In the afternoon of Yom Kippur, I walked out of my West Jerusalem home and wound my way to the eastern part of the city, toward Nablus Gate. Evening was approaching, and with it the end of the fast. At the same time the daily Ramadan Muslim fast was also drawing to an end.

The plaza before Nablus Gate was buzzing with bag-laden shoppers, carrying groceries for dinner. Many crowded into the buses going to the Arab neighborhoods to the north, en route to Ramallah. I planned to visit friends in Beit Hanina, and got on an Arab bus.

Arab transportation in Jerusalem has improved this year. You can now find new medium-sized buses, which can conveniently hold nearly 20 passengers. The price is relatively cheap, NIS 3.50.

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To my surprise, on leaving Nablus Gate the bus did not turn north as usual onto the main road, Highway No. 1, but rather turned east, toward the Wadi Joz neighborhood. The driver explained that because of Yom Kippur the police blocked Highway 1, and we have to go around through the Mount of Olives. There was no other option.

By the entrance to Wadi Joz it turned out to be not so simple. Hundreds of cars were jammed in the narrow roads and the east-bound alleys. Monstrous traffic jams were created at the road going up the Mount of Olives. We stood still. On both sides of us nervous drivers started trying to bypass the jam. Everyone was shouting at each other. The bus was filled with the smell of gas fumes and the stench of burned breaks. I was wedged in the back seat between a stocky young man and a bag-laden old gentleman.

A woman sitting in front of us shouted at the driver. "What is going on, why don't you take the usual road?"

"It's closed," replied the driver.

"These Jews won't let us live," the woman concluded. In the occupied territories' street-talk, in times of anger, Palestinians will not say "Israelis," but rather "Jews." The gentleman beside me told her: "What do you want? It's their country and they do what they like." The young man cursed: "Damn Jews."

I felt I had nothing to contribute to the conversation. My appearance is in no way Arab, but I have been using Arab transportation for many years, can speak the street lingo pretty well, and speak in an accent that the Palestinians once referred to as a "General Security Service accent." I noticed that among the roughly 10 men on the bus, I was the only one not sporting a mustache. I peeked out in the direction of the angry drivers who were trying to cross the Augusta Victoria intersection, and made some general comments such as: "What's going on?" or, "This is unheard of."

Debate boils over

Things got progressively worse. Instead of turning north on the Mount of Olives, the bus continued eastward toward the slopes of A-Tur and the crowded rural neighborhood of Isawiyah. Instead of a 10-minute ride on the usual Highway 1, we were driving for nearly half an hour, and I still could not see a way out of the alleyways packed with stuck cars and bad atmosphere.

The debate on the bus burst and abated alternately. A man at the front began to lecture on how the Jews have only one day of fasting a year, and they make such a fuss about it, while we, the Muslims, fast a whole month and keep quiet. The stocky young man beside me said: "We are a nation of jackasses [shab jahal], allowing them to abuse us and do all of this." He frequently repeats these words: "We are shab jahal."

The woman sitting in front of me said that she cannot understand why the Jerusalemite Muslims must also mark the Jewish holidays. "If they don't want to drive, let them not drive. Why must we suffer?"

Highway 1 serves both Jewish and Arab traffic until the French Hill intersection. From there it continues north toward Shu'afat and Beit Hanina, and only Arabs take it. The man who lectured from the front bench turned back and said: "This is a unique case in the world, where followers of one religion force followers of another religion to observe their tradition." "We are shab jahal," responded the stocky young man again, and added: "We cannot let them get away with this, them with all their holidays."

I wanted to recount a tale I once heard, which explains why Jews and Christians have many holidays while the Muslims have few, only two: Id al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), and Id al-Fitr, ending the Ramadan. The reason is that the Muslim religion came last out of the three religions. The Jews came first and received many holidays from God's warehouse. The Christians followed and have also helped themselves generously. The Muslims came last and were left with only two holidays. But this tale did not seem appropriate for the mood on the bus, and I decided to let it go.

We reached the foot of the Anata refugee camp. The bus hit all the available potholes in the narrow broken roads, and some of the passengers' bags almost came apart. The bus was filling with the smell of falafel, bagels, fresh pitas and cooked foods. Such a fragrant wave can drive hungry people mad - after fasting for the whole day. Everyone was shouting in every direction, especially at the driver, who failed to mention at the beginning of the ride that he planned to take us on this journey.

After nearly an hour, we were back on the main road, the Shu'afat road. At the junction known as Julani Furniture, we heard the muezzin announcing the end of the fast from a nearby mosque. I told the old gentleman sitting beside me, who was probably on to my identity from the moment I sat down, that the passengers have no reason to complain about the Jews. After all, for NIS 3.50 we got an hour-long trip through half of Palestine. Wasn't it worth it?

He nods, "Sure, sure." At the familiar next junction known for its "Garden of Eden" fruit and vegetables shop, I descended from the bus and proceeded to my East Jerusalem friends' house.

The next day I inquired at the police for the reason why Highway 1, the only alternative for Arab traffic, was closed on Yom Kippur. They told me that near the French Hill junction there are two synagogues, and during previous years there were incidents of violence and stone-throwing there. So this year they decided to block it.