JERUSALEM 50 YEARS ON
The longest day is still a few days away but summer has definitely arrived in Jerusalem. The summer anticyclone has settled over the Middle East where it will stay until winds from the north disturb it in the Fall, three months from now. Daily temperatures will hover around 32 degrees C but, thanks to our altitude, temperatures at night can drop to a pleasant 18 degrees, even necessitating a light jacket or sweater out of doors, even in mid-summer. No rain falls at all during this period and the monotony of the hot, sunny days is broken only by the arrival of the even-hotter sharavs, hot dry winds from the deserts to the east and south, which can push the temperature up to 40 degrees, drop the humidity to almost zero, and bring choking dust storms. Fortunately these are rare. One of the things I like about living in Israel is the predictability of the climate. It makes it easy to plan outings and activities without having to have "Plan B" in case of rain.
Summer in Jerusalem is party time. Israeli school children are on vacation from the end of June until September, and shopping malls and watering holes are generally full of happy children and stressed-out mothers. Outdoor concerts, festivals and activities abound for the whole family. There is never a shortage of things to do. During the day however it is too hot to feel like doing much more than swimming or lounging about at the pool, but at night Jerusalem comes alive. Street cafes and restaurants fill up as we go out to eat and drink with our friends, or just to stroll around the streets. Jerusalem abounds in great restaurants.
As we Jerusalemites embark on the 50th year since Jerusalem's reunification in 1967 I cannot but marvel at what has been accomplished in that time. Gone are the barbed wire barriers and the minefields that once divided the city. East and West Jerusalem are united and both Jews and Arabs can travel around freely, at least theoretically.
The barbed wire is gone now but divisions still exist. There are parts of the city I dare not enter, the Arab villages of East Jerusalem, and should I mistakenly stray, I would be at risk of being stoned, sexually molested or even killed. Arabs on the other hand can freely come to West Jerusalem and in fact many work and play alongside the Jewish population quite happily.
Frequently we hear voices raised claiming that, because of the ongoing unrest and terrorism, it is time to once more divide the city. However it would be impossible, both for East and West Jerusalem. In the 49 years since reunification we have become interdependent. In West Jerusalem (the Jewish side), 69% of construction workers, 55% of transportation, storage and postal workers, and 42% of management and support, 40% of hospitality and dining and 34% of commerce workers are Arabs from East Jerusalem. In contrast only 5% of East Jerusalem workers find employment in the Palestinian Authority areas http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4813255,00.html.
And that is the bottom line, we need them and they need us. Not only that, most of the time we get along just fine. Most Palestinian Arabs want nothing more than to raise a family in peace and work with honor. The terrorists represent only a small fraction of the population. In spite of Hamas' and ISIS' calls for a popular uprising (Intifada) against Israel in recent months, it has not happened. Most Palestinian Arabs do not want terror and unrest any more than we do.
We also hear a lot about the Separation Wall, which was built towards the end of the Second Intifada around parts of the city to protect residents from terror attacks originating in Palestinian controlled areas. This wall prevents the free movement of Arabs in the West Bank into Jerusalem although they can receive permits to enter for work, study or health reasons. Crossing the checkpoints however can take hours and causes great distress for those who must cross them to work each day.
Even so, the wall is not complete and West Bank Palestinians often illegally cross into Israel either through the gaps or, as can be seen in the photo below, by other means.
The barbed wire is gone now but divisions still exist. There are parts of the city I dare not enter, the Arab villages of East Jerusalem, and should I mistakenly stray, I would be at risk of being stoned, sexually molested or even killed. Arabs on the other hand can freely come to West Jerusalem and in fact many work and play alongside the Jewish population quite happily.
Frequently we hear voices raised claiming that, because of the ongoing unrest and terrorism, it is time to once more divide the city. However it would be impossible, both for East and West Jerusalem. In the 49 years since reunification we have become interdependent. In West Jerusalem (the Jewish side), 69% of construction workers, 55% of transportation, storage and postal workers, and 42% of management and support, 40% of hospitality and dining and 34% of commerce workers are Arabs from East Jerusalem. In contrast only 5% of East Jerusalem workers find employment in the Palestinian Authority areas http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4813255,00.html.
And that is the bottom line, we need them and they need us. Not only that, most of the time we get along just fine. Most Palestinian Arabs want nothing more than to raise a family in peace and work with honor. The terrorists represent only a small fraction of the population. In spite of Hamas' and ISIS' calls for a popular uprising (Intifada) against Israel in recent months, it has not happened. Most Palestinian Arabs do not want terror and unrest any more than we do.
We also hear a lot about the Separation Wall, which was built towards the end of the Second Intifada around parts of the city to protect residents from terror attacks originating in Palestinian controlled areas. This wall prevents the free movement of Arabs in the West Bank into Jerusalem although they can receive permits to enter for work, study or health reasons. Crossing the checkpoints however can take hours and causes great distress for those who must cross them to work each day.
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| Palestinian workers queuing at the Checkpoint from Bethlehem https://nearthejordanvalley.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/dsc04133.jpg |
Even so, the wall is not complete and West Bank Palestinians often illegally cross into Israel either through the gaps or, as can be seen in the photo below, by other means.
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| Map of the Separation Wall showing the existing wall in red. http://www.poica.org/upload/images/2005/1124965889.jpg |
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| Palestinians crossing "The Wall" into Israel http://static1.972mag.com/wp-content/uploads//2013/07/wall.jpg |
Israeli citizens and residents however are forbidden to enter Palestinian areas by law. If I was to go into Bethlehem, for example, which lies just 1.5 km from my home, I would have to sign a paper absolving the Israeli government of any responsibility for my welfare or rescue. That is not a risk I am willing to take. We hear a lot about the restrictions and hardships caused to the Palestinians by the separation, but few seem to realize that Israelis are even more restricted. There are many places on the West Bank I would love to visit but cannot.
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| Sign warning Israelis not to enter a forbidden area http://www.thelibertybeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Psychological-Warfare.jpg |
" The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more, it is the history of earth and of heaven."
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/benjamindi401171.html
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/benjamindi401171.html
And that history is still being written. Far from being a dead archaeological site, it is a living, breathing city in which around 800,000 residents, Jews, Arabs and others, live, work and play. Our city fathers have done much in recent times to make this a beautiful city in which to live. It is full of wonderful parks, green spaces, gardens and fascinating architecture.
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| A cool shady spot in the Mt Scopus Botanical Garden |
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| Scorch marks on the house |
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| Police block the roads out of Jebel Mukaber http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4817077,00.html |
In a bizarre sequel, a local family fleeing the restaurant inadvertently invited the fleeing terrorist into their home, thinking he was also an innocent civilian fleeing the scene. The husband, a policeman, grabbed his gun and cap, and ran back to the restaurant to help and only then realized that the detained terrorist was wearing exactly the same clothes as the man hiding in his home with his family. Then the penny dropped - his family were sheltering the second terrorist! Fearing for their safety he rushed back in time to arrest the terrorist and save his family. http://www.timesofisrael.com/cops-wife-explains-how-they-sheltered-shaking-tel-aviv-terrorist/ The wife of the policeman had this to say of the incident, “I do my best to remember the great miracle we experienced”.
It was not the only miracle that night. One family of tourists from Australia had an uncomfortable feeling in the restaurant moments before the attack and left, probably saving them from injury or death. The son of another family, personally known to me, also had a bad feeling and they left the restaurant just minutes before the attack. Praise God for these miracles. How important it is that we stay tuned into God and listen to these promptings of the Spirit!
As always the international press reported the news of this attack in a biased way. CNN put terrorist into quotation marks as if there were some question whether this was a terrorist attack or not. The BBC shied away from using the word 'terror' or 'terrorist' altogether and just called it a 'shopping center attack' and a 'shooting incident', while Sky News reported a 'mass shooting'. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4813964,00.html
Let's call a spade a spade and a terror attack a terror attack! I am sure if a similar attack occurred in the UK or the USA they would have no qualms about using the word 'terror'. Why should it be different for Israel?
As tempers rise with the temperature, and Ramadan reaches its climax, please pray for quiet this summer - quiet within our cities and also on our volatile borders.
I am off now for a few days in the desert and I will be back soon to update the blog.
I wish the northerners a great summer, and the southerners a mild and pleasant winter.
