Mad king uses undue force.

By S T Mark

In Bethlehem, Judea.

his is my third visit to the remote provincial capital, Bethlehem, in the last two years.   Judea is a depressing place at the best of times but today this dusty town of David, cradled by rugged hillsides that apparently once rang to the sound of angels, is wrapped in deathly silence. I came here earlier to interview eastern mystics convinced that a star had led them leagues from the east to this godforsaken corner of Herod’s chaotic kingdom

And troubles, indeed, there are here today.  King Street and David Close in downtown Bethlehem are scenes of unbelievable horror.  Troops from Jerusalem smashed down doors to snatch and butcher babies in front of their frantic and distraught mothers.  This is not another Roman atrocity.  The massacre, whose aftermath I am currently witnessing, was ordered by the most troubled of the Jewish despots.  Imperial Rome cripples these people with taxes and beats them with bureaucracy.  But it is their own ruler who slaughters them at will.  His current paranoid rants concern a boy child allegedly being born here and claiming the crown.  Political maturity would seem to be a gene thing in the House of David.  

Just two winters ago I was here reporting on that awful Latin census.  Its decree had caused hundreds to journey for days across the desert.  I interviewed a newly wed youth.  It was rumoured that his wife had given some kind of virgin birth.  A remarkable story as the girl could easily have been stoned for adultery by this law-obsessed society.  I also had contact with one of the many small hotel-keepers here who claimed to have put that very same couple up in one of his outhouses.  He insisted that they were visited by an entourage of foreign kings and that his inn had been invaded by local shepherds each and all wanting to ‘worship’ this baby.

Now, how or whether these bizarre events connect is not for me to opine.  I am, however, in a position to report an obscene tragedy here, the like of which I can never imagine happening again.  The political situation in this part of the world has reached such depths of desperation as to make replication inconceivable.  Only the Roman superpower, assassination or mortality can relieve this corner of the empire of its tyranny.  There is no such thing as everlasting life, thank god.

Could miracles happen here?  I doubt it.  I do not expect to return to these parts.  No.  No messiah could be born here after the carnage of the last few days.   Indeed, who would follow any leader from these parts?  Yet, should that miracle happen the chances are that he would probably end up crucified by his own people in a land carved out of irony.  Oh how I wish I could report from an Israel able to progress beyond self-destruction.   Shalom.

                              *******

The above was written just before Christmas (2004) as a contribution to our U3A (University of the Third Age) Creative Writing group. I share with most people a concerned interest in the present turmoil in Iraq and in Israel/Palestine and hope that matters move towards peaceful resolution soon.  I am optimistic by nature.  Indeed, I just had an invitation to develop and intergenerational project bringing young and older folk together to share their understandings and reminiscence.

Xanga
Isn't it amazing.  I met a young man, Dan, for the first time last Wednesday.  Tomorrow, I told everyone, is Martin Luther King Day in America.  We followed a print-out of his 'I have a dream' speech as we listened to the words on a cd recording. The impact was amazing.  Young people I had just met, who were excluded from normal school, were visibly moved by what they heard. They were not bored beyond the soundbite.  How easy it is to assume that we know what engages young people today. Do we really get to know them well in our classrooms?  And Dan told his tutor I was cool.  No, I was privileged to share a moment in his learning.