Jerusalem

This is about Jerusalem, and I'm writing it for the blogburst.

Jerusalem was my first home in Israel, as a student and also as an olah chadasha and new bride.

In late summer, 1969 I arrived as a student at Machon Greenberg, a full-year's program. It's just that before getting on the plane I got engaged, so the "year was over" after only a couple of months. It was very easy to get used to living in Jerusalem, a walker's paradise. From our Baka location my friends and I could go anywhere. The kotel was our Shabbat destination, and we had no fear wandering the old city.

A year later I was back, but as a married woman. We lived in the Maon Betar on the corner of Rechov Plugat HaKotel and Rechov HaYehudim, Old City. There was no Jewish Quarter. Conditions were rough, and construction was going on around us, though our building had been renovated already. Friday nights we dovened at the kotel and in the morning at "Nachal Moriya," a religious Nachal post in the Old City. Our one Jewish neighbor was Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Segel and his wife, Rachel. We were unique in the area, the only young, American couple.

The following summer, after our first daughter was born, we moved to the Bayit V'Gan neighbvohood. I needed to be in a place with sidewalks and parks. With the exception of two years on shlichut in London, we lived there for ten years. Then we moved to Shiloh, ad hayom hazeh. Yes, we're still in Shiloh.

For us Jerusalem is the big city for major shopping and "events." Its growth is amazing. Ancient and new all mixed up.

It bothers me that their is a defacto separation, two cities. When we were oliml chadashim, we were invited to "Beit HaShiva," the House of Seven. It's a Jewish home in an Arab neighborhood. The people who first moved there, soon after the Six Days War were certain that Jerusalem would be like pre-1948, where Jews and Arabs lived side-by-side. The luxury apartment house was almost complete and the owner had fled, so they got the apartments at a good deal from the housing authority. The seven couples were mostly former Lechi (Stern Gang) veterans, not left-wing people. They didn't believe in blurring lines. Unfortunately they weren't joined by other Jews. Post war housing became totally segregated.

Now there's a wall dividing Jerusalem. It's all part of the terrible politics that Sharon has gotten us into. It won't bring peace and security.

Tisha B'Av reminds us that we have a long way to go.