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.