These riots weren’t about religious or even nationalistic fervor. They were a desperate expression of hopelessness and rage by Jerusalemites.
Seders all over the world this Passover will end with the words L’Shanah Ha Ba’ah b’Yerushalayim—“Next year in Jerusalem.”
Naomi Tsur is the founder and executive chair of the Jerusalem Green Fund, which promotes environmental, social and economic sustainability in Greater Jerusalem.
What makes a place holy? And who gets to decide? Such abstract questions become concrete and emotional when we talk about Jerusalem.
After 50-something years, and to the astonishment of our children and grandchildren, at the end of June my husband and I packed up our things and left Jerusalem, moving halfway across the country to settle in Zichron Yaakov, a quaint, hilltop village overlooking the sea.
As Israel’s municipal elections, scheduled for October 30, come closer, we are caught between two Jerusalems.
“Let’s be honest about what occurred: This was a political decision.”
