No peace for now

Juliane von Mittelstaedt writes a lot about the Middle East and is a regular contributor to Der Spiegel. After reading her article "The Politics of Stasis" I thought some of her observations were accurate and to the point, but found a number of her conclusions far too sweeping .Nevertheless, I sent a number of people a link to the article. Here it is again:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,765960,00.html

Ignoring her controversial comments I have selected some of her well based observations for your consideration.

Ms von Mittelstaedt reasoned why she believed Israelis have become increasingly resigned to life without peace. "The majority of the country's population seems to have given up hope."

For extra emphasis she quoted Israeli historian Tom Segev who told her, "For the first time in my life, I think the way the majority of Israelis do. I no longer see the possibility of peace."

Segev, a well known author and journalist has long been associated with the'New Historians,' the group that has often challenged many of the government's traditional narratives.

"From the Israel perspective, a life without peace is now possible. There is hardly any terrorism, there is no war, and there are no major decisions that could trigger arguments at the breakfast table," says Segev. "Netanyahu is so strong, because he pursues a policy of doing nothing about the Palestinians. He has managed to make his policy the consensus.

The feeling of being in a constant state of emergency helps reinforce this consensus. No one has as many enemies as Israel, no other country has been threatened to be wiped off the face of the earth by Iran, and nowhere else in the world is the trauma of the extermination of a people so deeply rooted. For a nation that constantly fears for its survival, everything it does is self-defence."

Elaborating on the prevailing public mood Ms. von Mittelstaedt says, "The government backs illegal settlements and ignores the Israeli Supreme Court's rulings on the clearing of the settlers' outposts. This has inured the Israeli public to a constant breach of the law, which needs a justification. The justification provided is that the occupation is essential to the survival of the Israeli nation.

Nevertheless, peace at the cost of compromise seemed necessary, as long as the attacks continued. But since they have ended, many Israelis prefer the current calm over the effort and uncertainty associated with a peace treaty. And since the security barrier was erected and the Iron Dome missile defence system installed, the lack of peace seems more like a technical problem that can be controlled."

Reassuring her readers she says, "Israel is still a free country, with a dynamic democracy, a free press and an independent judiciary." But, she cautioned, new controversial legislation introduced by the present government certainly won't enhance our dynamic democracy.

In her search for the people who filled the city squares protesting for peace von Mittelstaedt asks, "And what of Israel's left, its peace activists, artists, entrepreneurs and liberals? What has happened to the country's silent, secular majority?

The old elites, who once dominated the politics of peace, have largely withdrawn from the political process. Most have gone to Tel Aviv, the liberal enclave where Palestinians, settlers and Orthodox Jews seem equally far away. They are more likely to become involved in environmental causes than political parties. Tel Aviv is also home to those who are enjoying the economic boom and its benefits, including the many new restaurants, spas and wine bars that have opened in recent years. The effervescent, lively and overwhelming city of Tel Aviv is synonymous with this flight from politics."

Following on from the Der Spiegel article it seems that the present "Arab Spring" is not conducive to a peace initiative. The key player in the region, Egypt has yet to get its own house in order and its interim military government isn't about to broker new peace negotiations. Syria's Assad is too busy killing his own people. Lebanon fears a spillover from Syria and the long-delayed Hariri Tribunal findings to get involved in anything liable to endanger the fragile status quo. However, Hezbollah fears the outcome of regime change in Syria. If Assad is ousted a Sunni Muslim government will probably replace his regime. It's unlikely that it will continue supporting Hezbollah. So far Jordan has managed to appease some nascent protests and it remains to be seen how far King Abdullah is prepared to go with reforms to keep his kingdom quiet.

A few weeks ago Yediot Ahronot's op-ed columnist Alex Fishman wrote about the difficulty in dealing with mass civilian protests. He mentioned the search for innovative non-lethal weapons to counter the "Horde Phenomenon," namely attempts to move large numbers of Palestinians/Arabs across our borders. The Majdal Shams incidents taught us a valuable lesson.

An unprepared and ill-equipped small IDF force failed to contain the first mass crossing of the border. However, the would-be infiltrators in the second attempted crossing made last month had to contend with new obstacles and were stopped before they could reach the border fence. Fishman recalled the "Hatzatzit" a military vehicle adapted to fire a hail of gravel at demonstrators. It was developed during the days of the first Intifada, retired later on and finally sold for scrap. At that time some of his fellow journalists disparaged the stone pelting machine. They wondered how the IDF's R & D people could field a Stone Age contrivance instead of something more hi-tech.

Already work has started on erecting a new improved border fence along the border with Syria. The Lebanese border will also get an upgrade to combat mass infiltration. A new and varied arsenal of non-lethal weapons will soon be at the IDF’s disposal.

Israel’s defence industries were strongly represented at the recent Paris Air Show. The show attracts exhibitors and prospective buyers from all over the world..

The veteran defence industry RAFAEL displayed a range of air defence missiles – including the “Stunner", scheduled for full system-testing this year, the Iron Dome Counter-rocket missile system, and the Medium Range Spyder, presented as a complete mobile system. Airborne ordnance on display included precision guided air/ground weapons, multi-purpose guided missiles and air/air missiles (all designed and made in Israel).

Elbit Systems, another leading Israeli defence industry featured the Multi-Spectral Infrared Countermeasure (MUSIC) system. Elbit is the first company marketing a compact, low-power affordable solution suitable for medium size aircraft such as C-27J and Boeing 737,767 and a number of helicopters.

It operates as a stand-alone unit, with Infrared Passive Approach Warning System (PAWS) sensors developed by Elbit Systems’ Elisra subsidiary. It monitors the surrounding area in search of potential threats. When a missile warning is issued, PAWS tracks the threats and directs the DIRCM (Directional Infra-Red Counter Measures), employing a unique Fiber Laser emitter conducting the laser beam through a mirror turret, to illuminate and disrupt the threat’s guidance mechanism, altering its flight course off the protected aircraft.

On Saturday morning my wife and I will board an Alitalia plane and fly to Canada. We will be visiting friends and family in Toronto and Edmonton.

While we are away (for almost a month) I won’t be sending my weekly newsletter.

Keep well Beni 23^rd of June, 2011.

Pastoral

Pastoral http://vimeo.com/25092086 Involves Beni Kaye.

Last month Jane's Defence Weekly reported that the Israeli Ministry of Defence plans to launch an independent military-designated communications satellite. The Israeli MoD already has five operational satellites in space and receives services from a commercially owned satellite, so why would it want to add another satellite to its fleet?

The existing satellites complete an orbit of the earth every 90 minutes and download collected data to ground stations in Israel once they are in transmitting range. The new satellite will be capable of relaying data from the other satellites in real time providing important information to both military intelligence and units in the field.

Early next year Israel Aerospace Industries hopes to launch its Amos 4 communications satellite designed to cover Africa, Asia and Europe.

IAI is also developing the Opsat 3000 satellite which will replace the older Ofeq series. The Opsat will have onboard a new high-resolution remote-sensing camera capable of providing 50 cm resolution images.

It's comforting to have so many eyes in the sky, especially a new one equipped to see relatively small objects on the ground.

The report in Jane’s came to mind during our Shavuot celebrations.

I mentioned to our non-Jewish guests from New Zealand that Shavuot is probably our most “dichotomous” festival. After the destruction of the Temple, the rabbis emphasised Shavuot’s connection to the giving of the Torah.

In place of the harvest festival at the Temple, the rabbis made Shavuot a time to celebrate the learning of Torah. On Shavuot, they reenacted the “event” at Mount Sinai, the giving and acceptance of the Jewish codex of law, the Torah.

In the academic study of Jewish law , the verse "not in Heaven" (Deut. 30:12 serves as the biblical grounding for the jurisprudential structure of halakhah (Jewish law), the source for rabbinic authority.

Our satellites orbiting above, our eyes in the heavens give us a qualitative edge. Perhaps prophetically phrased in Isaiah 51:6 “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath...” The rest of the phrase doesn’t suit my purpose so I have left it out.

Had they been programmed to do so, the satellites above, both our own and other celestial bodies, could have recorded the Shavuot parades in Israel.

Ostensibly Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the First Fruits is ideally suited to the saga of the Jewish agrarian renaissance, the return to our ancestral land.

When I first came to Ein Harod some of the founding fathers, the people that pitched their tents by Gideon’s Spring on that first day in October 1921, were still active. Their accounts of the plough turning the first furrow in the Jezreel Valley and the emotion-packed harvesting of the first crops, imparted some of that creative joy as well as no small measure of naïveté. Since then they have all gone the way of all flesh and the community they founded has changed.

Like many kibbutzim Ein Harod is more dependent on industry than agriculture for its livelihood. On my way to work every day I still pause by the bend in the path to view the valley, surveying the patchwork of fields, groves and fishponds. Beyond that point I pass close to the dairy and the sheepfolds. Field crops, citrus groves, livestock branches as well as our country guesthouse are all working well and turning a profit. However they comprise a minor complement to the major breadwinner, our industry.

The hyperlink above opens a video that portrays Shavuot in the broader fabric of folk cultures. The pastoral harvest scenes replaced by mechanised farming.

The joie de vivre depicted in the scenes of the 19^th century French countryside painted by artist Julian Dupré were a disappearing way of life that had to give way to machines that could do the job faster, more efficiently using fewer people.

The kibbutz and the moshav eagerly adopted the latest innovations in mechanised farming while reserving a nostalgic corner for the reenactment of ancient ceremonies.

Family, friends and other visitors love the Cutting of the Omer ceremony at Pesach, the Shavuot parades and the Succot celebrations. By and large the kibbutz members and their children love the holidays too. However, at times, especially when the guests outnumber the kibbutz members the celebration is more like a performance. Some complain that the celebration has become an irksome task. On the other hand a few strategically placed kibbutzim have capitalised on the harvest festivals by selling tickets for the “authentic” show performed several times during the day.

My breakfast parliament members, most of them born and raised here, recall Shavuot with mixed feelings. The festival triggers childhood memories of hot summer days when they were crowded on tractor-drawn wagons dressed in white with prickly floral wreaths on their heads, on display with the rest of the kibbutz produce.

While in many places the traditional parade of tractors, agricultural implements, wagons and floats is still the star attraction, for some years now my kibbutz has converted the parade to a static display on the main lawn by the dining room. This year after a brief opening ceremony members and guests moved from stall to stall examining the produce, implements, tractors, ploughs, discs and special attractions. Among them a plywood cow that produced chocolate milk, real lambs for the children to pet and a small stand where our cryogenic and vacuum equipment industry displayed its wares.

Above all it was a huge “happening” an undeniable success.

On the last day of their stay at Ein Harod I took our guests to Eli’s lookout, a vantage point at the top of the hill above the kibbutz. On the way up we stopped by a fenced off area that contains a 7^th century winery, with two treading floors, one covered with a simple mosaic. The grape juice drained from the floors into two vats both plastered and in a good state of preservation. A few winters ago a heavy rain washed away a section of top soil near the treading floors exposing a small cellar. Perhaps wine or olive oil amphorae were stored here. The whole installation had a dual purpose and was used for processing grapes and olives. It is one of many discovered along the crest of the hill between Ein Harod and Tel Yosef. At some time Jews farmed this land and sent their produce through Beit Shean/ Scythopolis to the markets of Rome.

While we stood on the treading floor I conjured up a scene that likely took place here. The pickers carrying baskets of grapes to the treading floor probably sang as they stacked their baskets by the edge of the floor where the grapes were crushed by foot. By all accounts, and there are accounts, it was a joyous occasion.

Here as elsewhere in the ancient world a large part of the population worked the land. Farming was a precarious occupation. Droughts, pestilence, wars and other unforeseen tragedies plagued the farmer. When the rains came in time and he had a bountiful crop he was thankful and rejoiced.

Although our ancestors were promised a land flowing with milk and honey only 20% of it is naturally arable. Today agriculture comprises 2.5% of Israel's gross domestic product and only 3.6% of the country's exports. Agricultural workers make up about 3.7% of Israel's labour force, yet they produce 95% of the country's food requirements. The food items we lack, namely, grains, oil seeds, meat, coffee, cocoa and sugar are imported. However, these imports are more than offset by exports.

Historians inquiring into what our ancestors ate claim that barley and wheat were the staple crops in both the biblical and post-biblical periods. Researcher E.P Sanders stated that, "Grain constituted over fifty percent of the average person's total caloric intake, followed by legumes (e.g. lentils), olive oil, and fruit, especially dried figs."

With Shavuot behind us we face an eventless summer with no major festival in the calendar till September.

Have a good weekend..

Beni 16^th of June, 2011.

Majdal Shams

Yesterday I accompanied vintage friends, Jon and Marion Boock and our guests from New Zealand on a late morning drive to a vantage point near Kibbutz Meirav

The road from Beit Alfa to Meirav winds bend after bend up Mount Gilboa to the junction where it joins the Gilboa scenic route. At one turn in the road a signpost informed us we had reached sea-level. Further on the Jezreel Valley landscape of neatly manicured fields, fishponds and citrus groves below us was replaced by the equally orderly Beit Shean Valley panorama set against the background of the Gilead Mountains across the river in Jordan.

At the vantage point near Meirav slabs of reinforced concrete were meant to provide protection if someone in Jelabun, a short distance below us in northern Samaria, fancied us for target practice. Instead the slabs provided shade from the midday sun on the exposed side opposite the village. A welcome westerly breeze helped reduce the heat stress while I pointed out how close we were to the security fence and recounted the ups and downs of reciprocal relations between Kibbutz Meirav and Jelabun.

The previous day the five of us had driven around Lake Kinneret stopping along the way at Domus Galilaeae, a modern Catholic religious complex close to the place thought to be the site of the Sermon on the Mount. Then we visited the Church of the Beatitudes, Tabgha, Capernaum and Ein Gev.

Deviating from the itinerary we drove in the direction of El Hama as far as the horseshoe bend where the road climbs to the Golan Heights. The signpost indicated that we could continue driving as far as Majdal Shams. That northern Druze town in the Golan Heights wasn’t in our itinerary and I doubt if it was accessible. Earlier in the week another attempt was made by Palestinians and sympathisers to breach the border fence near Majdal Shams.

We were content to view the Yarmouk River, no more than stream at this time of year. Across the ravine we could see other vehicles driving in another country, Jordan. Up river we saw the old railway bridge destroyed by the Israeli army in 1948. It was near here that a Muslim army led by Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated a combined Byzantine force in August 636. It was the end of an era, the crescent was about to replace the cross in this region and make inroads in Europe.

We had yet to complete the last leg of our tour, so we turned back stopping only at selected points along the way to Ein Harod.

I want to return to where I started and pick up the narrative at the vantage point close to Jelabun

Last year I quoted from an article written by Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar,” In better days,” he wrote, “other days, before the second year of the intifada and before a high barbed-wire fence separated Kibbutz Meirav from the northern West Bank, Hanukkah was a holiday for the residents of the nearby village of Jelabun; Meirav's candle factory was the source of livelihood for a number of Jelabun families. It was a win-win situation.
But two fatal attacks in the area put an end to neighbourly relations between the 70 young kibbutz families and the people of Jelabun. A high fence now slices across a 200-metre wide swath between Meirav and Jelabun.”

The article entitled “A one-time Hanukkah miracle” left readers waiting for the sequel, a concluding happy end. With no happy end in sight we’ll have to make do with the security fences and a strong army

The fence, wall or whatever else it has been called will probably never be completed. So far the completed 60% of the planned length is doing what Hadrian’s Wall and the Great Wall of China failed to do – keep enemies out. Maybe we are fooling ourselves and one day when we weaken they will get us. In the meantime at a bargain price of one million dollars a kilometre (some say twice as much)we have bought security. At first glance the fence by Jelabun didn’t appear to impress our guests. Perhaps it looked too much like a New Zealand cattle fence, however on closer observation they appreciated that the barrier plus its low-tech adjacent dirt roads used by trackers to detect intruders and the hi-tech surveillance add-ons make up a very sophisticated anti-terrorist package.

Jelabun appeared to be deserted, not a soul in sight then suddenly we saw someone walking in one of the alleys. I heard a dog barking and then the unsynchronised wail of the muezzins calling the faithful to prayer echoed up the rise to the vantage point where we stood. The dog reminded me of a feature article I had read in the weekend supplement to Yediot Ahronot. It concerned the IDF’s canine special forces unit, code- name Oketz. Most armies use trained dogs in military operations; however the IDF has kept its canine unit almost out of sight on a low profile. Understandably even the generation of Israelis born after the Holocaust knows about the use of attack dogs by the Nazi military and police forces. Furthermore, attempts made to delegitimise Israel by individuals, organisations and some governments liken our armed forces to Nazi storm troopers or SS guards.

The article briefly mentioned the unit’s history, background, training methods and its importance in routine service and military operations. Most of the article was devoted to the unit’s dog cemetery where 60 fighting dogs killed in action are buried. All the dogs buried in the cemetery have individual named tombstones Recently the unit observed a remembrance day for the dogs it lost in active service.

I know of a military canine cemetery on Guam and there are probably similar cemeteries in other places, however the love and attention devoted by the Oketz unit to its dogs strengthens my conviction that the IDF is a morally conscious fighting force. It has its own clearly defined code of ethics and a jurisprudence system to enforce it. I place my trust in it and not in Goldstone reports, watch-group vigilantes, nor biased U.N human rights committees.

They don’t like our fences and would have us tear them down. The diatribe against the fence comes at a time when the United States government is building a fence to keep out illegal Mexican immigrants. Spain has built a fence, with European Union funding, to separate its enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla from Morocco to prevent poor people from sub-Saharan Africa from entering Europe.

India constructed a 460-mile barrier in Kashmir to halt infiltrations supported by Pakistan. Saudi Arabia built a 60-mile barrier along an undefined border zone with Yemen to halt arms smuggling and plans to build a 500-mile fence along its border with Iraq.Turkey built a barrier in the southern province of Alexandretta, which was formerly in Syria. In Cyprus and other places separation barriers have been built too.

As I watched the newscasts at the beginning of the week showing the repeated attempts made by would be infiltrators from Syria to breach the border fence near Majdal Shams I wondered what they were trying to achieve.

It seems The Economist is adopting a pronounced anti-Israel tone reminiscent of The Guardian. This week a lead article warned, “If Israel hoped that memories of its conquests would fade as the years passed, the marches on June 5th by Palestinians marking 44 years of its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan were a rude awakening. Hundreds marched again in an effort to return to the occupied Golan, only to be met by Israeli snipers. Eyewitnesses in Majdal Shams, the largest remaining town in the Golan Heights, spoke of hill-sides strewn with wounded, as some 20 ambulances ferried the bodies to hospital. By sundown, when Israeli forces resorted to tear-gas to clear protesters, news agencies quoting Syrian sources reported 23 dead.”

IDF and military affairs analyst Ron Ben Yishai claims the organisers of the Naksa Day protests failed to drum up support for their demonstrations. He noted the lack of motivation and enthusiasm on the Palestinian side. Calls urging people to protest were sporadic and lacked conviction. They failed to incite large numbers of Palestinians protestors living in the refugee camps near Damascus.

The Syrian government’s involvement in the protests was clearly evident. It arranged the transporting of protesters from Damascus to the border. It made sure the event was fully covered on the official Syrian TV channel, which set up several broadcast points and covered the protests in live time. The government made sure the ambulances and medical teams were deployed in advance at points of friction.

“However, this time,” says Ben Yishai, “The IDF and Israel’s other security forces were thoroughly prepared on the operational, planning, legal and intelligence fronts. The difference was mostly evident on the Syrian and Lebanese borders. IDF Northern Command officials conducted an in depth analysis of “Nakba Day” events and were prepared for the Naksa Day protests well in advance.

This time advance preparations were made to contain rioting masses. In particular the creation of a major obstacle near Majdal Shams to hinder the protesters . All obstacles can be breached, yet the minutes, hours or days it takes to do so usually make all the difference between the success and failure of the soldiers defending the position. The obstacle allows defenders to break the momentum of the initial assault wave, whether we are dealing with excited masses, infiltrators, or even suicide bombers.

The obstacle also allows the IDF to channel infiltrators into what army officials refer to as the ‘playing field,’ where forces are deployed to ‘contain’ the incident and cope with the oncoming rush using crowd dispersal means, arms that are less lethal, or sniper fire aimed at the legs in line with predetermined rules. An obstacle also grants defenders precious time to dispatch reserve forces to points of friction that were not predicted in advance.

Near Majdal Shams, the new obstacle proved its efficiency. The protesters failed to reach the border fence as they did on “Nakba Day.” The combination of barbed wire and trenches made progress almost impossible. Those who nonetheless attempted to move towards the border fence and ignored warnings in Arabic broadcasted by megaphone , as well as warning shots in the air, were shot in the legs by snipers deployed at predetermined positions.

Everything was done in a controlled, level-headed manner with minimal use of live fire. Most of those shot were wounded, and those killed were apparently moving fast, thus making it difficult for snipers to hit accurately. Alternately, they may have died as result of blood loss during the lengthy evacuation process. The IDF prepared a large quantity of crowd dispersal means on the Golan which were mostly unused. Large reserve forces were also prepared but were not used. “

AFP correspondent Sara Hussein reporting from Majdal Shams said

"The town’s residents voiced mixed feelings as demonstrators from Syria charged towards the ceasefire line on Sunday.

Some found it inspiring to see hundreds of protesters braving Israeli gunfire to try and breach the armistice fence. But others, wary of the economic downturn the Druze town has experienced since a similar protest last month, worried that new demonstrations would only drive away more visitors and end in bloodshed without achieving anything.

Two days later we encountered tourists at all the sites along our route.

It appears Majdal Shams wasn’t in their itinerary.

Have a good weekend.

Beni 9^th of June, 2011.

Jerusalem Day

During the 1930s psychiatrist Heinz Herman described a strange mental condition that afflicted a number visitors during their stay in Jerusalem.

Fifty years later another Jerusalem psychiatrist Dr. Yair Bar-El gave the phenomenon a name – the “Jerusalem Syndrome.” It is described as a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of religiously themed obsessive ideas,delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination but has affected Jews, Christians and Muslims of many different backgrounds.

The best known, although not the most prevalent, manifestation of the Jerusalem syndrome is the phenomenon whereby a person who seems previously balanced and devoid of any signs of psychopathology becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious theme and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the area.

Pilgrims in mediaeval times and the many visitors to the Holy Land during the nineteenth century claimed to have seen strange behaviour exhibited by fellow pilgrims. Some twentieth century psychiatrists believe these were manifestations of the “Jerusalem Syndrome.”

The religious focus of the Jerusalem syndrome distinguishes it from other phenomena, such as the Stendhal Syndrome, which has been reported in Florence, Italy, or the Paris Syndrome.

There have been reports of a similar syndrome at other places of religious and historical importance such as Mecca and Rome.

Apparently the many Israelis commuting every day to Jerusalem are immune to this affliction. Furthermore, even our parliamentarians, who at times act strangely, haven't been diagnosed syndrome-afflicted.

Strangely, the Jerusalem Syndrome is not listed in the DSM (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) published by the American Psychiatric Association . Perhaps we shouldn't be offended by the omission, after all the same manual once listed homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Eleven years ago, ahead of the millennium year commemorations, BBC Jerusalem Correspondent, Hilary Andersson mentioned the syndrome in a report she posted about the preparations for the momentous occasion. “Every year tourists flock to Jerusalem in vast numbers to see the religious sites unique to the ancient Holy City, and to experience the aura of the mystical town where Christ lived and died. But for some close contact with Jerusalem's holy sites proves overwhelming.” Ms. Andersson interviewed Dr. Bar-El who has treated several Jesus Christs, a Virgin Mary or two a Samson and several prophets.

Quoting from the interview she said, " It is easy to spot them. Once the afflicted individual is convinced he is a prophet of old he starts washing himself profusely and clipping his toe nails, all part of a cleansing ritual.

Next he dons white clothes - hotel bed sheets often do the job – then he visits the Holy Sites and starts preaching.

They come here with an ideal and unconscious image of the holy places in Jerusalem, and when they see the real holy places they can't cope. They develop this psychotic reaction to build a bridge between these different images of Jerusalem.

Those who were brought up on the Bible are apparently more vulnerable, as are Protestants, who focus all their attention on Jesus Christ and his life, rather than on the Saints and the Virgin Mary.

Some victims are treated at the Kfar Shaul mental hospital. Most recover in a matter of days, and continue with their holiday a little embarrassed by what happened. “

Watching part of the Jerusalem Day flag parade, namely the Sheikh Jarrah diversion, I thought the hundreds of ecstatic flag waving marchers who provoked and taunted the Arab residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood were stricken with the Jerusalem Syndrome

The Flag March has taken place annually since 1976 along a route from Yaffo Street in the centre of Jerusalem to the Western Wall. It has always been a popular event. This year, the Jerusalem municipality refused to halt the testing of the new light transport system in order to allow the parade to take place. After lengthy negotiations and even an appeal to the High Court, the parade was rerouted to begin at a point close to the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and end at the Western Wall. Over 40,000 people participated in the flag parade. Most of them followed the approved route; however a few hundred dissidents entered Sheikh Jarrah. The clashes that took place there were handled effectively by the police .It could be said that it was a battle of the flags. One marcher entered a mosque waving an Israeli flag. Arab youths waved Palestinian flags from one of the rooftops. As far as I know there were no serious injuries and little damage was caused by the opposing sides.

Nevertheless, as much as I identify with the Jerusalem Day festivities the pointless clashes at Sheikh Jarrah could have been avoided.

Jerusalem has been described as one of the most diverse and interesting cities in the world. It is Israel's largest metropolis. The Central Bureau of Statistics claims it has 681,000 residents, but can’t accurately state how many Arabs live in the metropolitan area. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 208,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem. I don’t know if they are exaggerating, nevertheless, give or take 20-30,000 there are still too many Arabs to allow for peaceful co-existence, equal rights and opportunities.

If tomorrow morning they decide to emigrate to Canada and the Canadian government agrees to settle them somewhere in the north Yukon I won’t try to convince them to stay. However I know it won’t happen and Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Conflict defying a mutually satisfying solution. President Obama was wrong to concentrate on borders and security at the expense of the core issues. Once Israel has compromised on territory and arrived at an arrangement about security it will be devoid of bargaining power to negotiate the central issues of refugees and Jerusalem.

The Palestinians want their future capital to be built in Jerusalem. So far there appears to be no possibility of a compromise.

Jerusalem’s metropolitan area has grown over the years and now encompasses 126 square kilometres. The city’s heterogeneous population makes it particularly interesting and at the same time prone to friction and clashes like the ones seen on Jerusalem Day

There’s a Midrash that says, "There are seventy names for Jerusalem." Seventy names, each reflecting a different aspect of this city and its residents, today and throughout history.

While checking my calendar to see if I had overlooked an important newsworthy occasion I realised that I had missed the fiftieth anniversary of my arrival in Israel. Maybe we will have a quiet family celebration.

After Independence Day and Nakba Day we hoped Jerusalem Day would be uneventful. Next week the Palestinians will be commemorating Naksa Day, the anniversary of the Six Day War. Israelis celebrate the great victory and the Arabs mark it as an ignominious defeat. Our security forces are preparing for the possibility of additional clashes and attempts by Palestinians to cross from Syria and Lebanon into Israel.

In the south of Israel a new security fence is be erected along our border with Egypt. The fence is intended to prevent infiltration by Africans seeking work and asylum in Israel. The fence project is expected to be completed within a year. It was tested recently by members of one of the IDF elite units and after they failed to scale it the ministry of defence decided to start construction of the same type of fence along our northern borders.

Have a good weekend

Beni 2^nd of June, 2011.