Memories from a trip to the Israel border: At the crossroads of conflict, quietly the river flows

Mount Nebo in Jordan is a biblical site where Moses was granted a view of the “promised land of milk and honey” before his death. From atop Mount Nebo, dry barren land extended ahead, broken by a thin dark strip of water, which was the Jordan river. Beyond the river was a cluster of white houses in the town of Jericho, one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns of the world, that lay in the West Bank in the state of Palestine. Further ahead, over the hills, was Jerusalem visible as a tiny dot. Israel claims all of Jerusalem while Palestinians fight for control of the eastern part of the city.

In the winter of 2011, my husband and I visited Jordan, back then an unusual travel destination. A tour operator had arranged a week-long trip for a small group of Indians from different cities. Seeing images from the Israel-Palestine conflict splashed across social media since the past week brought back memories of that trip.

Our travel guide Raayid was a Bedouin, the indigenous nomadic inhabitants of the Arabian desert. He explained to the group how as per God’s decree, Moses’s life ended on Mount Nebo and his flock, led by Joshua, brought...

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