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Other entries in Jerusalem Sub-district

The Knesset & Israel Museum

I woke up this morning at 0515hrs and decided I would go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and try and visit the Tomb of Christ.  The children were keen to come along as well so we set off in the darkness towards the Old City on a refreshingly cool morning.  Ruth decided to stay in bed. 

I have said before that the Old City of Jerusalem is best either early in the morning or late in the evening.  To wonder the back streets in the dawn light is to visit a ghostly city where the shops are closed and both residents and tourists are absent.  After the Jaffa Gate we proceeded down David Street, turned into Christian Quarter Road and finally into St Helena Road.  The only persons we saw were busy baking bread in a small bakery.   

We entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at 0550hrs and went straight to the Tomb of Christ. Morton once described a ragged Bulgarian pilgrim he met in the Tomb of Christ.  His emotions portrayed the true believer who had spent a lifetime waiting for the opportunity to take the pilgrim road to Jerusalem.  This is how one should approach the tomb, not as a curious tourist.      

There was a queue but it was quite small and moving well, containing believers from a number of nations.  Unfortunately at 0600hrs some clergy arrived and shut the tomb in order to conduct morning mass.  We were informed that several masses would be conducted between now and 0900hrs when the tomb would be reopened to the public.  We did wait until the end of the 1^st mass but were still not allowed in so left without achieving our goal.  I did remind the children, who were rather disappointed, that Jesus rose from the dead and was not to be found within.  It is just as easy to find Jesus in Belfast as in Jerusalem.  

He Is Risen  

¹ Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ² But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³ Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. ⁵ Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”
⁸ And they remembered His words. 

Luke 24: 1 - 8 (New King James Version)  

Stepping out from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre I vowed to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  I thought of the chorus of the great 19th century Easter hymn, Christ Arose, by Robert Lowry. 

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!  

We headed back to our apartment and were home by 0700hrs.  Time for another couple of hours rest before facing the day.  In actual fact it was nearly 1100hrs before we set out again as a family.  We walked along Ramban Street and then cut through the Sir Charles Clore Hill Gardens, coming out next to the Israel Museum.  However our first port of call today was the Knesset Parliament. 

“The Knesset sits on a hilltop in western Jerusalem in a district known as Sheikh Badr before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and now known as Givat Ram. It was financed by James A. de Rothschild as a gift to the State of Israel. It was built on land leased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.  

Before the construction of its permanent home, the Knesset met in the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem, the Kessem Cinema building in Tel Aviv and the Froumine building in Jerusalem.

The term "Knesset" is derived from the ancient Great Assembly or Great Synagogue (Hebrew: כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה‎) which according to Jewish tradition was an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism - about two centuries ending c. 70 CE. There is, however, no organizational continuity and - aside from the number of members - little similarity, as the ancient Knesset was an essentially religious, completely unelected body.” 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knesset  

We had read that free tours of the Israeli Parliament Building (Knesset) took place on a Thursday, although our guide book advised to make a reservation in advance, especially for English tours.  We were in effect chancing our arm on the off chance of places being available.  Fortunately we were in luck.  After producing our passports, passing through security and handing in my bag, we were able to proceed to the parliament building.  

The new parliament building was inaugurated in 1966 and I suppose represents the architectural style of the time.  It has a sort of classical look but not in the style of the 1930’s.  It uses rather too much concrete for my liking.  Inside it is well maintained but quite plain, except for various paintings, sculptures, mosaics and tapestries.   

Our tour lasted just under an hour and we were able to visit the legislative chamber, the Chagall Hall, where official receptions are held, and also saw a short film on the history of the Knesset.  Our guide was very informative regarding historical matters and the workings of the Knesset.  I left feeling that I had genuinely learnt a little more about the State of Israel.  

After this positive (and free) tour we left the Knesset and walked the short distance to the Israel Museum.    

"The Israel Museum is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the leading art and archaeology museums in the world. Founded in 1965, the Museum houses encyclopaedic collections, including the most extensive holdings of biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world. In just forty years, the Museum has built a far-ranging collection of nearly 500,000 objects thanks to a legacy of gifts and the support from its circle of patrons worldwide.

The uncontested stars of the Museum’s collection are the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts in the world. Housed in the Shrine of the Book, the scrolls date from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE and include books of the Hebrew Bible as well as other non-canonical texts. The Shrine of the Book also houses rare early medieval manuscripts of the Bible, an auditorium and an information and study centre.  

One of the most recent and exciting additions to the Museum is the Second Temple Era model of Jerusalem. The model reconstructs the topography and architectural character of the city as it was prior to 66 CE, the year in which the Great Revolt against the Romans erupted, leading to the eventual destruction of the city and the Temple." 

www.english.imjnet.org.il 

This museum is far from being stuffy and dry.  I would term this a 21st century museum, especially since it had just completed a three year, $80 M refurbishment programme.  Indeed it is still a work in progress judging by continuing construction work on the site. 

I would describe this place as rather like the Ulster Museum in Belfast in many respects.  Both have recently been refurbished.  That said the historical biblical artefacts on display at the Israel Museum are second to none.  For example I saw the best preserved example in Israel of a partial statue of the Canaanite god Ba’al, the Ossuary of Caiaphas (the High Priest who had Jesus arrested), and of course the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Not forgetting the 2^nd Temple era model of Jerusalem.  This is a marvellous museum, which also has quite an extensive art collection and a number of reconstructed synagogues from across the globe, dating back hundreds of years.  The entrance fee was money well spent. 

It was 1700hrs before we returned to Ramban Street and noted a heavy police presence backed by paramilitary forces.  We had seen police crash barriers set out this morning going all the way to the Knesset but did not know why.   

“More than 1,500 police officers and border police will be on hand to provide security for the march, which will proceed from Independence Park in the center of the city to a rally near the rose garden opposite the parliament building.  

"We will be marking the end of a year of mourning and the beginning of a year that we are calling 'Gay Community Rights Year,'" said the director general of Jerusalem's Open House gay community center, Yonatan Gher. The march comes a year after a shooting at a gay community youth center in Tel Aviv that killed two people.  

"Over the stage, we will display all the places where we are discriminated against and our work plan designed to change the [situation], and we will call for the establishment of a gay lobby in the Knesset. That is our hope, that we will take the first step toward full equality," he said.”

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/in-a-first-jerusalem-s-gay-pride-parade-to-end-opposite-knesset-1.304686?localLinksEnabled=false 

We took the children to the local park and noted the absence of traffic due to road closures.  We returned to the apartment but listened for the arrival of the parade.  As it arrived we went out into the street and watched it pass for a while.  The kids thought it was some sort of carnival.  Indeed there was a carnival atmosphere, marchers being respectful and very well behaved.  I presume the heavy police presence was intended to deal with any counter demonstrations or disruptions which may occur en route.  We have certainly seen a broad spectrum of Israeli society since we arrived in the country.  This is all for the good.

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