East Jerusalem (Was not built here)

According to the Lonely Planet guide there is actually a recognised medical condition called Jerusalem syndrome that causes people who are overwhelmed by the historical significance of the city to become deluded that they themselves are the messiahs. It is not hard to see why people are overwhelmed. I arrived late in the evening, and on crossing into East Jerusalem (the Palestinian area) began looking for my hostel. It took less than 3 minuets of looking confused for 8 different Palestinians to come and ask if I needed help, offer me directions and walk me to my destination. Passing through Damascus gate into the old city plunges you into the narrow, sloped streets of the market. Bright clothes and trinkets are everywhere, the air thick with the smell of spices and Turkish coffee. The atmosphere is indescribable; I recommend anyone who has the chance should visit. People will willingly engage you in conversation at any opportunity and seem genuinely interested in where you are from and your culture.

I asked a stall holder what he thought of Israel, his response was simple: “I do not have a problem with Israel, I think it has a right to exist but it must stop killing our people and stop taking our land from us, we are willing to share, they have so much already so why won’t they?”

Jerusalem has become a city of discrimination. The UN partition plan (which created Israel) denotes an equal split between Israel and Palestine, but Israel has illegally annexed vast swathes of East Jerusalem. Jewish residents do not require building permits, but Palestinian residents must go through a costly and time-consuming process to obtain planning permission. Furthermore Israel has zoned over 90% of East Jerusalem as “Municipal green space” Prohibiting the construction of any new buildings there. As many building were constructed without permits Israel has embarked on a programme of house demolitions. With Army bulldozers unable to clear them fast enough, demolition teams now use explosives to level structures before sending the bill to the newly homeless Palestinian families. With one rule for Jews and another for Arabs, a clearer cut example of racism is hard to find.

I asked another Stallholder what he thought about Israel: “I do not like Israel. Why does it think that people from Russia and the Ukraine have more right to live here than I do when I was born here, my father was born here, my grandfather was born here, my great-grandfather was born here all the way back to thousands of years ago? Its not because they’re foreign, I have no problem with people who are not Palestinian living here, but they have no right to force us out of our homes, to imprison us, to kill our people and to take our land.” I asked him what he thought of Jews: “I have no problem with the Jewish people, we are all born of the same.” This flies somewhat in the face of the common Zionist argument that the Palestinians are all raving anti Semites.

I woke up to find potentially the only Zionist in the hostel (which is for international activists) staring at the ‘Free Palestine’ sticker on my bag. “You know my Torah says all of this is Israel,” He patronisingly grumbled at me. I asked him why when his religion was different to that of the Palestinians living here that they should care what his book said? He didn’t have an answer.