Yes, I am originally from Ein Karem in Jerusalem. But even if I weren't from there, it would still be beautiful to me. Sadly, I have only been there twice due to entry restrictions and such. Both times there were many tourists coming to visit the holy places located there.
There are barely any new buildings, most are houses and stores that belonged to the Muslims, Christians, and Jews who lived there before 1948. Many of the current occupants of the village are Jewish immigrants from Iraq, Morocco, Yemen and the like. They are known as Eastern Jews. Of course there are also European immigrants from Poland, Germany and the like.
You might have heard of people referring to "'48 lands." It is a reference to areas that have been occupied by Israel since 1948. There are also '67 lands that were occupied in 1967. Ein Karem is considered to be a '48 area.
Why did the Arabs leave their lands in 1948? There was a massacre in Deir Yassin, and people from other villages were afraid the same would happen to them, so they decided to leave for a while, but thought they would come back after the war. Some of the people in different villages were forced out, others ran away. The people of Ein Karem were among those that fled. There was only one woman who refused to leave, she was an old lady, and eventually her struggle took its toll on her.
A personal story: Before 2000, Palestinians were still allowed to travel between cities and villages freely. If they had a Palestinian ID, they could not live in '48 or '67 lands, but they could visit. Things changed after that, and you can only enter with a permit now. Most permits allow you to go in from about 8 am to 10 pm. Not everyone can get a permit; you have to have a reason.
A long time ago, my grandmother went back to visit Ein Karem to get a few things she had buried there before they fled. People thought they would be able to come back so they had buried their valuables underground; many immigrant families have found and taken these valuables and a lot of them still dig to look for more.
She went with our neighbor and they dug until they found them. They were about to go home, when a Jewish lady saw them and called the police. The police took them to Maskobiya, a well-known jail, and started questioning them. They kept them there for so long that my grandmother decided to leave without her belongings, so that my grandfather would not be upset by her coming home late.
It takes about 25 minutes to get to Ein Karem from the Old City in Jerusalem. Ein Karem is known to many people because of the Hadasah hospital in the village. This hospital has both Palestinian and Israeli doctors, and admits both Palestinian and Israeli patients.
I took numerous pictures of the village and its beauty. Here are a few, have a look:
This is a StepFeed Community post, written by a guest contributor. Lama Obeid originally posted this article on her blog . If you’re interested in contributing to the StepFeed Community, please contact hello@stepfeed.com.