Note: This guy gave this same tour and overview to Senator Obama and Senator Clinton when they visited Israel before the election. Apparently Obama claimed that this Colonel purposely built the fence right next to the Palestinians homes to annex the land in between those homes and the Jewish homes (about 100 yards). Colonel Tirtza calmly explained to the soon-to-be President Obama that the fence was built close to the Palestinian homes so that when the sensors detected a breach the IDF soldiers in the area would have time to catch the suspect before they disappeared into the populace of Jerusalem (their response time is the time it takes for the suspect to run across the 100 yards of rough ground). There are many gates and checkpoints for people to enter the City legally.
Colonel Tirtza repeatedly stated his belief that the fence was temporary and that one day it would be torn down, hopefully by him.
After touring the security fence in and around Jerusalem we then drove into the West Bank to a Jewish settlement, Gush Etzion. There is absolutely nothing controversial about this settlement as it was in existence even before the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 (the only settlement taken by the Jordanians).
After eating lunch in Gush Etzion we traveled out to a archeological dig in ancient Judea-Samaria. First off, we started excavating the inside of a demolished home. We were looking for pieces of pottery, bone, or coins (2,200-2,000 years old). The home was filled with dirt and rubbish and we were trying to get to the floor. Something like an ancient trash heap. I was able to find 4 pieces of pottery while digging which will be logged and cleaned for examination.
After the digging we went spelunking through unexcavated homes. We were underground walking through ancient homes and crawling through ancient windows. The staircases here looked just as they looked 2,200 years ago!
We finished up the night with a Kurdish (ethnic group in Iraq and Turkey) dinner provided by a family in a nearby Moshav. The husband is an avid metalworking trash artists and allowed us to peruse his collection and witness his creativity.
Note: We were short on time at one point but had a long line for the bathroom (most bathrooms are unisex; i.e., separate stalls, common hand washing area). Our tour guide, the wonderful Avi, advised the guys in line that there was no such thing as public indecency in Israel and encouraged us to take advantage of our ability to relieve ourselves pretty much anywhere. Needless to say, we took his advise and watered the Holy Land.
Below: Ancient staircase and window (we had to go through the window).
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