The day before I left for my kibbud av v'em* trip to the states, I joined my (formerly**) fellow staff of the Bnai Binyamin Beit El Yeshiva High School for a tour of Jerusalem.

It's hard to know what came first... Did Arabs start visiting because it seemed empty of Jews, or did Jews stop visiting because Arabs began to show up?

We met at the "Tayelet" in Armon Hanatziv, where there's a fantastic view of Mt. Olives, Har HaBayit (the Temple Mount) and other areas of Jerusalem Jews tend to avoid.

Many Jews stay away from the Tayelet, too. Arab families picnic and party there.  It's hard to know what came first, like the chicken or the egg.  Did Arabs start visiting because it seemed empty of Jews, or did Jews stop visiting because Arabs began to show up?

Being Yishuv Jews from Mateh Binyamin and Beit El, we didn't let that get in our way.  And we were pleasantly surprised to come across a Jewish wedding.

MAZAL TOV!!

*the Torah Commandment to Honor One's Father and Mother

**I will no longer be teaching there, so it was also a farewell for me.