I've just returned from a short trip to Jerusalem where I had the honor of participating in some meetings with health officials from both the Palestinian and Israeli governments and from the United States. I was able to get in a few hours of touring as well, and my head is still spinning from all of the impressions during the 4-day adventure. I hope to post some more concrete online community-related ideas later, but wanted to share this photo from the Mount of Olives lookout as we drove around the outskirts of the old city walls.

Quick impressions:

I really had no idea what to expect as a first-timer to Israel. It certainly seemed a lot safer than I would have thought. Thanks to media and other warnings, I was skeptical of how safe I really would be. But security at the airport and on the borders is exceptional--I have heard they are often used as models for top-level airport security and believe it after passing through 3 checkpoints on my way out.

During my brief trip in the old city I passed by people from many religions and nationalities. I met Muslims running the market; Christian Americans; and nuns from all over the world; American Jews and Israeli Hassidic Jews; Polish Catholic pilgrims; Russian Orthodox visitors; Palestinian merchants and shoppers, some whom I learned cross the border daily to sell fine art and jewelry; and local Israelis with a wide array of backgrounds. To the naive observer it seems that everyone goes about life in a very peaceful way, which (unfortunately) surprised me.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to the Israeli Minister of Health speak to our small group, and he was incredibly warm and charismatic.

Most Palestinians are able to visit Israel for only one day at a time. This means it is very difficult for people to receive longer-term medical treatments such as chemotherapy in Israel, or even to visit family who happen to live on the other side of the border. I learned that there are many dedicated people from both sides who work tirelessly to obtain legal passes for people in dire need of medical or other kinds of assistance.

Internet-wise, Israelis are very well connected and use tools we use every day. No surprises here.

I'll share some other thoughts on online collaboration in another post!