On a #journey to #israel #jerusalem

The past & present in JERUSALEM 

In Jerusalem, one can almost see the fine lines that separate the different cultures and more so, the different origins of the Jewish community... and I don't only mean the old town, with its various quarters: Muslim, Jewish, Armenian etc., where one can expect those visible boundaries, but the "new" neighborhoods. 

Walking across several Jewish ultra orthodox areas (Mea shearim, Geula) was quite an experience: the passersby all wearing the customary clothes made one feel like an intruder (which I was, in spite of the best possible intentions)… 

I would look through the windows of the traditional bakeries offering Ashkenazi (thus Eastern European) pastry and encounter surprised looks… I obviously represented a different reality, while the entire streets belonged to the past, with the walls covered in the typical poster-messages addressed to the community and the families shopping for dinner… The same feeling overwhelmed me at the Western Wall: men and women separated by gender and from the earthly existence, part of the crowd, but alone in their own grief... I saw faces scarred by desperation, repentance... and even after the feat of confession, signs of hope or relief were difficult to notice… which is understandable. Each religion has a different perception of God, faith and of life in general… 

Jerusalem is the Holy City of David, the mythical realm of Solomon, as the Temple Mount is a sacred place, no doubt about that... however, it is sad that it's become a ground for enmity between cultures and religions, an active battlefield that gets its strength from both forms of radicalism: Muslim as well as Jewish... it was strange to witness people's baffled looks in the Orthodox areas, as well as the guards at the Temple Mount/Al Asqa mosque, harshly reprimanding all affectionate gestures among the selfie loving tourists outside these holy buildings (not inside!!)... religion, identity, should not be about that... 

I really preferred the amicable gestures of the souk vendors, of the hip young waiters in so many cafes around Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem and in the modern restaurants in the new part of Jerusalem... 

I do understand why most people (and especially internationals) choose to live in Tel Aviv, a metropolis with a smaller historical burden to carry on its shoulders, that, thanks to its dilution and incomprehensible chaos renders itself more available to the traveler in search of a home... or at least, a refuge - a word which reminds me of the meaning of various public refuges I saw in the residential areas across Jaffa...