Now Jericho was shut up tight because of the Israelites; no one could leave or enter. GOD said to Joshua, “See, I will deliver Jericho into your hands—its king and warriors.
Yehoshua 6:1-2
We were not able to enter the actual Yericho. That is because it is now Area A which is fully under Palestinian Arab control which means that a Jew would be killed just by entering those areas (even though under Jewish controlled areas Christian, Muslims and Jews all are allowed to live and succeed).
Instead of that, we ascended to Mitzpe Yericho. This group stared as a group of Jews living in Yericho itself in the 1980s but the government asked them to start living outside of it with an outlook over Yericho. The intent was for them to come back once things settled down. Unfortunately after the second Intifada, it made it impossible for Jews to live safely in Yericho. The name Mitzpe means lookout. But it also means hope - the anticipation of returning to the first conquered city in Israel.
We spent some time overlooking the beautiful kikar hayarden, the Jordan valley, above Yericho. We learned about the strategic significance of Yericho in entering the land of Israel.
We learned about a fascinating discovery in Tel El Ammam in Jordan. This was a huge city which had a cataclysmic event which destroyed it and all its population. It is just in the Jordan valley visible across the Yarden from the mountains.
We then were invited to the home of Rabbi Uri and Aliza Pilochowsky in Mitzpe Yericho. The Pilochowskys are American and she is the mayor of this beautiful Yishuv. She kindly hosted our group and offered background to this growing 550 family plus yishuv.
