http://www.dci-pal.org

Givat Haviva http://www.dialogate.org.il

*Hebrew University http://www.huji.ac.il

Hope Flowers School http://www.mideastweb.org/hopeflowers/

One can understand better the parable of the women loosing her coin seeing this this rough floor of an excavated house in Chorozain. (Photo: Martha Ann Kirk)

International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the children
of the world. http://www.nobelweb.org/

Israel Children's Rights Monitor http://www.dci.org.il/

Middle East Children's Alliance http://www.MECAforPEACE.org/

Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam http://nswas.com/

Open House http://www.friendsofopenhouse.org/

PLACES AND BIBLICAL CITATIONS

(A list made by Martha Ann Kirk from the New RSV Translation as printed in the Oxford Annotated Bible and indexed in the computer program.)

As preparation for the Holy Land Tour, try to read all of Mark's gospel from beginning to end (which can be done in about two hours). This seems to be the gospel closest to the time and life of Jesus.

Read some of the citations on the list below which refer to the main areas that we will be visiting. Since Jerusalem is mentioned over 900 times and Jordan almost 200 in the Bible, only some of the citations are being included. Click to see the list.

Egaria, the woman pilgrim who kept a diary about the holy places she visited in the 380's wrote of this stone where Christians remembered Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Benedictine Church, Heptapegon. (Photo: Roberto Mueller)

Study a map from the time of Jesus and a current map of the region, circle the places that we will visit, and read the biblical citations about these places.

Study charts and history about Eastern Christian Traditions:
http://www.byzantinecatholic.org/page4.html
http://www.music.princeton.edu/chant-html/east.html

Most of us in the U.S. are only familiar with the Western churches, Catholic and Protestant, that came out of the Roman branch of Christianity. Ninety percent of the Christians in the Holy Land are from the older Eastern branches of Christianity. Try to do some reading about Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholic Christians.

 

 

For general information and registration contact kirk@uiwtx.edu.