Jerusalem - the holy city of coexistence?

What do you think of when you think of Jerusalem?

When I think of Jerusalem, two very conflicting ideas pop into my head. First, I imagine it as the sacred center of the world's most prominent religions. Then, I think of the summer blockbuster of 2005, Kingdom of Heaven. The part of me that thinks of it as a holy city provokes thoughts of peace and coexistence. On the other hand, I know this city has seen too many battles throughout the Crusades and the more recent battles between those who follow Allah, Jesus Christ, and Yahweh. According to our trusty friend Wikipedia, Jerusalem "has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times".

I hate to say it, but I definitely feel like there is a lot of censoring and self-censoring going on here. Sometimes I find myself goading people on and other times keeping my mouth shut because I don't want to say something controversial. I've been waiting for the politics to start coming out in conversations, and it's definitely there.

I found myself in the middle of an argument between a very pro-Israeli American Jew and another American Jew who was condemning the second-class citizenship of the Palestinians in Israel. I have yet to contribute to this conversation, and I think I will have a lot to contribute because I do know my history, but I only know it through books and not enough experience.

I've met people on this trip who swoon over and whip out their cameras every time they see an Israeli flag billowing in the wind, and other people who are here to get connections with NGOs and human rights groups to work for the Palestinian cause.

I've noticed that the cleaning and maintenance workers are only young Arab men, and I wonder what they think of the international students coming to study in Israel.

Yesterday, when I walked to the Arab area behind the Muslim quarter of the old city, my friend and I were the only tourists there, and I was surprised that everyone spoke perfect English. I thought that since it wasn't really a tourist spot, the merchants wouldn't have known as much English as they did. We were told by our madrichim not to venture that way, and to be wary of the Arab areas because the campus is located in East Jerusalem near the West Bank. It was also interesting because we never intended to find our way there, and it was more of an afternoon adventure made more exciting because going to the Arab areas is taboo. Also, after we came back and told our other friends where we'd been, they seemed disdainfully interested. And while driving with an Israeli tonight, he told me that it was not safe to drive the way I had walked to just the day before, and he said that as a Jew, it was prohibited. Then tonight, when I asked him to take me to the old city, he said it was dangerous because there were more Arabs in the old city at night. After my asking him why more Arabs meant more danger, he changed his explanation to the fact that we could get mugged because the streets are narrow and dim. Makes sense.

Most times, I feel like the terms of apartheid and segregation are exaggerated when it seems like Arabs and Jews and Christians and Armenians and everyone else living in Jerusalem are living next to each other and driving and honking down the same streets. It seems like the model of coexistence. La Convivencia of al-Andalus. Yet, at the same time, other moments like seeing the security fence or apartheid wall whatever you call it, make me seriously doubt this, and my own precautions in saying anything for fear of sounding ignorant or anti-Israel only exacerbate this confusion. And I wonder, how much propaganda am I being exposed to? Whose agenda am I falling into?

But, also, a friend of mine pointed out to me that pro-Israel does not mean anti-human rights. And I agree. One can be pro-Israel and still condemn discrimination against Palestinians. But, then that makes me wonder the expense at which Israel has been able to develop so quickly while the majority of Palestinians are mired in extreme poverty. I have so much to learn here.