Today in Jerusalem
Disappointingly, even on the eve of the Succot holiday - for which tourists used to come in large numbers - Jerusalem remains relatively empty of visitors. The Ben Yehuda/Zion Square area is sparsely populated, mostly with Israelis and American Orthodox teens spending their post high-school year here. In the Old City and at the Western Wall, I only saw a handful of visitors. A taxi driver told me today that there are almost no Americans here. On the other hand, the flights were full, so perhaps things will pick up next week.
In the Jewish Quarter near the Western Wall, an elderly Arab man approached the few tourists asking to give them a tour of Jerusalem, where he said he lived for 75 years. When I declined his request, he begged for money, explaining that he has earned very little money over the last three years because of "the problems." I gave him a shekel (a little less than 25 cents).
Afterward, when I visited the small museums commemorating the Arabs destruction of the Jewish Quarter during Israel's 1948 War of Independence, I wondered what role this man (who was then around 20 years old) played in that war? Did he kill Jewish residents, or loot from their homes? Did he move into a formerly Jewish home located in what was then the Jewish Quarter, but is now part of the Muslim Quarter? I also regretted not asking him why Palestinians have not spoken out publicly against "the problems" that their leaders, "martyrs" and "heroes" have caused.
posted on 10/09/2003
