Jerusalem: Between Faith and Hope

     Whenever I think of ancient cities like Jerusalem or Bethlehem, I usually think of the Biblical stories that go along with them, or at least the versions of these stories that have been passed on to me- depictions of the baby Jesus asleep in the hay in Bethlehem, for example. However, this DVD showed present-day Jerusalem, which is a city of weaponry, Israeli outbursts, and walls. The people who live in Jerusalem are tied by blood to their land, and they are very fervent about their roots.
    For me, it was difficult enough to watch a DVD on the Black Plague, but there was a certain comfort in knowing that such a terrible time period occurred hundreds of years ago... but this DVD was more difficult to watch, as it depicted current situations... suicide bombers... the wall built in 2000... and a city known as a "collection of jails."  We also saw people like Micky, who moved from London to Israel and who is proud of Jewish roots and who maintains that the Holocaust, which was not ver far in their past, would not have happened had they been allowed at the time to bear weapons.  It must be terrible to live knowing these things!
     It is also amazing to me that even in today's day in age, people fight, just as they would have thousands of years ago, over differing views with regard to religion.  Although we like to think of ourselves as much more advanced or civilized, the truth is that we are just as fervent about our religions as we have been in the past, and we are just as ready to target "the other" and fight for our beliefs.