Wow.

Today, we took a "Political tour of Jerusalem." This was basically a political commentary on the Israeli "occupation" that is happening. Our tour guide was Jewish, but he was adamant to show us the discrimination that is happening against the Palestinians inside and outside of Jerusalem. One of the stops was to see the wall that is being built around Palestinean areas. A picture is shown here. It is really crazy. I had no idea that something like this existed.

We saw some Israeli "settlements", which are areas that are being built up by Israel throughout the area. Many people argue that these settlements are an attempt to encircle Palestinian areas in order to drive out the occupants and claim the whole land for Israel. The areas look nice, and I think I should look into the topic more.

For lunch, we went to the home of a Palestinian that had been demolished by the Israeli army and then rebuilt by volunteers four times. He talked to us about how difficult is is to get a permit in the system that is biased against Palestinians.

We then went to the MEET offices and heard a presentation on "The Israeli Perspective." This was followed by a heated debate. I heard a lot of interesting things and thought today was a really eye-opening experience. I look forward to more such days while I am here.