Tourists

By Yehuda Amichai

 

"Once I sat on the steps by a gate at David's Tower,

 

I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. A group of tourists were standing around their guide and I became their target marker. 

 

"You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there's an arch from the Roman period. Just right of his head." 

 

"But he's moving, he's moving!"

 

I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them,

 

"You see that arch from the Roman period? It's not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, there sits a man who's bought fruit and vegetables for his family."

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Inspired by Amichai's poem, Israel Unbound offers participants the opportunity to explore and appreciate the ‘arch's of the Roman period,’ within the broader context of Israel today; an Israel comprised of individuals like 'the man with the baskets'.