General Impressions of Jerusalem

Sunrise February 5, 2009

Much of Jerusalem is built with beautiful tan stone. When the sun is setting and reflecting off the stone, the city does look golden. Up close however, it is dirty with litter everywhere.

This doesn’t seem like a large city or a city of 750,000 people. I can walk across town, east to west, in about 2 hours. Aside from the markets, I have not encountered crushing crowds.

Hannah on Old City ramparts

The bus system is efficient and has propelled me in any direction I cared to travel. One bus, the 99, offers a city tour. As in many cities, the city tour takes place on a double-decker bus and has narration in many different languages. The bus tour gave me a helpful orientation to the geography of the city as well as the location of key sites.

English and cell phones are ubiquitous, even among the black-capped Heredim. There are also many young adults Jerusalem – students attending Yeshivas, Colleges and University. I have also crossed paths with several Birthright groups.

When I left Anchorage one friend, who had spent time in Israel, told me that my mission was to find a well-mannered Israeli. There is a stereotype of Israelis as brash and rude. At this point I haven’t met any. It could be that having lived in New York City I’m immune to this type of behavior; I’ve developed the armor to fend it off. It could also be that my positive attitude about being and about people in general has created immunity. Finally, my wife might offer the explanation that I’m simply oblivious. At this point however, I believe that I haven’t encountered any brash, rude Israelis.

Heredi man walking on the Sabbath

On Saturdays I stay out of Me’a She’arim – a large Heredi neighborhood between our apartment and the old city. I think of the various Heredim sects as a subculture of the dominant state-sponsored Jewish culture. It think it is incorrect to describe Me’a She’arim as a shtetl. Instead it is a homogenous ethnic neighborhood much like ethnic neighborhoods found in many large cities in the U.S. (think Chinatown in San Francisco or little Italy in New York or Greek Town in Detroit). I believe the Heredi are the Jewish fundamentalists, with all the weaknesses and all the faults of Christian fundamentalists or Muslim fundamentalists.

Father and son on the Sabbath

Families on the Sabbath