Jerusalem Day is an annual occasion of smoke and mirrors. The city puts on a grand show, crowds throng the streets, and politicians who, for the other 364 days of the year, don’t give a second thought to the city’s problems and are rarely concerned with its well-being, suddenly make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They place their hand on the , have their picture taken against the backdrop of the Old City walls, and make press releases emphasizing the city’s holiness, beauty, and importance.
They declare how the city is ‘fully unified’ forever and ever and is exclusively ours until the end of time. Applause! The reality is, an hour later they have likely left the city and returned west to the coast, and by the next day, they have all but forgotten its existence. They deny the conditions there and gloss over the controversies that regularly tear it apart.
They completely overlook that the crises that characterize the city at any given moment will quickly be mirrored across the rest of the country. This is the ongoing pattern, year after year. So perhaps what they mean is that this is Jerusalem’s Day, when the other 364 days are clearly not.
And just to dispel any doubt, I firmly believe that there is nowhere as special as Jerusalem. I am an integral part of it, and it is part of me. I was born in the city, grew up, studied, and fell in love in it.
Here, through choice, we decided to make our home and raise a family. I love Jerusalem deeply, but love is not blind: I kn.
