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May 14, 2004/Iyar 23 5764, Vol. 56, No. 34
Celebrate JerusalemEditorialAgainst all odds, Israel overcame its enemies during the Six Day War in June 1967. When the cease-fire was announced, Israel found itself in control of the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and a reunited Jerusalem, including the Old City and with it, the Kotel and the Temple Mount.The Israelis subsequently declared the youngest holiday on the Jewish calendar, Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) to mark the day when the modern state at last gained full access to Judaism's holiest city and Jerusalem's holiest site. While the past 37 years of administering the Palestinian population of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been fraught with controversy and unrest, life in united Jerusalem, though far from perfect, has been more positive. Jerusalem's inhabitants have fostered a truly pluralistic city. Within its boundaries are Jews, Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Protestants - and nearly every variety and expression of these long-standing religious faiths. There is also a diversity of races, ethnicities and nationalities working, studying and sightseeing side by side. Name another city in the Middle East or the Near East that can make a similar claim. For a time, Beirut was the region's shining example of cosmopolitanism and pluralism, until it descended into sectarian violence from which it is just beginning to recover. In a part of the world that is becoming more polarized and violent, Jerusalem serves as a model. Its population has a critical mass of different peoples who prefer to work together on a grassroots, person-to-person, organization-to-organization level. However, though violence does break out - through terrorist suicide bombing, the weapon of choice - Jerusalem's residents largely reject the spiraling downward into barbarism that has infected the region. Foreign nationals like Nick Berg, tragically beheaded in Iraq this week, are welcomed. Jerusalemites do not kidnap them off the streets and film their horrific executions for the world to see. They would rather build a day-to-day life - leave home in the morning, go to work and return safely in the evening. They prefer to build a city known for its rich historical legacy, religious diversity and cultural attractions. While life in Jerusalem is far from utopian, the City of Gold is a pragmatic example of what is possible. Yom Yerushalayim falls on May 19. Just as visitors to the Kotel place prayers within its ancient stones, we can offer our prayers for peace, security and stability - for Jerusalem, for Israel, for the region and for the world. |
