"Jerusalem, the city of God!" a Jerusalem Travel Page by SamDeG

Jerusalem is the site of the most intense gang warfare in the world. It's the West Side Israelis vs. the East Side Arabs. The war is being fought in bad blood over encroachments on territory, insults or perceived insults to one side or another, and events happening elsewhere. The war is being fought with M-16s and suicide bombers. The territory of each side is very well defined, and crossing over it comes at great risk. The crux of the tensions is the old city of Jerusalem, which, ironically, is the most peaceful. The constant influx of rich tourists into the labyrinthian streets keeps everyone smiling. A no-man's land of souvenier shops run by Arabs exists between the Jewish and Muslim Quarter, with a few "authentic Armenian" stores thrown in for good measure. If you are very pale skinned like I am, you would be unwise to visit East Jerusalem. However, if you are dark skinned or look middle-eastern, or southern Asian, it is a fascinating experience.

I got lost in Arab East Jerusalem. It looks a bit better
than most 3rd world countries I've seen, but still chaotic and without order. No maps, streets that are staircases, shoddy buildings struck up randomly side by side with vacant lots, olive groves, chickens and goats in the middle of a city. It is totally uncorrupted, one might say, by western tourism. The children playing in the street did not come up to me begging "Shekel! Shekel," unlike children in similar circumstances who say "Rupee! Rupee!" or "Peso! Peso!" or whatever the local currency is. Instead their large black eyes followed me as if I was some sort of grotesque monster, something scary but fascinating. Whenever I tried one of my two phrases of Arabic, Salaam Alekhum, on them, they grinned and started following me. Judging by the number and age of children in the street, the old city and east Jerusalem are relatively safe for kids, if they stick to their respective areas. Eventually, I
ended up at a dead end guarded by an Israeli soldier. He was more amazed to see me than the children had been. A lone American tourist deep in Arab territory? He thought I was crazy, demanded to see my passport, then bundled me into an SUV and sent me back to the Old city. I later learned his presence there was due to a large building he was guarding that had been built as a settlement for Jews and was financed by a wealthy American.
Later, back in the old city, I came across a tiny (even by old city standards) shop festooned with Anti-Israeli signs and posters. "Do you speak English?" I said. (Very touristy, not to ask in Arabic, I know) "Well, I am having difficulty perfecting my eloqution." He said in a perfect American accent. We went through the usual rigamarole of where are you from, (he had lived in New York City, on 12th st.) and then I asked him about the signs. In a normal, abstract kind of way, we talked politics. He took a very strong anti-american stance, as expected, but also believed in the virtual infallibility of Muslims. The Iran-Iraq war? I asked. Iran was not truly muslim, he said, it was shiite, Saddam Hussein was actually a secular leader, he said. I mentioned my East Jerusalem experiences, and how scared I was after the fact. He said I
had nothing to worry about, no one would hurt me. I mentioned the fact that, according to the philosophy of the 9/11 hiijackers, every non-muslim is an enemy and should be killed. This led to a discussion of 9/11, and it turned out that he actually supported it. "Well then," I said, "Why don't you kill me? I believe in secularism, democracy, capitalism, Israel and America? You only missed me by five blocks on 9/11."
"Do you want me too?" He said, and suddenly the discussion lost all of its theory. I stammered out some response, and he said, "It's not the right time." I said, "Now you see why I shouldn't be in East Jerusalem."
"I think you're right." He said. That's when I ran away.