Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., November 11, 2007 Kislev 1, 5768 | | Israel Time: 16:57 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Print Edition
Diplomacy
Defense Arts & Leisure Real Estate Jewish World National Advertising
Magazine Week's End Business Opinion Rosner's Domain Anglo File Books Travel
del.icio.us
Digg It!  new
Envisioning a divided Jerusalem
By Nadav Shragai
tags: Jerusalem

It is hard to decide which is more embarrassing: The inconceivable quiescence with which the division of Jerusalem is being discussed, or the unforgivable impotence and weak arguments evinced by the right and the religious in this debate.

Forget about ideology for a moment. Anyone who has not yet understood why Jerusalem is the embodiment of Jewish rights in this land is not going to understand it now.

Pragmatism, for better or worse, is what will decide the battle for Jerusalem. Yet on this of all issues, the obliviousness is almost total: It is impossible to talk again and again about the hundreds of thousands of Jews who visit the Old City and Western Wall without explaining that this will stop once Jerusalem is divided. It is impossible to fight for Jerusalem without telling the sorry tale of Rachel's Tomb, which the Oslo Accords turned into a half-abandoned border post on the outskirts of Bethlehem. It is impossible to wage this battle without recalling the 19 years in which Jews were forbidden to visit their holy places, even though the armistice agreement with Jordan ostensibly guaranteed such visits.
Advertisement
There will be no safe, quiet houses in Neveh Yaakov, French Hill or Pisgat Ze'ev without control over "outlying neighborhoods" such as Shoafat and Beit Hanina, which abut them. There will be no safe shopping at Jerusalem's Malkha Mall, no visits to the Biblical Zoo, no train rides from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and no peaceful houses in Givat Masua and Malkha without the adjacent "outlying neighborhood" of Walaja. There are also "outlying neighborhoods" adjoining Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, Talpiot and Har Homa. Beit Jala, the "outlying neighborhood" next to Gilo, was inhabited by thoroughly decent people, just as Walaja and Shoafat are - until one day (and this was before the rise of Hamas), it was taken over by armed gangs, who shot at Gilo from it every day.

Those who give the Palestinians control over the Temple Mount, the "outlying neighborhood" next to the Western Wall, will no longer be able to pray in peace at the Wall, or hold Memorial Day ceremonies or induction ceremonies for paratroopers there; nor will they be able to ensure the safety of the president or prime minister should either wish to participate in such ceremonies. Imagine the street battles in the alleys of Sajiyeh and Beit Hanun, in the Gaza Strip, transferred to the ancient streets of Jerusalem, which today teem with Jews. Think about how bar-mitzvah ceremonies or wedding pictures could be held at the Western Wall, or even plain old visits to place a note in the cracks, if Palestinians "controlled" the area a few hundred meters away.

How would Jews visit their loved ones who are buried on the Mount of Olives in a divided Jerusalem? In armored cars? Would Mount Scopus, which contains the Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital, once again become an isolated enclave? Har Gilo would also become an enclave. And what would happen to cars on Route 1, one of the city's main arteries, which is dominated by Issawiyeh, Wadi Joz and Sheikh Jarrah; would they also be armored?

Granted, in many people's eyes, Jerusalem is already divided. We have discriminated, in terms of both infrastructure and services, against the residents of East Jerusalem. We have ignored many parts of the city's eastern half. The question is whether one fatal folly justifies another. Would it not be preferable to rectify the first folly and reunite the city, instead of ratifying the division and thereby sinking all of us, Jews and Arabs alike? Do we need to simply accept the "demographic problem," or should we deal with it by strengthening the Jewish presence in the city, through finally implementing an infinity of decisions that were never carried out?

In 2000, it was Ehud Olmert who fought for Jerusalem's unity. Today, the city is still searching for a leader to wage the battle against him.
Bookmark to del.icio.us
Remembering Yasser
PA Chair Mahmoud Abbas unveils a $1.75 million mausoleum for Yasser Arafat.
Spiritual spat
U.S. synagogue ties with 'women priests' draws ire of Catholic church.
  1.   You can`t always get what you want 10:25  |  Natallie Durson 17/10/07
  2.   #1 wher does nutullie get her history from 10:49  |  victor hardman 17/10/07
  3.   Division of Jerusalme Equals Destruction of Jerusalem 11:07  |  Ben Israel 17/10/07
  4.   There comes a time. . .The Indus river is the anglicised name for 11:11  |  lakshmi 17/10/07
  5.   Jerusalem must remain unified and Jewish 11:16  |  Hastaroth 17/10/07
  6.   You can`t always get what you want 11:26  |  CommonSense 17/10/07
  7.   Victor Hardman and history 11:32  |  CommonSense 17/10/07
  8.   Leave Arab East Jerusalem alone 11:45  |  Walid 17/10/07
  9.   #1 Nathalie Durson. 11:47  |  Rolandus 17/10/07
  10.   In my opinion... 11:51  |  Edith 17/10/07
  11.   Many times the talkback is a lot of fun 11:57  |  Edith 17/10/07
  12.   arrogance speaks.. 12:00  |  ravi 17/10/07
  13.   People have dreams, people have wishes....... 12:02  |  Swiss (Dino) 17/10/07
  14.   Jerusalem 12:03  |  Moshe ben Shimon 17/10/07
  15.   There will never be a lasting division of Al-Quds 12:03  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  16.   Google told me that Nadav Shragay`s info may harm my computer. 12:23  |  S 17/10/07
  17.   IF they give away our Holiest, the people will take upon arms! 12:44  |  Hard Talk 17/10/07
  18.   HANNAH THE HATER 12:44  |  Brant 17/10/07
  19.   Is this peace? 12:52  |  reality 17/10/07
  20.   #7 Common Sense re "Mr Hardman" 12:54  |  Labhras 17/10/07
  21.   re: Natallie Durson 12:54  |  Efox 17/10/07
  22.   Hateful Hannah and Her Predictions 12:57  |  Jane 17/10/07
  23.   Back to 1947, Israel is attacked and has to reconquer everything 12:59  |  Efox 17/10/07
  24.   re: ravi 13:02  |  Efox 17/10/07
  25.   "12 Swiss Dino 13:03  |  Labhras 17/10/07
  26.   15Hannah&8Walid,Hanannah well said,I did not for politeness sake 13:03  |  lakshmi 17/10/07
  27.   jerusalem-natalie? 13:04  |  mark 17/10/07
  28.   re: Edith 13:05  |  Efox 17/10/07
  29.   re: Swiss (Dino) 13:12  |  Efox 17/10/07
  30.   re: Hannah 13:17  |  Efox 17/10/07
  31.   re: S 13:19  |  Efox 17/10/07
  32.   re: lakshmi 13:23  |  Efox 17/10/07
  33.   Lets talk real solutions instead of all this tiptoing 13:28  |  Terminator 17/10/07
  34.   #18, Brant 13:43  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  35.   Peace treaties with arabs are worthless 13:51  |  steve 17/10/07
  36.   #4 Mrs. Jellyby (lakshmi) 13:58  |  Daybreak 17/10/07
  37.   #15 in between tricks HO Hannah? 14:05  |  Petra 17/10/07
  38.   Ravi you dimwitted squirrel. 14:07  |  Petra 17/10/07
  39.   EFox, GOOD ONE ...LOL 14:11  |  Petra 17/10/07
  40.   #27 Mark Mad Comics is better 14:13  |  Petra 17/10/07
  41.   #26, Lakshmi 14:14  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  42.   Hannah the Hag Ho 14:15  |  Petra 17/10/07
  43.   #30, efox 14:17  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  44.   335 STEVE, you`re a genius!!!! 14:18  |  Petra 17/10/07
  45.   What part of the word `law` don`t you understand? 14:19  |  Don Camillo 17/10/07
  46.   #28 EFox, THANKS!!!!! truth is wonderful. 14:20  |  Petra 17/10/07
  47.   #36, Daybreak 14:23  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  48.   Shragai, your concerns were already answered 14:26  |  Yaakov Sullivan 17/10/07
  49.   #47 Hannah 14:30  |  Daybreak 17/10/07
  50.   What would be the point of a Jewish Israel 14:37  |  Nechama 17/10/07
  51.   47,41Hannah,continuez,I don`t any longer bother to read Brant 14:44  |  lakshmi 17/10/07
  52.   #42, Petra 14:52  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  53.   32E Fox & Hannah, this poster seems to be saying the opposite of 14:53  |  lakshmi 17/10/07
  54.   Peace talks total waste of time if Jerusalem off the table 14:55  |  newageblues 17/10/07
  55.   #45and wher does camillo get his dreams from ? 14:57  |  victor hardman 17/10/07
  56.   #49, Nechama 15:01  |  Hannah 17/10/07
  57.   Jerusalem 15:06  |  Chris 17/10/07
  58.   #51 Mrs. Jellyby (lakshmi) 15:08  |  Daybreak 17/10/07
  59.   #49 Nechama: the Obvious 15:12  |  Hard Talk 17/10/07
  60.   the palestinians do have already a capital 15:13  |  scallywag 17/10/07
  61.   #54blues cannot distinguish between words and performance 15:17  |  victor hardman 17/10/07
  62.   Can anyone in favor of giving away jeruaslem answer these?!?!?! 15:19  |  SHIMON 17/10/07
  63.   Swiss Dino (#13) 15:25  |  Polybios 17/10/07
  64.   israels hell or haniyeh`s paradise? 15:27  |  Trembling Palestine 17/10/07
  65.   Common sense #7 15:32  |  Polybios 17/10/07
  66.   This IS The Clear Case Why It Can Not be Divided! 15:32  |  Ben S 17/10/07
  67.   newageblues 15:38  |  SHIMON 17/10/07
  68.   #2 Victor, but who were the majority of Jerusalemites? 15:39  |  newageblues 17/10/07
  69.   Jerusalem for both people 15:42  |  Xaun 17/10/07
  70.   #28 Efox 15:46  |  Edith 17/10/07
  71.   Trembling Palestine #64 15:48  |  Polybios 17/10/07
  72.   SHARE JERUSALEM - DON`T DIVIDE IT 15:49  |  B`Galil 17/10/07
  73.   Iakshmi # 4 Wishful Thinking 15:51  |  Jeff Northridge 17/10/07
  74.   poly bios 15:52  |  Trembling Palestine 17/10/07
  75.   #69 Xaun: VIVA ESPAGNA! 15:54  |  Hard Talk 17/10/07
  76.   Religions, not Nationalities 15:59  |  ARTH 17/10/07
  77.   India, Pakistan, and Jerusalem 16:01  |  utagawa 17/10/07
  78.   We will never forget Jerusalem! 16:01  |  Johnny Weintraub 17/10/07
  79.   Trembling Palestine #74 16:05  |  Polybios 17/10/07
  80.   Jeff N. - #73. Is there any excuse? 16:08  |  Polybios 17/10/07
  81.   Lift up your heart and sing 16:09  |  Bruce 17/10/07
  82.   Shimon #