Jerusalem: Sweet, Holy City of Conflicts

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday June 24, 2002 19:04 by Yommi Oni Lagos

To millions of Christians and moslems world wide, Israel is the home of many religious events and a place of spiritual renewal that a faithful should strive to visit in his lifetime. Yommi Oni spent sometime in that country and writes that Nigerian has some lessons to learn from Israel on how to manage resources

Yaacov is a seventeen-year-old Israeli born student while his dark-skinned friend, Ben-Yigal was born in Ethiopia. But aside the friendship, a stronger tie that binds them together is the fact that they are Jewish and this is most important to both of them.

They are like any other teenager in other parts of the world. They love to listen to the latest hip-hop music from the United States, know a lot about football, basketball, go to discotheques and are internet addicts.

But what set them and their peers apart is the fact that they seem to be so much in a hurry to attain the 'magical' age of eighteen so that they can go into the army for the compulsory three-year military service so cherished by many Israelis. "My elder brother is presently in the 'territories'- the Palestine controlled towns-serving in a unit, and I hope to do same very soon," Yaacov added for effect.

Welcome to Israel, a fascinating land that means different things to different people, religions, historians; a rich trove for archaeologists and a melting point for people of varying cultural, religious backgrounds. Welcome to the beautiful coastal city of Eilat to the rolling green Jordan valley through sun-scorched deserts of Beersheba in Negev, and Masada.

The defence of this tiny historical country is so cherished in the heart of every Jewish boy or girl, man and woman that one is almost tempted to think they are weird. But on closer interaction, you discover that their passion to fight and even die in the cause of defending the State of Israel stems from the alienation witnessed by their forebearers over the centuries in various regions and countries of the world.

According to a recent report by the influential French newspaper, Le Monde: "Every time the world goes mad, the Jews suffer".

Speaking about the holocaust with a Jew is akin to reopening a painful wound. One can feel his passion, anguish and the determination never to let such a thing happen to his race again all rushing through him. Going to spend a month in Israel would not be an exciting adventure to many people. This is in view of the danger of being caught by deadly shrapnel from a Palestinian suicide bomber. Even friends and colleagues in the office likened it to a trip to Afghanistan. All these fears and concerns made the resolve to go stronger due to an interest in the series of age-long clashes between Palestinians and Jews, a conflict that is so complex and hydra-headed that it may not be resolved in this generation or even next.

Landing at the Ben Gurion airport, the first thing that one notices is the level of efficiency displayed by courteous immigration, customs and other airport officials who are mainly young men and women. Moreso, Israelis have proven that age is nothing but a set of numbers as the bulk of their airport officials both immigration and the other security apparatus are youthful females and males most of whom are in their early twenties.

This youthfulness rather than being hindrance is more of advantage to the workings of the airport as passengers are treated with respect and their needs attended to smartly.

Living in Israel requires an adjustment to a new sets of rules and ways of doing things. But it is surely not an easy task living as a Jew especially if one is not Jewish by birth or even by inclination.

It is an eternal truth that when one is in Rome, he has to behave like Romans. This was brought home to all the participants in the MASHAV programme by the fact that the Israeli society works six days in a week and respects only Saturday as the holy day or the Sabbath. Thus they made those of us who are Christians dance to their tunes by also working and attending seminars on Sundays.

On this holy day, many Jewish cities such as Tel Aviv, Jaffo, Eilat, Safed, Caeserea, Ashkelon and Nazareth are virtually shutdown. Shops, banks, companies and other commercial concerns are closed and public transport system does not work most of the day.

It is even worse in Jerusalem where majority of inhabitants are othordox Jews. In this city, people will hardly pick their phones when it rings on a Sabbath.

With the declaration of independence in 1947, a law was enacted to encourage Jews everywhere to come and settle in Israel. The law which is termed the Law of Return gives everyone who can prove his Jewish ancestry the right to return to Israel and this law still operates with the more recent immigrants coming from Ethiopia and Russia.

This Law makes the immigration policies of Israel unique. When this law was criticised as being exclusive by some participants at the seminar, the response was that the idea behind the creation of the state of Israel was to find a home for Jewish people and nothing more.

The Israeli society made up of about six million people, can be divided along ethno-religious lines. The majority are Jews, while Israeli-Arabs, the Druze and the Bedouin nomads form minorities.

Interestingly, the five million Jewish citizens of this country are also sub-divided into two, the secular and the orthodox.

While the secular are modern in their world outlook and believe in Judaism, observing the holy days, the religious, most of whom are either othordox or ultra-othordox can be said to be fanatical in their beliefs.

The appearance and code of dressing of an othordox Jew consists of a black hat, full grown beard. His clothing are always a combination of black and white colours. The belief is that other colours are distractive and take one's mind away from God. An orthodox Jew always covers his head with a small cap called kipper. This is to show respect to God while those who are secular are more comfortable in western clothes.

Even the cities are different in terms of their inhabitants. Cities such as Tel Aviv and Eilat are populated by secular Jews, while the orthodox and the ultra orthodox live in Jerusalem or in its suburb. The high point of the life of a young Jew is during the Bar-Mitzvah or the coming of age which is at her/his wedding.

The Israeli society is a highly informal set-up. As a joke, visitors are always told not to address anybody as a Mister, Mrs or Madam, nor conclude responses by adding 'sir or ma' am' to them. The emphasis is on first name irrespective of age differences.

To many who are far from Israel and are not too conversant with its history, one could be tempted to put up simplistic solutions such as dividing the land into equal parts for the Jews and the Arabs as a way of ending the age-long conflict in the region.

But a closer look and first-hand experience of the situation will reveal that the problem goes beyond the issue of land.

It is a conflict that has to do with the right of other people to live in their own country. It is a struggle between two races over the control of a city, Jerusalem. It is the subtle struggle for supremacy between three monotheistic religions for the control of places central to their religious teachings. It is a struggle for the control of water, a very scarce resource in the Middle-East.

The land now known as Israel itself is such a tiny stretch of land and the people, both Palestinians and Jews live in a manner that is so interconnected that a Jewish town can lay so close to a Palestinian town. There are villages regarded by the Palestinians as theirs right in the heart of Jewish settlements just as the Jews have villages dating back hundreds of years in Palestinian areas.

The case of Kakilyah, a small Palestinian town which is less than two kilometres from Kfar Sava, a Jewish town is an example of the situation in Israel. A first time visitor to this area will never believe that these two towns are not under the control of the same government because there are no fences that depict some sort of border demarcation.

Economically, the Israeli society derives much benefits from tourism, a thriving industry before the outbreak of the al-aqsa intifada. Before the recent intifada, the economies of both societies - the Jews and the Palestinians were very much booming through cooperation amongst the people. Even now, there economies are still interdependent as the people from both sides of the divide trade together and work.

Many Palestinians were coming to work in Israeli towns during the day. Many also use Israeli health facilities and consume electricity and other utilities being generated from Israel.

Yerushalayim or Jerusalem as it is ppularly called, is a city of a hundred names and a thousand faces, holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam is undoubtedly the jewel in the crown that is Israel.

Jerusalem was founded about five thousand years ago and served as the capital of King David and his so, Solomon between 1000 BC. and 928 BC.

Since then, this city has seen many masters and conquerors starting with the biblical King Nebuchadnezzer to Alexander the great in 332 BC.

The fight for the control of this city did not end there as others that included the Crusaders, the Ottomans, the Mamelukes, the Byzantines and the British all took turn at one time or the other to rule over it.

Jerusalem is composed of four quarters, each with its own distinctive characters. There is the Christian quarter, the Armenian quarter, the Moslem quarter and the Jewish quarter.

Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah, David's establishment of the small Jebusite town as his capital and Solomon's construction of the Temple all contributed to enshrine Jerusalem in the hearts of Jews.

Throughout the nineteen centuries since the destruction of the temple and the exile, Jews the world over pray in the direction of Jerusalem.

Christians connect Jerusalem with the last years in the life of Jesus. Here he taught, was arrested, crucified and he resurrected.

Islam began to take roots in Jerusalem in 638 AD with the conquering of the city and the subsequent building of the El-aqsa, a magnificent silver-domed mosque that was built between 709 and 715 AD by Caliph Waleed.

It is widely believed in the Islamic world that the mosque is on the spot from which Prophet Mohammed ascended to the Seventh Heaven on his famed horse, El-Buraq.

After Mecca and Medina, Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest city.

Jerusalem's sanctity and mysticism has inspired prophets, artists, poets and scholars for centuries.

But it has also become a major cultural centre with museums, galleries, theatres and also universities.

A day in Jerusalem is a complete and unending education on its own because the cosmopolitan city has its west which is mainly populated by the Jews and its east with its teeming Israeli-Arab population. many of them still regard themselves as Palestinians and hold Jordanian passports.

Since the end of the six-day war, the Israeli government has been making all efforts to ensure that this city is recognised as the capital of the state of Israel.

These efforts also led to the enactment of the Jerusalem law in 1980 reaffirming Israeli sovereignty over the city and asking all foreign embassies to relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The presence of the supreme legislative, administrative and judicial bodies have made it into a modern capital.

The infrastructural development of this city is a marvel to behold. It is a representation of the level of development man can attain irrespective of the topography of a place.

The road networks are in excellent shape considering the hilly nature of the city and the entire country itself.

Sophisticated stores compete with oriental bazaars for the attention of shoppers. The variety of costumes which rub shoulders in its streets - Hassidic capotas, Moslem jalabiyas, dozens of different monks' robes, denim jeans and many, many more - can only be matched by the infinite motives which move people to inhabit or visit Jerusalem.

The harmony of church bells, the muezzin's call to prayers, communal study in yeshivot and dealers offering their wares all combine in the setting for this cosmopolitan city.

West Jerusalem has developed and expanded enormously in recent years. Restaurants, cafes and modern shops in street malls all combine to make "new Jerusalem" an exciting, busy city whose cosmopolitan atmosphere is unique.

Important new buildings, constructed from Jerusalem stone, blend into their surroundings, whilst the well-kept parks and gardens play an important part in beautifying the city.

The sprawling Hebrew University with campuses in Mount Scopus and Haddasa showcase fabled intellectual prowess of the Jews.

Considering the conflict in the region and years of violence, the Jewish society is in no way different. Things such as transport system, electricity and water supply, are regular and ever present.

Annually, many Nigerian government officials go to Israel on pilgrimage, spend thousands of dollars and marvel at this level of development. Sadly enough, nobody has thought of learning the secret behind the success of it even with the conflict persisting.

Interestingly, the Israeli currency, shekel is more valuable than our local naira. Those of us from Nigeria found it hard to believe that a shekel is about thirty naira and five shekels equals one American dollar!

The structural development of the state of Israel is something Nigeria will do well to study.

In terms of food supply, the turning of desert into greenery is a widely known feat as the Israeli society hardly imports food. Many Kibbutz own lands that are used mainly for farming.

It is not how rich a country is that determines its level of development but the establishment of a system that is both practical and efficient which can give the people of such country a sense of pride and belonging in their own land.

The important thing is to have the ability to generate and implement ideas that will touch upon lives of the citizens and not just high sounding theories that have over the years made Nigeria a paper giant