The Way to Jerusalem: A Modern Pilgrimage Through the Land’s “Diverse Embrace”

Four Christians, three Jews, four languages and 111 kilometers shaped one modern pilgrimage from Jaffa Port to Jaffa Gate.

Michigan resident Jody Bernat, 67, made the six-day journey last spring with her husband, John Belsher, under the leadership of The Way to Jerusalem. The group included two Taiwanese women, a man from Catalonia, a man from West Virginia, an Israeli woman and the couple. Different language abilities and fitness levels forced the pilgrims to find their own rhythm.

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Sometimes it was gestures, glances, knowing looks. Sometimes we walked in silence. Often, we sang, and many times we exchanged views on life.

“Sometimes it was gestures, glances, knowing looks. Sometimes we walked in silence. Often, we sang, and many times we exchanged views on life,” Bernat recalled. Guided in English, the group formed connections while exploring the places, people and cultures along the route.

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Our stays in Christian monasteries, Arab villages, and Jewish quarters were all part of the landscape that outsiders rarely see or understand in the diverse embrace of this powerfully beautiful land.

Their overnight stays included Christian monasteries, Arab villages and Jewish quarters. Bernat said these experiences revealed parts of the land that outsiders rarely see or understand. She remembered an Ethiopian restaurant owner, a street flower seller and a market growing busy before Shabbat, describing the region’s residents as people seeking to live simply, peacefully and in harmony.

The founders of The Way to Jerusalem, Yael Tarasiuk-Nevo and Golan Rice, say modern pilgrimage has moved beyond the traditional focus on holy sites, religious ritual, forgiveness and redemption. Both are secular Jewish Israelis and former El Al security workers. Rice said the journey can become an inner spiritual, culinary or social experience, depending on the traveler, and is open to Jews, Christians, Muslims and non-believers.

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It was quite profound to see where the ancient ships came in with pilgrims like us, making their way to Jerusalem.

Tarasiuk-Nevo said meeting residents and hearing their stories remains central to the experience. Bernat’s own journey began amid military escalation with Iran in April, which made travel to Israel complicated and expensive. But those pressures faded when the group reached Jaffa Port. “For a moment, we were voyageurs from centuries past, with the same desires and the same uncertainty of what we would encounter as we embarked on this journey,” she said. Despite warnings from people who urged them not to enter a war zone, Bernat added, “We went on faith.”

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We went on faith.