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Published: October 5th 2007
Jerusalem
OLd Town, from the Tower of David(K) So what do you know, my bike, again was going no-where. I needed a new tube but Camp Kalia at Israel's Dead Sea did not sell them funnily enough. So I had no choice but to hitch-hike to Jerusalem- with my bike. Eventually three Israeli girls in their 4WD stopped, I threw the bike on the back and was the way to Jerusalem / Al-Quds / Yerushaláyim- whatever you want to call it. They dropped me off on the motorway JUST OUTSIDE the city. Nice of them but how annoying! It was hot, busy and no-one was piking me and Ralph up, not even John Key in his ute. In the end a taxi stopped. The driver said, I see you've got problems with your bike; well I've got problems with my turbo, so we've both got problems- so jump in-- Ralph in the boot.So I got there- the centre of three religions.
Jerusalem did not disappoint. The old town is made up of four distinct quarters: Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian- they're all so nice in different ways as people from all faiths get around and do their thing. The rest of the city is divided into east
and west. The former Muslim (Palestinian) and the latter the western-looking Jewish (Israeli) part. Then within that community are the Jewish ultra-orthodox communities who generally stick to themselves but it is a bit of a shock to see how they get around. The divided city is of course at odds with each other. Bombings and conflict has halted for a bit but things are not all that harmonious. Protests from both sides are common and security is tight with plenty of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) doing their thing with their guns. But you get used to it.
I stayed four nights and saw most of the highlights (so I think). I also managed two day trips: one into the southern West Bank town of Hebron (with its notorious Jewish settlement attached), via Bethlehem and through its notorious separation wall (or security fence- as the Israeli Govt sees it). The other trip I visited the Palestinian Head Quarters in Ramallah. Luck was very much on my side there as political prisoners were being released at the Compound by the Israelis that very day! So with it came security, crowds of supporters, media, political speeches and plenty of jubilation. I even
Ramallah
trying to be a Militant managed to speak with the Palestinian government's Chief of Staff for a minute or so which was all pretty good of course.
The Israel-Palestine dispute basically goes back to 1948 and the unilateral declaration of an independent Jewish state. Immigration of Jews (or as they saw it, retiring from exile to the 'promised land') had been ongoing since the 1900s. At first, the Palestinians (who were then under the Ottoman Empire's control), were welcoming the new immigrants. But then after WW1 and the British Mandate over the region, immigration was becoming 'uncontrollable' and the two communities were clashing. The British were very hopeless and managing the situation and then came WW2 and the British withdrawal. Following the Nazi genocide, more and more Jews came over to their 'promised land' and this was creating huge problems. Subsequently Jews outnumbered Palestinians and essentially took over the place. Three wars (1948, 1967 and 1973), --where the Israelis have always gained the upper hand, a huge Palestinian refugee problem, the rise of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (and there campaign of terror), uprisings (the latest from 2001) has seen little progress made in the conflict. Thousands have been killed (the majority of them Palestinian)
and hundreds of Palestinian homes destroyed. A peace agreement was reached in 1993 but little progress was made, but Palestinians do have some level of freedom in the West Bank and East Jerusalem- and currently there is a ceasefire in place. The IDF still control much of the Palestinians' movement and the've built a notorious (not to mention illegal) wall separating much of the West Bank from Jerusalem (both east and west). Illegal Israeli settlememts on the West Bank also remain to be problematic, along with the refugee crisis, the status of Jerusalem and militant groups operating in the Palestinan territories. There is a regional and internatuion call for a two state solution- living peacefully side by side, but a solution to the 60-odd year conflict remains to be unseen.
So that's my brief little explanation to the conflict. Any of my politics geek mates, feel free to make any corrections.
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Brititi
non-member comment
Thanks for the history lesson
And love your Palestinian photo!