Too much religion for one small city

By Kesava Menon

JERUSALEM, AUG. 26. Weekends in this city are a staggered and emotionally triple- layered affair. On Friday mornings, Muslims take a break and just as they are about to close their day of prayer Jewish residents shut down for the weekend. Both communities are back at work on Sunday morning, by which time Christians start their religious observances.

The city seems well adjusted to this weekly cycle and visitors will have to get used to it soon if their schedules are not to go awry. But it is not just a matter of secular existence being skewered by the demands of religion. While majorities in the three communities probably observe the demands of their faith, this rigid adherence to the prescribed holy days seems to imply something more than a commitment to the scriptures. There are strong political statements implicit in this assertion of religious identity.

Religiosity complicates the resolution of the vexed question about the future of Jerusalem. If it is only a matter of dividing the city in accordance with the places where people reside, then the solution will appear pretty straightforward. Most of the city centre and the western districts are almost wholly Jewish while the eastern part and adjoining suburbs are just as equally Arab. Dividing a city which has common roads, sewerage and water lines and a single telephone code is by no means easy. It does not appear that anyone is thinking of dividing the physical assets either. The plans now being discussed are for a single overall municipality with sub- municiplaities drawn up according to the demography of the districts.

But separation of the city into Jewish and Arab parts is inescapable if an end is to be brought to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict. By now, the Israeli Government and probably a majority of the population have come to recognise that Arab districts on the fringes of Jerusalem, but outside the statutory municipal boundaries, will forever be Palestinian. In fact, three of these districts - Abu Dis, Azzariye and Suwahara - have already been transferred to partial Palestinian control (Israel only maintains overall authority for security) and will eventually come under their full control. The Palestinian Parliament is being built in Abu Dis as the hub for the future administrative capital.

The Arab neighbourhoods which lie within the municipal boundary are being treated quite differently. What Israel has offered the Palestinian Authority is control over the population which lives in these neighbourhoods. But the land on which they live, as per the terms of the current offer, will continue to be under Israeli sovereignty. This is clearly not acceptable to the Palestinians. Israel's continued control will mean a continuance of the current policy whereby the Palestinians can obtain building permits only with difficulty. If Israel decides who will build and where, its ability to squeeze the Arabs out of Jerusalem will be perpetuated.

Diplomats and analysts feel that Israel is not really serious about hanging on to what are called the inner neighbourhoods. This part of the offer is perhaps in the nature of a bargaining position to force the Palestinians to concede what really matters. Israel cannot forfeit all claims to the Walled City though it has offered to hand over the Muslim, Christian and Armenian Quarters on the same terms as the inner neighbourhoods - control over the population but not the land. No one has any doubt that the Jewish Quarter of the Walled City will remain Israeli.

The nub of the problem is the acreage which contains a mount and a plaza. Just as the city is Jerusalem to the Jews and Al Quds to the Arabs so is Mount Har Habayat to the former and the Haram al Sharif to the latter. The buildings on the Mount - the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque - are administered by the Palestinian waqf and Jews are not permitted to pray on the Mount itself. However, the Jews believe that their Temple - the holiest of holy in their religion - once stood on the Mount and they pray at the Western Wall of the mount adjoining which a great plaza has been created for the congregation.

It does not at all seem likely that the Israelis will forfeit the claim to pray at the Western wall. Even secular Israelis believe that they cannot give up this piece of territory since it forms the heart of their Jewish identity. At present, the two communities have worked out a system whereby they can each observe their religious practises without disturbing the other. To those not involved with the affairs of either community, the present system of co-existence in the city and at the Mount appears a model for co-existence. But with the religious identities being so strong those directly involved are still not able to work out how they will share this territory in the long term.

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Section  : International
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