Why do they do that?
Anyway. In the Washington Post article I cited in the previous post, there's a snippet of an interview with Anat Hoffman, one of the Meretz leaders. She said something that fit neatly into what the Post person wanted to hear:
"Jerusalem is in a pivotal place right now," said Anat Hoffman, who recently resigned after 14 years on Jerusalem's city council. "Economically and culturally it's sinking, and it's become a place that Israelis from outside the city don't even visit."Really? Funny, I hadn't noticed.
What can one say about a group of politicians who revere a dead mass murderer, while not noticing half a million tourists?
FROM CAROL HERMAN
ReplyDeleteYup. And, when Obama came, the Haredi made idiots of themselves. What did they ever learn in yeshiva, to go and steal a man's note placed in a crevice in the Wall?
Does it make sense to stick these papers into the ancient Wsll? No. But it is customary.
That Jerusalem is an old city? Yes. And, in many cases you can't drive a car up the road, but have to walk the winding streets.
And, then? If you look for a bathroom, you're amazed at how ancient some of the plumbing still is.
Let alone the religious ways of stopping traffic on Saturdays! (Which was the biggest reason people who weren't all that religious, left the City.)
It's also a reason you won't see an American Embassy being built, any time soon, within Jerusalem. It would attract too many kooks. Who'd stage "events" to stop Embassy affairs on Saturday nights. And, worse, affairs were the foods not Kosher.
Christopher Hitchens, in a recent article defending Obama's relationship to Rashid Khalidi. In his article he points out the length of time Khalidi's family actually lived in Jerusalem. More than just hundreds of years. And, his home is being threatened "by boys who come from Brooklyn."
Within America the ultra-orthodox are hardly noticed. Alas, for Israel,what are the choices? Ben-Gurion gave the ultra-orthodox the religious "venue." (In America, today, there are woman rabbis. Nope. None in Israel.)
Is there peace, ahead?
Well, given that arabs live "in the territories." And, they also live in Jerusalem, it is more likely that Jerusalem, ahead, will be divided.
It would have been less of a problem if Jerusalem had thrived the way modern cities, do. Paris, for example. A mix of the old. And, the modern.
But then in modern cities there are crazy rules where women can't get on a bus. And, a woman's political ad can't be posted on the side of the bus.
Now, if they only taught history!
Did you know the Second Temple became a war zone, used by Jews, who were sure God was going to help them defeat the Romans. The entire structure burned to the ground. There was death everywhere! Why? Well, the Romans brought the fight to Jerusalem.
Same city. Different century.
FROM CAROL HERMAN
ReplyDeleteIt should be noted how long tourists STAY is of import. And, in a recent article, it stated that people were now spending less TIME in Israel. Instead of overnight? Or a few days? They're in and out of the country within 24 hours.
Tourism will also falter because of the wreck of our global economy.
Heck, Drudge had up a headline the other day that Disney is hurting for tourists.
Okay. Disney is a public company. You can't exactly fudge the numbers.