By Zach Jensen,
George and Martha Monson Lowe in the Cremisan Valley, home to a monastery and winery, just outside of Bethlehem. (submitted)
(Originally published in the October 26 Public Opinion, available in print and online. Certain content is presented first to subscribers (print and digital), then released in part for consumption later)
George and Martha Monson Lowe, of Decorah, were looking forward to visiting Bethlehem this fall to lend a hand at the Bethlehem Bible College (BCC) Guest House for several months. But, their plans were cut tragically short, when, just two days after they landed in the West Bank, Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza.
“On Oct. 6, everything was just fine — no indication that something was about to happen,” George said, noting they arrived in Bethlehem the day before, on Oct. 5. “Then, at 6:30 the next morning, we were making breakfast for the guests at the guest house, and we saw the rockets out the window and heard the explosions. One of them shook the door to our apartment, so we weren’t too far away from where they were exploding on the first day.”
“We didn’t know what was going on,” added Martha. “My initial reaction wasn’t panic. It was more ‘What’s going on?’ and find out what’s happening.”
The couple wasn’t new to the dangers of the West Bank – this being their fifth trip visiting the area — this time for a three-month mission trip with the Evangelical Covenant Church’s (ECC) Middle East/North Africa program. So, when the first rockets were fired at Israel, they weren’t too concerned. But, that would soon change as it became clear that what they experienced that morning was only the beginning of an all-out war.
“When I was teaching at Luther College, we hosted a Palestinian student, and we got to know him very well,” George recalled. “And, when he graduated, he went back to Ramallah and got married and invited us to his wedding in 2014. On the very first day of that trip, we met someone who offered me a possible teaching job with the Lutheran World Federation. That led to two more teaching opportunities at a university in Bethlehem.”
Over the years, George taught pottery classes three times at two different colleges in the West Bank, while Martha taught basket-weaving and led small tours — until they learned about the MENA program.
According to the Evangelical Covenant Church’s website, “The missional roots of our faith were sown in Middle East/North Africa (MENA). This is a region of the world that most of us are relatively unfamiliar with. What we do know often comes from frequent news headlines reporting on political unrest, human suffering, religious persecution and war. Through ministries of mission, relief and development we expect to see more disciples in a more caring and just world.”
This year’s MENA trip was especially significant for Martha, whose father passed away in March. During their stay at the BBC Guest House, Martha’s brother and sister were going to visit the couple in Bethlehem — their first trip together as siblings after their father’s passing.
“All the Palestinians that we talked with about it were very shocked and surprised that this was going on,” Martha said. “It’s not a Hamas area at all.”
Martha said that, as a response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which reportedly resulted in 1,400 Israeli deaths and Hamas taking approximately 200 hostages, Israel almost immediately barricaded all roads leading in and out of West Bank cities.
“The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) came with bulldozers,” she said, “and barricaded all the roads with dirt, huge boulders and cement chunks. Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho, Hebron – all these Palestinians in the West Bank are imprisoned in a sense.”
“The Palestinians are almost as trapped as the people in Gaza,” George said. “It’s difficult to get food and water. And they’re not in the news. It’s all about Gaza.”
With all the roads closed, everything in the West Bank came to an abrupt halt. All the shops closed. The schools immediately switched to online classes. And, because Bethlehem is supported by tourism, Martha said the holy city’s unemployment rate instantly jumped to 80 percent.
But, despite the unfolding chaos, George and Martha didn’t want to leave, because they’d only just arrived, and they were so looking forward to this year’s trip. Then, the U.S. State Department made an announcement.
“The State Department said all Americans had to leave the West Bank within 24 hours,” said Martha, “but that was more of a suggestion, not an order, but at that point, we didn’t know that. We thought if we went to East Jerusalem for a few days, maybe the situation would settle down, and if it did, we would go back, because we didn’t want to leave.”
The couple was able to arrange for a driver on Oct. 10 to take them from their apartment at the college as far as they could go before the road was barricaded. Once they reached the barricade, they met another driver they’d contacted, who then drove them to East Jerusalem.
“We were in the middle of nowhere,” George said, “so we switched cars as quickly as we could, and we were the only car on the road all the way to East Jerusalem. We got out of the West Bank, which was kind of the first hurdle, because now it’s closed in such a way that nobody can come and go.”
The Lowes stayed in East Jerusalem from Oct. 10-18, and because their hotel was filled with representatives of the international press, they were given the news on developments in Israel and Gaza first-hand from the reporters. On the other hand, however, George and Martha noticed they were two of very few tourists in East Jerusalem at that time, because when they left the hotel, the streets were empty.
“In Jerusalem, usually, you can barely make your way through the old city, because there are so many people,” George said. “But, this time, when we were in Jerusalem, we could go anywhere and not see anybody.”
Up until that point, the couple said they hadn’t been too afraid. But, that calmness changed quickly one night, after they’d gone out for dinner.
“We went to a restaurant, and on the way back, it was dark, so we thought, we better take a taxi back,” George said. “So, we did, and just a block from the restaurant Israeli soldiers surrounded our car, and they’re pointing their rifles right in my face. So, I’m more afraid of these 18-year-old Israeli soldiers than I am any Palestinian.”
“They had this unbelievably bright light, which could shine right through the window,” Martha added. “And, when they saw we were westerners, they let us go. But, initially, if there was a time that I was afraid, that was it.”
Still, the Lowes didn’t want to leave the Middle East, and it wasn’t long before they were given another sign: The sound of air-raid sirens.
Full article here.
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