On this tour we take a trip to national hill, the location of the most important government buildings in the country. Jerusalem is Israel’s official capital, however no nation at this time other than Israel recognizes it as such and therefore you will find no foreign embassies in the city although you will find many Consulates. All foreign embassies in Israel are in Tel Aviv. Again we are faced with the significance of a hill and what is placed upon it as a certain holy ground: Mt. Zion, Mt. Herzl and now the Pantheon of the Jewish State. The first building we visit (only the outside) is that of the Knesset, Israel’s house of Parliament. Great debate was put in the design of the building and even if it should exist. For security reasons, the entrance had to be changed and there is a lack of windows on the side facing Jordan to prevent sniper bullets from hitting members of parliament. Security an ever present theme in our tours shapes policy, politics and even architecture. We move on to the giant bronze menorah, given to Israel by Britain, which depicts both biblical and modern scenes of Jews, the journey into and out of exile, the rise from the ashes of the holocaust and the advent of the messianic ages. We competed with quite a few school groups as well as other foreign tourists flocking to this monument.
Many of the offices of the members of the Knesset are also near the building, and the old offices bear the stark design and style of the Bauhaus. Below them, is the second campus of Hebrew University, re-located in the years of Jordanian control of East Jerusalem.
Our Next stop is the Supreme Court of Israel after crossing through an international garden and then a grove of trees that features the indigenous species to the land of Israel. The architecture is such that you are funneled into the building, the opening room or courtyard resembling that of the ancient meeting houses. Light floods into the building, and has a large window overlooking the city. The Supreme Court of Israel is a very busy place, as appeals are easier to make and Israel having no constitution it is left a lot to the judges to interpret the law. We had the opportunity to see a unique case of a man accused of selling weapons to Hamas. Usually matters of national security would be a closed case but it lacked the proper security sign offs and was therefore open to the public. In the Supreme Court the most important matters of the state are debated. Laws about the Sabbath, parents rights to children, and so on. Marriage and family law is left in the hands of the religious courts, one for each religion in Israel.
Moving on we went to the Israel museum, much of which is under construction and cannot be viewed. There is however a giant model of second temple Jerusalem, complete with the temple. While surprisingly accurate for being built with many educated guesses, it gives a good perspective for the lay of the land. Also featured prominently is the Shrine of the Book, which houses the remnants of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The building itself reflects duality: Large black stone juxtaposed by the white dome, good and evil, dark and light. The Dead Sea Scrolls are of particular interest to Christians as well believing that John the Baptist was of the wild tribes people who recorded these books of the bible, early type Christians.
On another sacred mountain we were able to view the shrine to the state, its democracy and its institutions.
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