Bye Bye Jerusalem

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I have a hard time describing Jerusalem. I can’t sum it up in one word or even one sentence. The holy city is just so many things: Tense, stunning, ancient, energetic, overwhelming, spiritual...and the list goes on. It’s a microcosm of the world’s beauties and complexities, of human nature and survival. Jerusalem belongs to everyone and no one. It’s of utmost historical significance and timeless relevance.

I just LOVE the Old City. I walked for hours on its cobblestone roads, eating falafel and observing the social interactions and cultural and religions manifestations of its residents and visitors. I explored the Armenian Quarter, one the quietest areas in the Old City. The silence there felt old. But for me, the most spiritual place was the Haram-al Sharif at sunset, just before worshipers began trickling inside the empty compound for the evening prayers.

I also spent a lot of time in West and Occupied East Jerusalem. The city’s political significance is obvious. Palestinians want East Jerusalem--now under Israeli occupation--to be the capital of their future state while Israel wants all of Jerusalem to be its Jewish capital. So the Israeli government has been systematically cleansing East Jerusalem of its Palestinian inhabitants through home demolitions and by allowing Israeli settlers to move into Palestinian neighborhoods such as Silwan. (Israel demolished 771 East Jerusalem homes between 2000 and 2011, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.)

It’s a tragic state for such a beautiful city, but then again, it’s not the first time Jerusalem has been fought over. I still can’t believe I was there and hope that everyone, with the means to do so, will one day go.

Bye bye Jerusalem, for now.

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