Yom Yerushalaim

I am very glad that in 1967, Israel handed the smack-down to the region that was grouping up against it. I'm so grateful that they won. Almost as grateful as I am that they were willing to give up things like Sinai and some water for peace.

Jerusalem is a BIG city. And like any big city it's complicated. Last night in my final Ulpan (Hebrew) class, we learned a song for Jerusalem Unification Day. Most of it was nice stuff about the Holy city being holy, but there was also a lot of possessive stuff and one line about it being the capital. While I believe that the Old City and most of Jerusalem are doing well under Israeli control, I wonder how an East Jerusalemite, Palestinian, would feel about that. How anyone in the UN would feel about that line. Frankly, I like that legally, Tel Aviv is the capital. I would MUCH prefer a secular city as the capital of Israel than one filled with tension and over-zealous people.

I have no solution. Jerusalem is complicated. It's an archaeological gold mine (or landmine field?), it's a big city with neighborhoods that bleeds into other cities, with ethnicities and histories. I can't think of anyway to heal it or to extradite it that would be pleasant. This isn't 1989 Berlin; we're not ending Stazi control; we're bordering on turf wars and oppression.

I'm not sure that Yom Yerushalaim is a day for celebration as much as it is a day for open-minded contemplation.