Last of the seculars
Will there be any secular Jews left in Jerusalem in 10-15 years?
In an ethnocentric city with such stark contrasts as Jerusalem one would do well to keep a low profile upon boarding a taxi, but one should try to determine the national and political identity of the driver. There is no point in entering a raucous conflict in a 10-minute drive and therefore words should be chosen carefully, even if the questions seem irrelevant.
I have often gotten into trouble because of wrongly determining a driver's national identity: According to a driver's Hebrew accent I was certain he was a descendent of the Chosen People and proceeded to engage in conversation on topics such as reserve duty. Only at the end of the journey it became apparent that he was a descendent of the Ishmael race.
I was embarrassed, but then recalled that the eastern part of Jerusalem was annexed more than 40 years ago and that these Palestinian cab drivers were born under Israeli rule; they work throughout the city and are familiar with all the customs of the ruling people.
Last week I decided to ignore the rules of caution: The driver, who according to the sign under the front window screen belonged to a taxi company located in an strictly Orthodox neighborhood, but he didn't give me the impression of being a religious man, let alone Orthodox, despite the large skullcap perched on his head. As a veteran Jerusalemite born in the city, I sensed that he was a secular Jew impersonating a religious Jew.
The moment I mentioned the target destination, the driver responded with: "Great! They still haven't taken it over." Are "they" the strictly Orthodox community? I asked. "Yes," he replied, "they are gradually taking over the entire city – your neighborhood and a few more isolated neighborhoods have still not become strictly Orthodox, but take for example the Ramat Eshkol neighborhood that was once secular; they have completely taken it over."
'Jerusalem is over for us'
He looked at me through his rearview mirror to make sure I was listening and continued: You see me in this costume with the black skullcap? I have become used to it because I have to make a living – 75 percent of taxi rides in this city are made by the strictly Orthodox; without them we wouldn’t be able to make a living. You are the first secular Jew I have picked up today. Since the morning I have been driving just strictly Orthodox people."
He apologized that his air-conditioning wasn't working and added: "You think this cab belongs to me? No, it belongs to an Arab. The strictly Orthodox have taken over the neighborhoods and the Arabs have taken over the taxi companies. The majority of the city's cabs belong to them, and they lease them to us. The cab owner promised to fix the air-conditioning but he didn't.
"I wear a skullcap because the strictly Orthodox do not want to take rides with Arab drivers. With the strictly Orthodox sign and the black skullcap I can make a living. But the Arab drivers have become smart, and they too have began wearing skullcaps. To make sure that my strictly Orthodox passengers are certain that I am Jewish I discuss the weekly Torah portion with them, there are still things I remember from my youth after all."
When the driver dropped me off by my house he said: "Listen up – in 10 to 15 years it will be over. There will be no more secular Jews left in Jerusalem. It will become a city entirely inhabited by strictly Orthodox and Arab citizens. Perhaps a few thousand imposters like myself will remain, but all the rest will go the center of Israel or go abroad. Jerusalem is over for us. Have a nice day."
