Israel: A Walk Through Contested Lands

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109XJSLM01846Photos by:  Yadid Levy

Text by:  Dan Davis

Ask an Israeli and a Palestinian where their homeland is and they will give you the same answer – a small sliver of coastal land between Arabia and Anatolia. Ask an Israeli and a Palestinian why their land is so important, and they will both respond “because it is home,” and “because it is holy.” Ask them both what should be done about this land dispute and you’ll get two very different answers. Herein lies the problem.  We traveled to Jerusalem to learn about the conflict, and break bread with some of the locals and expats seeking a life of greater purity.  Though neither Israelis nor Palestinians seem capable of putting forth a solution the other can agree upon, they both share a love of the same hilly land, the same Mediterranean coastline, the same agglomeration of holy buildings scattered across the city’s skyline, and the same hospitable attitude toward guests to their lands.