The Apartment Pariah

I consider myself to be of the moderate-Left in Israeli politics.

To my consternation, my roommates asked me before hanging up an Israeli flag in the living room if it was all right. The Palestinian flag graces my desktop partly because it just looks so cool.

And I never understood how people could get so worked up over politics.

So much has happened today. This morning Israel attacked Gaza with air strikes killing more than 200 people and counting. As I read the paper, some part of my brain wondered what kind of retaliation this first attack would bring.

This afternoon, as I set out on my post-Shabbat dinner mandatory jog, I noticed plumes of black smoke near the Hebrew U campus. As it is on my usual route anyway, I figured I would run into the source sooner or later. I didn't think it was anything serious as cars zoomed past in their normal fashion and the usual few people strolled along the streets.

I didn't end up running into the source as it was further away than I had expected, but instead along the course of my jog, I kept hearing mini-explosion sounds coming from the east. Then I noticed through my headphones several sirens as police cars and ambulances rushed toward the Arab villages in East Jerusalem. I thought I was crazy as I looked around to gauge other people's reactions, but no one else seemed to be phased by it. Israelis. Then I saw another great plume of smoke coming from the Shuafat RC area as helicopters droned overhead. Something was definitely wrong.

My roommates and I frantically tried to get any news on what was going on as we realized this was Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem rioting in response to what had occurred in Gaza this morning. Unfortunately we don't have a t.v., and for some reason, there was and as I write this post, continues to be no news on what happened earlier tonight in Jerusalem.

As we all congregated in one of my roommate's rooms with our laptops propped open furiously checking all the news websites, I wondered aloud if most of the people killed in the Israeli attack were civilians or security personnel. One of my roommates matter-of-factly said "They were all security personnel." To which, I retorted, "That is most definitely not true. Civilians are dead."

-"Well, they [Palestinians] put their weapons in libraries, hospitals, schools, etc."

-"And Israel still struck them."

My other roommates looked a little shocked by my response as one explained that the majority of the dead were Hamas security while there were also civilian deaths. Then one by one, everyone filed out of the room, and soon I was left in an awkward silence with only the room's inhabitant. I got up and left too. As soon as I left, they all went back in and closed the door behind them.

Perhaps I was a little too abrupt-too aggressive. Maybe I could have been more diplomatic and tried to be funny about it. No, I couldn't have. People are dead-and these people include innocent men, women, and children. There's no use in playing the blame game I realize, and I'm not sure what exactly makes me so upset.

But this is not the point of the post.

My roommate and I don't even live here; we don't suffer the way Israelis and Palestinians suffer here on a daily basis from the occupation and from terrorism. Yet, we get so impassioned by the politics that embroil this city, this country, this region. I couldn't understand how Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem could live side-by-side everyday without really talking to each other. And now, I understand, sometimes it's just easier to walk away and ignore the other side than get into the politics.

View from the top

If you know me well enough, you knew from my last post that I was going to be back at the Muslim quarter of the Old City the very next day. This time though, a friend and I walked to it from the dorms. It was a pretty long walk, but Jerusalem is cooling down a bit, and so even though the sun was still beating down ferociously from above, there was also an occasional cool breeze to mollify the heat.

I bought myself one of the three things I vowed to buy in the Middle East. I bought a 20 shekel Azan alarm clock!!

When I was in Morocco, I loved waking up, yes even at five in the morning, to the muezzin's call to prayer resonating from all corners of the city. After going back to the states, I realized that hearing the call to prayer was something that I really loved and really missed. I read somewhere later on that in all the brick-a-brack type stores in any Middle Eastern souk, one can find alarm clocks that wake you up with the call to prayer-I knew I would have to get AT LEAST one. I'll probably end up buying up a collection before I return home.

And there, in the souk of the Old City, I found several! There were Azan clocks that rang five times a day, and multi-colored Azan clocks, small ones, big ones, and all wonderful. I bought one that only rings once since I figure I won't be home enough to enjoy the other four.

(You can see my new Azan clock as the crowning photo of this blog. By the way, do you like the new layout?)

After some intense roaming around, gobbling down sticky honeyed Arabic desserts, drinking pomegranate juice, and haggling for random unnecessary purchases, we took a breather by the entrance to Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock. We weren't allowed in because it's disrespectful to enter after a certain time especially during Ramadan, so we watched as huge crowds filed in. I have yet to visit the mosque and the dome, but I'd never found the entrance before-I'll get to them some day.


































Also, today as I was taking my jog, I realized why I put myself through this painful run almost every day. To be honest, I really dislike running-I would much rather be taking a nap. But as I gazed out at the view overlooking Jerusalem, I realized this view reminded me everyday how lucky I am to be here. As much as I complain about things around here, I would not rather be anywhere else right now in my life.

And I'm sorry to be cliche, but it also made me realize just how unique Jerusalem is. On the one hand, it is unfortunate that Jerusalem is still a divided city; half the city is festooned in colorful blinking Ramadan lights and is less "modern", and the other half is dominated by architectural giants and a lighted menorah. There are some Jewish Israelis who have never ventured into the Muslim quarter of the Old City or even to East Jerusalem, I'm sure it's the same vice versa, although more Palestinians/ Arab Israelis probably go to West Jerusalem for jobs than Israeli Jews go to East Jerusalem.

The longer I'm here, the more I feel the subtle and sometimes not so subtle tensions between Jews and Muslims. This city is full of unspoken rules and muffled discrimination. I'm starting to understand that both sides have valid points, both sides are marred by fundamentalism, both sides are misunderstood, both sides are just trying to exist, and ultimately, both sides are fighting for peace.

On the other hand, above the clamor of the city and the politics and the religion, the view from the top shows a tentative coexistence if only because of proximity of sacred sites, but it is a coexistence nonetheless.


(picture from www. jerusalemshots.com)

Run with me

The hills around here are killer!

Here is the view right outside of the Student Village where I live. To the left is the path I walk towards the University and the blue curved roofed building is the over-priced gym.


So, I could pay for an expensive gym membership card that I would rarely use because I hate gyms (I feel like I might as well turn into a hamster and run in one of those crazy yellow wheels), I run around the French Hill and take in the sights, the car honks, the exhaust fumes, the great sunsets that could rival those of Los Angeles, the smell of falafels at the two stands nearby, the other intrepid runners looking like we all could pass out any minute now, the loud Arabic techno blasting from every other car, and of course the most wonderful views of Jerusalem from atop Mount Scopus.

Here is photo documentation of one of the routes I like to take at sunset if I can wake up early enough from my ritual afternoon recovery snooze from 8:30am Ulpan.

When I get to the bottom of the hill from the Student Village, I turn left towards the University and start my uphill climb. This is the view I get to my right:

That part is relatively easy since it's the only flat part of my run.

run run run towards the Mount of Olives:


More uphill running...and still some very pretty views:


And the final and most strenuous leg of my ascent:

almost there...


I get to the top of this hill which is marked by the end of the road in the previous picture with the tunnel (where to the right is the Mormon University-BYU), and I'm panting and sweaty and ready to keel over, but when I turn around, I get my reward:


I stay and stretch for a few minutes, and then I congratulate myself each time for not passing out earlier.

Then I'm off again. And this time, I get this view the whole way down:

I'm really loving this city.