Magical, terrible Jerusalem

After my second day in Jerusalem I was on the point of despair – so much prejudice is packed into this city

Diana Zinkler |Published: 11.21.08 , 14:14

It began with the taxi-driver. He didn't know where the place I wanted to go was located. "Oh, it's in the eastern part," he said. "So what?" I thought, "go." He wasn't familiar with the eastern part of town, and said that normally he would not go there. But for me he did. I think he felt sorry for me. So, after a few stops to ask passersby how to get to the Auguste-Viktoria-Foundation, and after a security check by some guards at the entrance to the Arab area, I was there, finally. Now it was my turn to ask myself where I had landed. Jerusalem.

I wasn't prepared for Jerusalem. For what, you ask? To put it positively - for the diversity, and to be honest - for the difficulties and the kilometer-deep gap which runs through the town and the people who live here.

After spending one day on The Mount of Olives I hit the town. I was invited to a dinner to which Palestinian and Jewish people were also invited. Unfortunately the restaurant, in the western part of the city, cancelled our reservation last minute. So, the hosts got a table at a restaurant in the eastern part instead and informed all the guests about the change via text messages. The three Jewish guests, who minutes before confirmed that they were on their way, called immediately to say that they would not come. "We never go to the eastern part," they announced.

The hosts were Christian Germans well-familiar with the "diversity" issue. But instead of being a bit more emphatic and sensitive about the situation, they chose to ignore it. Afterwards I asked myself whether their decision was right or wrong.

I now believe that they did the right thing. They are not part of the conflict and if they would always think twice who might be offended by their decisions, they would in fact be giving in to the conflict, and turning the problems of others into their own.

By the way, the Palestinian guy who came to the dinner, wasn't any different. As the group decided to go have one last drink at a bar in west Jerusalem after the meal, he went home.

Disneyland of religion

Jerusalem is special. A great place somehow, but a terrible place, too. Why do I say this? Because for me the diversity feels rigid, narrow-minded and hard-hearted. It made me unhappy to talk to so many really nice people, and when the conversation came to the point where people of other nationalities were mentioned, so much negative things came up: The Arabs do this, the Jews get that - everyone feels that they are being treated unfairly.

And all the prejudices by people who believe in God. As if their belief or religion have nothing to do with their everyday reality.

After the second day I was on the edge of desperation. The narrow streets, packed with thousands of tourists and pilgrims in the Old City didn't make me feel better. It sometimes seemed like a circus, just one big "religion show" - Disneyland for religious people from all over the world. With one difference, Disneyland is more fun.

All this might sound harsh and crude, but this is how I felt. That religions can have such an important place in a society alienates me. In Germany religion is a private thing and only very few people exhibit it through their clothing or behavior to the rest of society. This isn't necessarily better. But when religion causes so much trouble, perhaps it is.

On my fourth day in Jerusalem I started to get used to it. I started to see the nice things in Jerusalem: Very good looking guys, even at the Western Wall, nice restaurants and cool bars, good shops. Most of the time I left the Old City behind and spent the rest of the day in the western part. Did some sight-seeing, avoided crowded places, even felt magical moments in Jerusalem (I love the way the Dome of the Rock reflects the sun). I heard a speech by Shimon Peres about peace and I spoke with an Israeli author about literature. What a wonderful world.

But today the uncomfortable feeling returned. Someone told me that if you see one ambulance that's okay, two is also not a bad sign, but if you see three ambulances in a row something horrible has happened. In the afternoon I heard an ambulance siren.. I quickly turned around and stared at the street.

There was only one.

Now, you might think, she simply doesn't understand. She doesn't know about our history, our past, she wasn't here when bad things happened. Yes, you are right, I wasn't here and I don't understand. But I will keep on trying.

Diana Zinkler is a German reporter who is in Israel as a correspondent for the "Hamburger Abendblatt". During her two months' stay in the country, Diana will write a column for Ynetnews about her excperiences in Israel.