Wednesday was a very long day.  We left the hotel at 7:30am and did not get back to the room until 9:30pm.  We spent the morning at the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.  We were not permitted to take pictures in the Museum, but needless to say, it was very moving.  There was a separate children's section for the children that were lost in Germany during the Nazi regime.  Then the main museum was a very detailed account of what happened their.  Word and pictures cannot do it justice.  It is something you have to see.

The pictures below are rows of trees planted along the walkways around the museum.  They each have plaques  stating that this tree is planted in honer of a person or family that was non-Jewish that helped Jews during the Holocaust escape; many at their own peril.

After lunch we went to Bethlehem to visit the church of the Nativity.  The interesting part of this is the short trip into the area.  It is heavily guarded by Palestinian troops.  Our Jewish guide could not go with us because he is still active reserve with the Israel army, and is not permitted by Palestine beyond the check points.  The church itself is 1500 years old and rather unkept.  It sits in the middle of a very commercial area of Bethlehem.

Finally tonight we had a concert by Steve Green at the convention center inside Bethlehem.  It was very good and really capped off the week.
Tomorrow, we only have half a day of touring where I think we are going to the Garden Tomb.  Then we get back to the hotel after lunch to start the trek home.  So I don't know if we will be posting tomorrow or not.