Jerusalem and the tale of two cities...

When I was younger and traveled to Israel, my heart was captured by the history and the beauty of Jerusalem. It is a rough kind of beauty with some spectacular sites sitting side by side with buildings that are crumbling and in need of great repair. There is always some construction project trying to create a bridge between old and new that makes this dusty town even dustier. And when the weather is hotter, there is often a warm wind blowing (as opposed to a cool breeze) that can be a bit stifling even though Jerusalem is at a higher altitude then Tel Aviv and supposed to be cooler in temperature. Perhaps that's true in winter. But this was spring and it was quite warm and a little gritty from the wind bouncing the sand off the streets and side walk. In any event, I arrived at the bus station from Tel Aviv without a map so I followed my instinct (mostly correct) which took me directly through a Hassidic neighborhood as I made my way to my favorite antique shop in Jerusalem. Since it was a Thursday afternoon I had no fear of offending the religious for improper dress (shorts) or for schlepping my bags which might be considered work on the sabbath.

Back to the Hassids. I was immediately struck that this group of Jews appears to be living in the 17th century -- which I suppose is no one's business by theirs -- but that's not really the entire story. It just so happens that these religious devotees live in modern Israel which is supposed to be a secular democracy with freedom to practice religion to whatever degree you wish. But it seems like there is a religious state within a state which, as you can imagine, comes with a lot of implications for the society as a whole.

I know this isn't news but after spending about a week in Tel Aviv where ultra hip is "in" the contrast of finding myself in the middle of a shtetl (the Yiddish term for the Jewish ghetto) was jolting. And what I was reminded of quite quickly is that it's not just religious in quaint little neighborhoods, it's almost everywhere in Jerusalem. So while Tel Aviv is about 90% secular, I'd guess that Jerusalem is probably about 60% or more religious. At least that's what it seemed like to me. I'll leave the cultural and political implications of all that to another time. Let's just say that while they have their right to practice, a right is not a mandate to command others to do likewise or to live off the rest of the society financially. And it seems like Jerusalem has tilted in that direction, especially when many families (and I'll include men and women here) don't work because they don't have time because they have to "learn" and pray. And, therefore, by the way, the state financially supports their communities more than seems rational. It's hard to believe but it seems like Israel has moved from a secular socialist state to a capitalist economy, with a huge carve out for the ultra religious who enjoy the benefits of welfare and subsidies more than one might expect. I'm sure it's not just the religious who survive on welfare but from everything I've read, and the debate that is taking place in the newspapers and among politicians, it sure seems like a lot of them have found the state to be a very convenient and permanent funding source.

Luckily as I made my way to the home of Betty Van Essen (my friend Shaul's mother) the area where I was headed was much more secular and a whole lot more comfortable. After all the neighborhood of Talpiot sits adjacent to the German Colony which was originally founded by Christians in the 19th century. (These German Christians were later found to be Nazi sympathizers and were eventually exiled to other parts of the world.) Not only is life a bit more contemporary on the opposite side of town from where I entered but it is also an easy walk to the Old City -- a stroll I took early Saturday morning when it was still cool and quite beautiful since we were in the throes of spring and everything was in bloom. I will say that it was very solitary since it was Shabbat morning and everything was quiet. It gave me a real opportunity to appreciate the surroundings, especially all the flowers, which stood in sharp contrast to the rocky, historic terrain through which I passed on my way to the Old City.

In any event, one of the purposes of my visit that weekend -- in addition to seeing Betty and Shaul's sister Guelit -- was to take a one day seminar on the future of Jerusalem which was sponsored by a group called Ir Amim. This is a civic group which is trying to educate Israelis and others to think hard about what Jerusalem means to all its inhabitants, Muslim, Jewish and Christian and how to think critically about finding a way to the future. They are not necessarily knee jerk lefists but they are definitely more left than right. After all, it's not a bunch of settlers running these tours which, by the way, was attended mostly by Israelis and not tourists. And it certainly challenges conventional wisdom when the guide announces that he's a retired officer in the national police. At least in the US you don't think of the police as a hot bed of leftist activism. In any event, for more information on what this group does, you can check out there website at http://www.ir-amim.org.il/eng/

I labeled this post the tale of two cities. It is meant really to be thought provoking about the tale of two cities comparing Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, comparing religious and secular Jerusalem and comparing Arab and Jewish Jerusalem.

Israel is a complicated and interesting place and being there stimulates all of those complicated thoughts in one's head -- so much so that it can make your head hurt. I had a chance to hear a lot of Israeli feelings about the unfair and undeserved pressure that Obama is putting on Israel. While I don't have too much sympathy for that position, it was, nonetheless, interesting to hear this view from so many people, especially on the left. The future of the Jews and Arabs is complicated and no one knows the best way forward. And, unfortunately, years of enmity breeds fear, finger pointing and anger that is difficult, perhaps impossible, to put aside. All I know is that not finding a solution is costly in every way imaginable for all the people involved. Hopefully, some group of leaders on both sides will figure that out and find a way. Unfortunately, I think it will be a long time before any real progress is made. You always want to think that it will happen "this time" but something tells me we're in for many more rounds of diplomacy ahead. And life goes on for better and for worse. Back to the bubble of Tel Aviv.