Jerusalem, a city of contested histories
Jerusalem’s rich heritage embodied above all in its beautiful architecture and urban landscape and stands in stark contrast to the divisive politics and identity contestations that frame the city.
I landed in Jerusalem with some amount of trepidation about what awaits me. But I was taken aback by my first conversation at the hotel desk where they enquired if all was well in India. Clearly, the news about protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (now Act) and National Register of Citizens had travelled wide. Talking about it in Jerusalem, home to contested history and identity conflicts, was particularly poignant.
Having lived in India all my life, I had taken the idea of equality before the law for all Indians for granted. I did not quite know how to engage with this conversation. To avoid any further queries , I put the ball in their court. “What about here?” I asked. The Arab staffer said: “Its occupied territory..our citizenship was snatched..we are just residents..But at least in Jerusalem all is stable. We feel different from others, but safe.” This sentiment lingered in my mind as I strolled around Jerusalem. The throngs of visitors moved with enthusiasm between the Al Aqsa mosque, the Jewish temple wall, and the Holy Sepulcher church — the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion— making the city feel like the perfect case of cultural integration.
As I meandered through the alleys, stopping at shops selling beautiful art and ceramics, the bubble of the surface bonhomie burst. I picked up a beautiful bowl and asked, “Is this made here in Israel?’ The elderly shopkeeper said, yes, in “Philistine”.
Walking down the next morning to Hebrew University, the streets were full of Jewish and Muslim students easily identified with their hijabs and the Jewish kippah. One could hear Arabic and Hebrew being spoken by groups of youngsters. A young boy, with his distinctly Arab family, called out a greeting to his Jewish friend across the street. And just when I began feeling reassured that politics can’t kill this spirit, I found a bunch of girls in hijabs being stopped at the police picket.
Jerusalem’s rich heritage, embodied above all in its beautiful architecture and urban landscape, stands in stark contrast to the divisive politics and identity contestations that frame the city. The old city not only has the Jewish temple, Al Aqsa mosque and the Holy Sepulcher Church, but fascinating remnants of the Mamluk and Ottoman madrasas, sabils (water drinking spots) and European hospices. These reflect the layers of cultural influences on this historic city. Its richly textured history peeps out from the ruins of the past that overlook the alleys of the old city. Not surprisingly, archaeology is big business here. Archaeologists have discovered the city’s Roman past, and its Mamluk and Ottoman heritage. Significantly, much of the Ottoman architecture stands on the 13th century Mamluk remains. And the Mamluk sabils or water dispensers boast of having Roman basins.
And yet as a woman observer, I was reminded that the politics of gender transcends all other issues of identity. A long flowing skirt being flung at me to wear in order to cover my trousers before entering the Dome of the Rock and the mosque reminded me that I had no other identity except that of a woman. This was not entirely surprising. But in a land riveted by contestations of religious and ethnic identity, it was certainly a little jarring.