a day in Jerusalem during he high holidays

As the day of atonement in Israel commences I find myself inconveniently trapped inside the West Bank. As Ha'aretz concluded, admittedly a very fair and balanced publication which I read daily, it is a security necessity for Israel to close all checkpoints in and out of the West Bank as well as to shut down connecting roads within the West Bank.

As many of you probably know by now, I live in East Jerusalem just steps from the old walled city and only minutes from the West Bank. My neighborhood (mentioned frequently in the NYT lately as Sheikh Jarrah because many settlers have moved in and forcibly pushed Palestinians out of their homes for less than legally acceptable reasons) was taken by the Israelis in 1967 and is to this day considered an illegal occupation according to a 1968 United Nations resolution. And yet it is an Arab neighborhood whose residents have many familial, business, and educational ties with the neighboring West Bank towns.

As a city and region, as I sit here writing, we are palpably experiencing division and segregation. As the crow flies I am only about 15 minutes from my house and yet I am unable to get there. Admittedly this was my choice. Last night, whilst relaxing in a beer garden in Ramallah we received a phone call from a UN contact alerting us that all the checkpoints would close at midnight and would remain closed until Tuesday (keep in mind Yom Kippur lasts only from today at sundown until Monday at sundown). In a panic I rushed back to Jerusalem to fetch my clothes and books so that I would make it back to the West Bank and be able to get to work on Sunday and Monday. A minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things for me, but what about Palestinians who need to enter Jerusalem to, say, have a baby in the hospital where they receive their medical care? And still the plot thickens...

We have since found out that all "Israeli" roads, even those that are largely West Bank arteries, will be completely closed until Tuesday AM. We were also told by the UN that even roads that are not officially closed will be no doubt populated by settlers walking to and fro who have been known to stone vehicles (irregardless of origin- Israeli, Palestinian, foreign) moving in the road, breaking windows and inflicting bodily harm.

We live in an apartheid state, that much as become clear to me after only seven weeks here although I am far from claiming expertise. And yet I can say with certainty that Ha'aretz is wrong in their claim: closing West Bank roads and all of the entry and exit points between Israel, the occupied territories and even Palestinian Authority territory is not because of security threats. I know countless individuals who speak openly about entering Israel proper through vast swathes of land that is not bifurcated by the segregation wall, mostly to go to the Aqsa mosque to pray (certainly not to blow things up!)

There are silver linings in this cloud, however. I have found myself falling in love with this country and the rare moments of beauty. Really, I swear! I already have a favorite cafe, called Kadosh, in a secular neighborhood in West Jerusalem. In that safe haven I have been able to have very open and frank discussions with the person seated next to me at this or that outdoor table, usually sparked by an ultra orthodox woman begging for money or an article I'm reading on al-Jazeera openly and in plain sight on my computer. And of course the Palestinians: the patience and endurance I witness on a daily basis, the intelligence when it comes to the issues at hand-- it's nothing like what we see on the news.

But more of that to come. Right now I need to enjoy my Israeli-imposed Ramallah holiday!