I came across this article; Where the Gods Live by the Austrian journalist Tessa Szyszkowitz which provides a very interesting insight – among the many out there – about life in Jerusalem, and decided to share it as a follow up to a recent post I made with the link below. If anything this article demonstrates that imposed solutions for Israeli/Palestinian conflict do NOT/will NOT work-while demonstrating similarities in some traditions/customs between ultra conservative Jews & Muslims. It’s also reflection of the the uniqueness/complexity of this conflict that’s been allowed to fester for much too long and now requires a renewed sense of focus/dedication and urgency to come up with a pragmatic vision to solve it from within and NOT merely impose solutions that serve purely ideological gains. If all stakeholders start off by learning from the lessons of the past objectively without the impurities of ideological prejudices, this will give everyone a sense of direction while recognising after decades worth of conflict that there are no real winners continuing on this same path. The parties also need to start turning their attention to the massive incentives for the entire region in resolving this conflict once and for all; political, financial/economic, security, environmental; it could be a win – win proposition, and there is no bigger benefactor in this situation than Israel itself, a technological/economic power house in it’s own right. There is however a short term price to pay for medium/long term gains; turning a chapter of history where each page is full of animosity, hate, war and plenty of painful experiences for all sides ; this while taking a calculated risk of opening a new chapter for the sake of a brighter future for generations to come – a gradual process but well worth the effort. I know it all sounds a bit like an Idealistic La La Land but let’s not let that prevent us from dreaming of making it a Realistic Holy Land, one that embraces people of all religions, ethnicities; kind of the way it was meant to be. Being locked in the past limits how far parties can benefit from the future.
In terms of latest statements by Arab dictators out there condemning the move by the United States to recognise Jerusalem as capital of Israel these are really meant for national consumption more than anything else; hard to see how with the latest rapprochement by Donald Trump & team with these regimes including the latest visits to the region by Jared Kushner and his close ties with the Saudi’s that they were kept in the dark of this plan.
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