Crucifixion Friday in the Old City

Many Christians from around the world were expected to flood the city for Good Friday, and they did. In fact, since Passover and Eastern and Western Easter falls on the same weekend this year, the city seemed particularly crowded. In expectation of the large crowds the Israeli government implemented new access procedures at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which created a lot of tensions. Flags like the one below could be seen throughout the Christian Quarter.

The flag is aimed at the Israeli authority's efforts to control the crowds, which at times ended up communicating to those wanting to be near or inside the church that they were not allowed to worship. Obviously, once the new arrangements were announced, someone(s) went into action to highlight the Israeli actions and paint them as negatively as possible. However, being in the area today, I must admit, one could easily get a very negative impression without the presence of the flags.

Here are the police controlling access to the church:

The police were standing behind barricades, allowing people to enter in very small numbers. At one point, tensions were so high that the riot police were called in:

I was told that things escalated to the point of blows being exchanged. I did not see that, but I have no reason to doubt it.

It seems to me that the Israelis are in a no win situation here: If they don't control the crowds, there is a real possibility of a stampede or worse, and they will be accused of shirking their responsibility for public safety. If they do control the crowds, they are accused of preventing pilgrims from worshiping. 

History indicates that during times like these, the various Christian groups that have authority within the church facility can't manage to get along without violence, so I'm not sure what I would advise them to do.

Security Measures

Security issues have been much in the news in the US lately. Here is a photo of Israeli police and border guards checking the identification of young Arab men.

Life Above the Streets

Most tourists in Jerusalem's Old City, seem to be so captivated by the offerings of the various souvenir shops or the ancient stones that they never look above their heads. Thus, they don't realize there is life above the streets.

The majority of the shops lining the streets of the Old City have apartments above, which is where most of the residents live - i.e. above street level.

In this photo the woman is hanging her laundry in the midst of a cobweb of electric wires - some old, some new, some legal, some illegal. 

Temple Mount Tensions - Pt 1

"A Jewish bride and her father were arrested on the Temple Mount the day before her wedding, after an Arab policeman claimed he saw the father muttering prayers and the bride nodding her head."

That is the opening paragraph of an Arutz 7 report that details the arrest in more detail. (The Jerusalem Post version can be found here.) No doubt, there will be some dispute regarding the accuracy of some of the specific details in the Arutz 7 report, but the story itself is indicative of the growing tensions that I've witnessed on the Temple Mount in recent months.

Muslims claim the 34-acre Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary) is their third holiest place, while Jews call it Har HaBayt (The Temple Mount) and claim that it is their holiest place. Currently, the location is under the political and military control of the Israeli government. However, it is religiously overseen by the Islamic WAQF, which keeps a close eye on all the activities in the area to make sure they are consistent with Islamic religious sensitivities. And deference to religious sensitivities - any real or perceived sensitivities - seems to be a de facto concession of control.

Since my Arabic class is in the neighborhood, I have been up on the Temple Mount several times in the last few months. I enter the only place I can, the tourist gate, and exit the gate that is only about 100 yards from my school. And during my visits, I watch to see what's going on: who's visiting, where they go, what the soldiers are doing, how the monitors monitor, etc.

This will be the first of a series of blogs - mostly a photo essay - relating what I've seen and learned during my visits.

In recent months I have had the opportunity to visit with Muslims who have an interest - personal or professional - in what is happening on the Mount. They have told me of their fears that Jews will pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque or elsewhere, that the soldiers are an unnecessary desecration of the place, and that Ariel Sharon ruined it for everybody (i.e. non-Muslims) who would like to go inside the mosques or the Dome of the Rock when he visited (i.e. desecrated) the holy place. 

Here are some of the things I've seen:

The presence of Israeli soldiers on the Temple Mount - for many reasons - is offensive to Muslims, and in this photo you can see that they are eating, which multiplies the offense because it is forbidden for non-Muslims to eat in the Haram al-Sharif.

I find it interesting that non-Muslims are forbidden to eat in the Noble Sanctuary, but it is common to see Muslims having picnics and birthday parties there. Why would it be a desecration for one group to eat there, but not for the other? It's not like Jews and Christians are offering their food to idols before they partake. And one would think the trash often left behind by Muslim diners would be a desecration of their own third-holiest location. (More on this in the near future.)

It has become common for groups of Jewish men to go up on the Temple Mount to walk around, and some suggest, to pray there. My guess is that some do, some don't.

You should notice that they are being escorted (some would say monitored) by the policeman that is following them. It is also common for one of the WAQF monitors to be nearby to make sure that they don't pray.

Before ascending, these men go through the ritual bath to purify themselves. Also, they generally have been schooled in where they can and can not go (from the Jewish perspective), so that they don't accidentally enter into a holy area. Not all Jews agree that it is appropriate to ascend the Temple Mount in its current condition; and it goes without saying, that among those who believe it is permissible to go up, there isn't complete agreement as to the "go, no go" areas.

In the above photo, the guys appear to be lining themselves up with the eastern side of the Dome of the Rock, which many people believe to be built over the location of Herod's Temple. And by lining themselves up in this way, some may conclude they are intending to pray toward the Holy of Holies. While I did not witness their entire visit, I did not see them pray. But, I was drawn to this particular scene because the WAQF monitor was giving the Israeli policeman an earful for allowing them to drift too far away from him "so that they could pray."

Question: If Jews and Muslims believe in the same deity - as many Muslims and Jews claim - why should it be a problem for Jews to pray to him in the Noble Sanctuary?  

I'm fully aware that there is a game of cat and mouse going on here: On occasion(s), some of the Jews who ascend the Temple Mount are trying to be provocative. At the same time, the Muslims sometimes overstate the infraction. So much so, that it has become a maxim that to determine if a Jew is praying on the Temple Mount, one only need to see if his lips are moving. According to the article mentioned above, the maxim is no longer just a colorful story told by tour guides.

I personally know people on both sides of this issue, and I expect that tensions are only going to increase.

Tourists Having a Little Fun

Graffiti: On the Temple Mount

Someone has spray painted "Allah" and "Muhammed" in Arabic on one of the gates leading to the upper platform on the Temple Mount.

I Was Skeptical

One of the things that many tourists say after being in the Old City is "except for the Jewish Quarter, it's so dirty."

In fairness to the other quarters, it should be noted that the Jewish Quarter has been completely rebuilt since 1968, so if for no other reason, it simply looks cleaner and neater because it is much newer. It should also be noted that the Jewish Quarter also seems to get better municipal services.

Having offered that caveat, I want to add that the people in and around the Jewish Quarter don't seem to throw trash on the ground to the degree that people in the other quarters do. Now, that statement is an observation, not the result of scientific data gathering. I simply see what I see: People in the Jewish Quarter tend to not throw trash on the ground, while those in the other quarters have historically just thrown their candy wrappers, coffee cups, cigarette packages, etc, on the ground.

So, I was skeptical when I noticed new trash cans (with liners) in the Muslim Quarter, specifically along the high traffic Al Wad Road, which connects Damascus Gate with the Western Wall Plaza.  That the cans are chained down might suggest some higher ups in the municipality were skeptical as well. The cute stickers say (only in Arabic) "The city is your home, keep it clean."

The Old City has several full time street sweepers, which probably accounts for some of the ease with which its residents toss their litter on the ground. Kids and teens seem to be the worst, but I see a lot of adult men modeling the litter dropping custom, too. I've also been told that in the Arab culture exists the idea that "what's inside my home is mine, what's outside is not." And this maxim probably contributes to the acceptability of simply dropping litter wherever one may be when there's litter to be dropped.

Further observation: While there is still a considerable amount of littering in the target area, the campaign does appear to be helping. I hesitate to use the word working, but slowly it might actually be working. Obviously time will tell, but there is already a noticeable difference in the appearance of Al Wad Road after the first month or so. And, to my great surprise, the cans are still in place and stocked with liners. I thought for sure they would have been stolen or destroyed within the first couple of weeks. I was wrong.

More Tools of the Trade

I recently met a Jewish scribe in the Old City, and here is a picture of his desk. As you can see there are a couple of cups of coffee remnants as well as various shapes/sizes of pens and edging tools. I would like to stand and watch him work, but so far he hasn't agreed.

I was a little surprised at how messy his desk appeared, but was reminded of my own work bench when I was a jeweler. I think people might have been surprised at how messy my bench was considering that I was handling their priceless family treasures.

Here's a photo from 20 years ago:

A Gift of Bread

A wealthy foreign, Muslim donor has generously provided bread for needy families through a coupon redemption program in Jerusalem's Old City.

Bakeries throughout the Old City have been enlisted to supply 10 or 20 pitas for each coupon redeemed. The bakeries are then reimbursed monthly according to the number of coupons they have fulfilled.

The baker that I spoke with about this program said its a good program, but he doesn't like participating because he doesn't feel comfortable that people divert their eyes from him because they are embarrassed by using the coupons.

Tools of the Trade

During the recent tensions related to the Temple Mount - specifically Jews ascending and allegedly praying in the mosque, and the Muslim youth's potential violent response - the police monitoring each gate were prepared with riot shields.

The Christian Quarter

Fresh Hot Pita

The Balfour Declaration

November 2 is remembered by some Israelis as Balfour Day, since the "Balfour Declaration" was drafted on that day in 1917.

Last week that day came and passed without much fanfare, though the declaration was mentioned to me by an Arab friend as he rewrote some Middle East history for me.

"The Balfour Declaration called for a Jewish home in Uganda" he informed me. In fact, the Balfour Declaration calls for the establishment of a Jewish homeland "in Palestine." (Click on the image to see a larger, more easily readable image.)

That he missed this one so wildly, makes me wonder how accurate he is in reporting what happened at this or that conflict point as he keeps me up to date on what's happening in the local struggle between the Jews and Arabs.

The Problem for Old City Settlers

I noticed the pejorative “settler” intentionally used in a brochure advertising tours of settler communities inside the Old City. The intention of the tour obviously was to negatively highlight the growing presence of Jews in both the Muslim and Christian Quarters of the Old City.

I didn't participate in that tour – though I would like to do so one day – but I did tag along on a tour that was intended to positively highlight both the historical and currently growing presence of Jews in the Muslim and Christian Quarters of the Old City. In other words, it was intended to be the polar opposite of the “settler” tour.

On this tour I easily noticed the anger of Arab shopkeepers (of all ages) as our guide led us through the market. I also noticed that the younger the shopkeeper, the more likely he was to verbalize his anger toward these Jewish interlopers. And thus was born the idea to stop by one of the “settler” shops in the Muslim Quarter and talk with the owner.

A few days later after my Arabic class, I stopped by a “settler” shop and visited with the owner to see what it was like for him to open his business in the midst of people who despise his existence in that spot. I wanted to know how he gets along in this neighborhood. What he told me surprised me.

Our conversation was conducted only in Hebrew, which took some dogged determination on my part since I was in Arabic immersion mode. I thought speaking in Hebrew (rather than English) would help him feel more comfortable with my questions; and I thought accidentally dropping an Arabic word in the conversation would be unhelpful.

He was a very friendly guy whose name slips me at the moment. His religious and political identifications were “provocatively” and openly displayed from the front door to the back wall of his shop, so there was no need to ask if he was Jewish. So, after a bit of small talk, I was easily able to move into the questions that interested me.

“What's it like to have your business here? Do you have problems with the neighbors?” I asked, wasting no time getting to the heart of my interest. He seemed to dismiss my serious question with a question of his own: “Who doesn't have problems?” I know everybody has problems, but I wanted to know about HIS problems as an orthodox Jew setting up shop in the midst of Muslim shopkeepers in the Muslim Quarter!

“The problems aren't the problem," he continued, "the solution to the problems is the problem.” Now, that may take some time to digest, but it is definitely worth thinking on. This statement moved our conversation in another more philosophical direction, but at this point, I was along for the ride.

While we were talking, I was watching the neighbors to see how they reacted toward him. And though I didn't really notice any obvious signs of distaste, I didn't notice any warmth toward him either. Perhaps they had just decided to ignore him. (I think I'll try to visit the Muslim shopkeepers next.) He tried to persuade me that he doesn't have any issues with his Muslim neighbors. At least nothing new. That's an interesting thought.

And then, the surprising statement: “Our problems with the Muslims aren't as serious as our problems with the Christians.” I didn't respond; I just waited for him to explain, which he did: “Our problem with Muslims is physical. When a finger is cut off, it's a problem, but it's only physical.” “Okay, . . . continue” I thought to myself as I nodded to prod him along. “Our problem with Christians is spiritual. Taking my finger is a problem, but taking my soul is much worse. And we've had this problem for 2000 years; much longer than our problems with the Muslims” he explained.

That thought isn't foreign to me. In fact, any mention of Christian missionaries, Jews for Jesus, or Messianic Jews in the Jerusalem Post or Arutz 7 is sure to draw similar statements in the comments forum. It's not uncommon to hear religious Jews say (or write) “missionaries are worse than Hitler. He only wanted to kill our bodies.”

What may be surprising to some of my readers, especially those who see themselves as Zionists, was that this “settler” who lives in the midst of daily tensions (social and political) about his presence among Muslims, was so quick to dismiss those problems and highlight what he sees as a far more serious problem: the Christians and their message.

We talked more about the Bible and the messiah, and when he was ready to get back to work, he drew our conversation to a close with this witty thought: “Do you know what Jews say when we're talking about the messiah with Christians?” Yes, but I thought I would let him deliver the punchline: “When messiah returns, we'll ask him if it is his first or second visit. Then we'll know for sure.”

With that, he shook my hand and went back to work.

A New Window for the Mosque

On a recent visit to the Temple Mount, I had the good fortune of meeting the glazier for the mosque. Sometimes we don't think about religious buildings needing repairs (of all types), but they clearly do. As you can see in the photo, the mosque has many windows, and some of them are being replaced.

The glazier was a nice enough fellow, particularly when he invited me to see his work more closely. This is the window he is currently crafting to replace one of windows in the above photo.

Though I've been inside the mosque a few times, I didn't remember the windows being stained glass. But, when I showed the photo to a number of Muslim friends (without explanation), they all immediately said, "That's from the mosque, how did you get that picture?" I smiled and said, "I just used the Arabic that I'm learning."

From outside, it's hard, if not impossible, to see that the inner windows are stained glass because each unit has a second, clear outer glass and the source of light is from the outside, which causes a reflection. 

The glazier was very proud of his work, which appears to be of a high quality. He also seemed satisfied to be the glazier for the "third holiest sight" within the Islamic system. And, I guess that might give one reason to be satisfied. 

I'm scheduled to go on a special visit to the mosque in the near future, so I'm looking forward to seeing these windows from the inside.

For Sale: Arab Head Covers

A Quiet Day in the Old City

Fresh Bread

A number of bakeries in the Old City produce fresh, yummy bread daily.

My Guardian Angel

Since I started studying Arabic in the Old City, I've become friends with a man who I call my guardian angel. Almost immediately upon meeting, we connected in a way that predicted that he would become a very important friend to me.

I have been very surprised at how he has taken me under his wing. I see him almost every time I'm in the Old City, and he always has something to tell me. Our conversations are often cut short because I need to get to school, but they are always enjoyable. He has warned me about certain areas of the market where drugs are prevalent, given me the background on a number of individuals in the area, and a variety of other pieces of information that are helpful for me to know. 

He's a Muslim, a father and grandfather, has lived in Silwan (aka City of David) since the beginning of time, and seems to enjoy talking with me in any language: Arabic, Hebrew or English (in that order). His formal education ended after 3rd grade, but he has a PhD in street education. As a boy, he sold souvenirs to tourists. He also worked in the family bakery in the Old City. Now he works in the Old City. His story is fascinating, and I'm interested to hear more.

Abu Sa'ad

This is Abu Sa'ad. We recently met in the Old City of Jerusalem. He initiated our meeting by doing a few things that no one has ever done to me in the Old City: First, as I was chimping the photos I had just shot, he stuck his head over my shoulder to see what I was looking at. He seemed to appreciate the shots (which may appear here at some point in the future), and gave me an open door to speak.

I tried to use some of my newly acquired Arabic, which went pretty well. I told him that I was learning Arabic and he was happy to engage in small talk with me. Mostly he told me about himself like where and when he was born: His identity card says he was born in 1926, though he insists it was really 1925. He also showed me his business card and made a little more small talk before moving along.

When he was about 25 yards from me, it dawned on me that he was going the same way I was going, and that I might be able to get up ahead and snipe a shot of him. So I gathered my things and tried to get ahead of him.

However, I attracted his attention as I tried to pass him in the narrow alley, and he started to talk to me again. Then he did the second thing that has never happened to me in the Old City: He asked me if I wanted to take his picture. In elementary Arabic, I clarified if he had just asked if I wanted to take his picture. I had understood him correctly, and happily said yes. He struck a pose and waited patiently as I made a few adjustments and openly took the shots I had hoped to snipe.

After I took the photos, we continued to walk together for about 5 minutes. As we talked, he revisited the year of his birth with me, even showing me his identity card to verbally correct the date that was shown there. I asked him where he was going and found out that he prays at Al Aqsa Mosque every day. I asked how many times he prays there each day, but his answer was long and drawn out and not understood by me. We talked about the prayer beads he was carrying, but I didn't really understand what he said about them either. I did the best I could, but didn't understand much of what was said. However, I did enjoy seeing that the new words I was using were understood by my new friend.

I hope that as my language skills improve, I'll see Abu Sa'ad again. I'm sure he is filled with interesting stories, and I want to understand some of them.