Jerusalem Scenes
One old friend I saw in Jerusalem reminded me there’s more to the city than the Old City. She’s certainly right in terms of size and population, as well as most of what makes a modern city a city, though the Old City’s history and vibe is hard to ignore. I did wander around outside its walls, sometimes en route from one visit to another, other times just to see what was there in both East Jerusalem - the Palestinian side - and Jewish West Jerusalem.
In West Jerusalem there was an incredible amount of traffic, making every bus ride agonizingly slow. Some of this standstill results from laying the track for a new urban train system. This is Jaffa Street, one of the main West Jerusalem drags. Reminded me of Boston’s Big Dig.
The winner of Jerusalem’s mayoral race last week has announced he may cancel the railroad project because it’s too expensive. I guess he’ll pave it over again.
He also says he may cancel this new bridge project, though the centerpiece is already standing out near the main bus station.
I read about this a few months ago maybe, when it was unveiled. There was a lot of controversy about it, with both critics and supporters claiming it didn’t fit Jerusalem’s antique image. Another criticism was that the soaring column and cables can only be seen in full from right near it. From further away it’s either partially or totally blocked by surrounding buildings, or so small as to fade to insignificance. Up close I kind of liked it, especially the cabling’s pattern.
From the top of Mount of Olives you can look away from the main part of Jerusalem toward its eastern edge where the city borders the Palestinian town of Abu Dis. The Separation Wall is clearly visible. This curvy section, here viewed from a distance, is the same one I photographed close up four years ago. The section of wall further back is, I’m pretty sure, at Al Quds University, which I have photos of from two years ago.
Closer to the Old CIty in West Jerusalem is the ancient Muslim cemetery where Israel wants to build a Museum of Tolerance over Muslim objection.
There’s a lot written about this issue now, with emotional and technical claims on both sides. I haven’t studied the details, but forcing Tolerance doesn’t seem to me a good idea.
The Muslim cemetery is a few blocks from the Alternative Information Center’s Jerusalem office; the other office is in Bet Sahour, near Bethlehem. The AIC is an excellent source of anti-Occupation news, events and activities in Israel and the West Bank. They make good use of interns, if you’re looking for something interesting and useful to do for three months.
From the AIC I wandered past the Old City, where East and West Jerusalem meet. New landscaping.
FInal photo for now: This street sign in West Jerusalem:
The abbreviation Ma’Hal, it explains in Hebrew, stands for Volunteers from Abroad, referring I assume to those who came to support Israel during one crisis or another. These expressions of appreciation are common, as are ever-present memorials to Israeli soldiers who gave their lives, for example, to capture the Old City in the Six Day War. I have a collection of photos from two years ago showing other such memorials.
Well, one more. Here’s a photo of the building I lived in for four or five months beginning in the fall of 1966.
Back then it was the San Remo Hotel, where the Young Judaea Year Course stayed for the academic part of the post-high school year in Israel. It was dumpy, but in a great location, close to everything. The course later moved further away, and just recently again to the far west side of the city. The new place, I hear, has great facilities. But moving so far from Jerusalem’s heart seems to me likely to escalate the teenage Zionists even further from East Jerusalem’s Palestinian population and culture.
Today the San Remo seems to be a collection of unrelated businesses. Time marches on.
Technorati Tags: Abu Dis, Israel, Jerusalem, Muslim cemetery, Separation Wall, Young Judaea Year Course