Adventures in the Holy Land

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Jerusalem - the pinnacle of cultural and religious significance for so many. The city itself was the most enchanting, magical city I have ever had the pleasure of visiting (better than Venice in my opinion!). It's no wonder that so many people are fighting over ownership of the city. I entered the country with a view to be as objective as possible, given the conflicting stories and opinions that I've been told. Needless to say, my Arab friends were disappointed that I even stepped foot into west Jerusalem (the more Jewish part of Jerusalem also known as the New City).

It was clear that the Israeli government has a lot of money -- the infrastructure was obviously newer and better kept. This was immediately clear once we passed the borders. We also decided to visit the Holocaust Museum. I wanted to compare how the Israelis would portray the tragedy (vs. the European museums I had previously visited). The quality and content of the museum was similar to my European experiences. Of course, some Arabs think that the Holocaust was fake, and if it were real, that maybe 2000 people were killed. I always laughed at such conspiracy theories, but I realized that weekend that even seemingly average Americans raised in a progressive city like San Francisco, can have such views. Even if "only" 2000 people were killed, how does it make the event any less horrid? But I digress.

I don't understand why the oppressed have become the oppressors -- the Jewish, of all people, should be more forgiving. Of course, we can't generalize the military actions of the Israelis as completely attributed to the Jewish. In fact, there are many Jewish people who believe that the land should be divided fairly. On the other hand, it is incredible how much rage and resentment the Palestinians feel against the Israelis. Even the mention of the country's name can make an Arab's blood boil. I must admit though, that their side of the story is rarely heard in North America. Given that my biggest history learning in school was of the Holocaust, I of course thought that the Jewish deserved their own land.

The Old City itself was such a fascinating place. The quarters were very distinct from each other and while people of the same religion lived together in these so-called quarters, there was clear intermingling of people on a daily basis. Speaking as a naive Canadian, I feel that Jerusalem has the potential to become a model of multiculturalism. People of all religions and cultural backgrounds have already lived here in harmony for centuries. To me, it is really the people that don't actually live in the city (who coincidentally have more power) that refuse to share it. But this of course, is only a superficial analysis. There are people who have spent almost their entire lives trying to resolve this conflict, yet the conflict lives on...

It was a weekend of intense learning (in spite of the food poisoning!), given my previous ignorance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I would love to visit again and would in fact, do it every few weekends if I could. However, the crippling inter-city travel and border crossing fees makes it unfeasible with my current salary. Well, we can't have it all!