After breakfast we headed to Moshav Gamzu to help with their grape vines. The Moshav is between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. On the way, we drove through East Jerusalem and the West Bank. After 1967, Israel significantly increased the size of the city limits of Jerusalem. The Palestinians in this new boundary were given permanent residency in Israel but not citizenship. They were previously residents of Jordan. They now can vote in local Jerusalem elections but not in Israeli elections. Since 1967, their population increased significantly faster than the Israeli Arab population because of improvements in medical care, etc. that they received as residents of Israel. Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jerusalem are so close to each other. It is like one big metropolitan area.

At the Moshav, our task was to prune the vines. They actually pick the grapes by machine. It was tempting to taste some but unfortunately they had been sprayed with pesticides. It was easy work except for it being 90 degrees. It was actually therapeutic after the intensity of the past few days.

We were able to go back to the hotel for a short rest before heading out to the Mahane Yehuda market to look around and have lunch.

I checked out all the shops so I know where I want to go on Monday when I have to stock up for my own Airbnb. I had a delightful Shawarma and then walked back to the hotel. On the way back, I passed the hostel that I stayed in the first time I came to Jerusalem.

Before dinner, we went to Kabbalah Shabbat services at the oldest reform synagogue in Jerusalem. Dinner was a buffet at the hotel. After dinner, there was a lot of singing and dancing. I really enjoyed that. We also took some time to discuss the Torah portion of the week and how it related to our experiences. We discussed the need to educate others about our experience. It was also interesting to see how people are affected by the news. I have now been in Israel for a number of days and I feel perfectly safe. Everybody is going about their business as usual. People in Israel when they think about going to the United States get very concerned. All they see on the news is what’s going on at the universities and the increase in anti-Semitism. As Americans we know for the most part, our life is pretty much normally what it’s been.