By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM, June 4 — Israel marks today Yom Yerushalayim, the 49th anniversary of what is described by most Israelis as the reunification of Jerusalem as Israel’s “eternal capital.” The city’s Arabs view today’s celebration as anther tragic reminder of Israel’s conquest of their land in the 1967 Six Day War.
The atmosphere here is particularly tense today. As in the past, the most reactionary groups, often identified with the so-called religious nationalist party Habayit Hayehudi led by Naftali Bennett, are planning a flag waving parade through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, an event strongly and sadly reminiscent of the Protestant marches through the Catholic quarters of Belfast.
This year, the parade is particularly sensitive because it coincides with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a time that tends to exacerbate tensions between Arabs and Jews even without provocations. Israel’s Supreme Court has been petitioned to cancel the march, but that’s not likely to happen, though the organizers promised to stage it early enough to precede the beginning of Ramadan. Thousands of security personnel are out in the streets determined to maintain law and order. We pray for their success even as some of us remain worried.
Many Muslims will argue that Jews have no rights at all in this city. Only the other day did I hear an ostensibly serious Muslim academic who teaches abroad argue impossibly that King Solomon established the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount – contrary to all evidence.
But there seem to be at least a minority of both Arabs and Jews prepared to accept realities and settle for a divided city, the capitals of both Israel and Palestine, in a permanent and lasting peace treaty. Thus, for example, the other day we heard from Hayim Ramon, once a leading Labour politician, suggesting that the some twenty Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem should be allowed to form a separate, Muslim Jerusalem. The proposal got some attention but, as far as I can judge, not much traction from either side. Each wants all of it.
We’re holding our breaths. Some of us may even go to the square in front of City Hall this afternoon to demonstrate against the march and express conciliatory views for the sake of peace. Some realists may also remind us that though the city may be united administratively, it’s not really one city. There are distinctly Jewish and Arab neighborhoods. A division for the sake of peace would reflect reality and may assure a better future for all.
Ostensibly united Jerusalem is today Israel’s largest city with more than 850 000 residents, some ten percent of the country’s population. (Though the actual number of Tel Aviv residents is smaller, in view of the many adjacent towns, during the day its population is said to double because people come to work there.)
For us who live in Jerusalem, particularly Zionist romantics like myself, it’s a varied and vibrant metropolis. But many others, especially the secular young, tend to move elsewhere because of the predominance of ultra-Orthodox Jews here and, of course, the tensions referred to above.
The international community may not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and some of its residents would like to live elsewhere, but I’m among those who deem it a privilege to live here while praying for peace and keen to share the magic of the city with friends, residents and visitors alike.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Now residing in Israel, he may be contacted via dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)