Love YOUR enemies

I would like to share with you some reflections that have been occupying me for some time.

These reflections, though supported by many lectures, are mine alone and I take full responsibility for them (don't put the blame if you disagree anywhere else) but this is something I have been thinking of for quite a long time and I guess I am ready to share with you at least part of it.

One of the most famous Biblical quotations can be found in Matthew 5:44: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (New King James). It is directly lined to Leviticus 19:18: "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord." (New King James).

Around those verses lots of wonderful theological teaching has evolved - both in Judaism and Christianity and also in completly secular but deeply rooted in Judeo-Christian values ethical systems.
But somehow lately I have an impression that this sentence in quoted and reminded (most often in perfectly secular situations) to forgive or demand forgivness for somebody else's enemies.

People wko rarely if ever remember these Biblical verses when somebody cuts them on highway, cheats when they do shopping, speaks to them vulgarly or is irritating at work openly demand forgivness for perpetrators of serious moral and sometimes legal misdeeds (crimes included) but... committed against somebody not known (and preferably distant).

A good example may be discussion after killing of Osama ben Laden by American comandoes. No matter what you think about capital punishment, the role of the USA in creating Ben Laden or decision about his execution the voices spilling tears over "poor, murdered man" (there were many of such) and calling upon forgiving him after those years (when questioning the sense of killing him 10 years after 9/11) were - from my point of view - voice of contempt for his victims (all of them, not only those connected to 9/11).
And it is not that I don't believe in forgivness - even of the awful deeds - but the only one entitled to granting forgivness is the victim (victims are also near and dear of those murdered). Only the victim - out of his/ her free will - has a privilege to forgive. Nobody can do it instead or demand from victim (often as tactless as possible) that he/ she forgives and forgets so it can be nice and cosy again. And it is not about vengance but about ingering into delicate and individual psychological and emotional process of the victim.

It is so easy to forgive sins against somebody else!


Another example is Dutroux who before raping and murdering by starving to death two 8-years-old in  Belgium was in prison for raping children and was let go - forgiven by system that considers inhumane to keep such as him for life. In many cases in contemporary Europe it is DEMANDED that we forgive lawbreakers - they suffered hardships as children, they were ill-treated (presumabely), it is society that is guilty (including, I understand, the victims in society - had there not been 8 years old Dutroux wouldn't be tempted). The system is so full of compassion... for sinners against someone else.
For me it is sad proof of contempt for victims - of crimes, mistreat, totalitarianism... They are not fun to be around and we want to forget, and we want them to forgive and forget. Let's get together and feel all right!

This unique social terror to forgive (to be able to forget about evil living among us) reminds me essays by Ditrich Bonhoeffer, the leading German theologist, opposing Nazizm and murdered in Dachau. He was writing about cheap and dear (expensive? - sorry, I have never read his work in English) grace.
If Christians proclaim "do whatever our sins have been paid for" theology, if we consider ourselves redeemed as Christ has died it is cheap grace, in fact sinfull. 
But to live according to God's will and expectations, to let him lead our choices, to try and live according to Bible it is the dear grace, the true one.
Of course the above is very shortened but I hope you know what I mean.

Forgiving sins against somebody is like cheap grace. Being with victims through their healing process, through their pain and struggle and process of forgiving (sometimes everlasting) is the real. dear grace.

But God has asked us to forgive OUR enemies, not God's enemies (like the most notorious enemies of humankind) and not somebody else's!

Who doesn't want normality?

For years and years Palestinian Authorities - both from West Bank and Gaza - complained about restrictions of travel for Palestinians.
This year, during Ramadan, Israeli authorities allowed Palestinians from West Bank, in great numbers, to enter Jerusalem. Subsequently things went one more step along the road. Here is a report by French independent Gatestone Institute about allowing Palestinians to enter Israel
Crowds enter beaches and malls, visit Israel

It looks great - after all isn't that what we would like to see - people interacting, getting to know each other, not acting violently?

Apparently Israeli society and authorities as well as lots of common West Bank Arabs would - they seem to welcome the move and opportunities. But Palestinian authorities - both Fatah and Hamas - are furious. The picture of devil as they paint Israel to they subjects (as the concept of citizens is foreign to them) is crumbling. People see not the kind of regime they have at home, intent of murdering them for being Arabs (as Hamas murders for being Jew) or trying to control their thoughts. They see normal life and may take part in it - even if for a while. It may cause them to realise their hardship is brought upon them solely by their own "masters" (as no choice is really available to them).

It is classic confrontation of democratic society based on freedom with totalitarian one. Somehow Western governments didn't have (40 years ago, 30 years ago) to keep their citizens passports on police stations or in all other ways (shooting at Berlin wall for example) prevent them to enter communist paradise while the opposite was true. It is not about just communism - any totalitarian power trying to control people, have them think and do what is "the only just thing", design the new brave world and the new human being has to invent diabolical enemy and keep people from finding out and from freedom.
It is what Hamas and Fatah have been and are doing. It is the reason why opening Israel for Palestinians, even for a while, angered them so much.

Now - who wants peace and who doesn't? Read and decide for yourselves.....

Jewish Culture Festival

Tomorrow in Warsaw starts IX edition of Jewish Culture Festival. It is not as known and as big as the Krakow one (which is the biggest in Europe) yet for 9 days there will be lots to do!

Before the IIWW 1/3 of Warsaw consisted of Polish Jews. This wonderful, creative, distinctive world was completely destroyed by 1943 where uprising in ghetto consumed the rest of people with the whole district.
One year later the whole city was leveled. But the memory survived together with few people, many stories, some art artifacts....

Today the thriving, blooming festival is witness to revived connection with this past. The past sometimes painful but beautiful and missed by many.

Here is the program of the festival for those of you who may make it or are just interested.
program of Singer Festival 2012

Body harm? Really?

circumcision in Germany

Does male circumcision is really body harm for a child? Well, if so the majority of the boys in the USA have been "harmed" as around 70% of male population in this country have been circumcised for non-medical reasons. Certainly by professionals and in medical fascilities. Nobody seems to think that THEIR human rights have been (are being) affected. Neither do I.

World Health Organisation based on medical research advertises male circumcision as one of the factors diminishing risk of contracting HIV virus (it has been proven that it is harder to infect circumcised man). So it is widely performed in African countries for medical reasons.

Contrary to barbaric female circumcision (aimed at depraving women from sexual pleasures so that they will be faithful to husbands forced upon them) it has no negative effect on sexual life, some health benefits, and it is minor, cosmetic procedure. Yet few European countries (notably Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden) are discussing or trying to introduce ban on male circumcision in children. As in Europe it was never as widespread as in the USA obviously it mostly affected Jewish and Muslim members of society. For them it is unacceptable to have such ban introduced. It created one of those very few occasions on which Jews and Muslims united in trying to achieve the same goal - preventing or abolishing the ban.

The "body harm" could be compared to having body pierced (specially ears as is done to little girls in many European countries). Shell we call ear-rings body harm? No? Than let's face it - it is not about body harm when it comes to circumcision, it is about prejudice.

Judges, activists and politicians acting in favour of such ban seem not to understand that really depriving parents of such possibility may bring along either rejection of the child (in few cases in ultra-ortodox communities) or simply the whole path of breaking law (taking child abroad, doing it by practitioners away from medical facilities, practising it by people who have no adequate knowledge and practice etc.). Such practices may really be dangerous for a child. We know how such things work when we look at European countries where abortion or contraceptives (some of them) are illegal- there is the whole black market for such procedures except when one wants to convince others it should be allowed in some circumstances - than we get the cases like Irish 14 years old girl, raped, pregnant and not allowed to go on with abortion in Ireland. Is that what we want? In Europe, where there is lots of problems with some medical procedures making point of this one seems to be exactly aimed at Jewish and Muslim minorities and presumably that was the case.
It is easier to avoid such law for Muslims as there is no exact day on which it has to be performed, it will be much harder for Jewish families as it has to be done on the 8th day after delivery (even if it is shabbat). It would probably mean giving birth away from the country of residence, making circumcision away from medical fascilities (though by professionals) or just moving away.

Is that why it is forced?

Do you pay for electricity?

I presume you pay your home electricity bills. Be it rented or owned; house or appartment; shared or occupied on your own. Simple, isn't it? Not for everybody...

 Here you can read
How Palestinians receive their electricity for free

Which means generally that Israeli tax-payers support inhibitants of Authonomy. Inwoluntarily. People from territory where authorities constantly declare enmity towards Israel; where it is consider heroic to commit suicide killing as many Israelis as possible (the names of streets, squares and schools indicate it); territory which had to be separated by wall to deminish terrorist attacks coming from it.
And of course I am aware that many Palestinians would like to live side by side in peace with Israel, but they may suffer punishment for this attitude from their own authorities.
Yet they receive electricity and - as it happens - for free - from the same Israel. How many of you, living in EU would expect your neighbouring country to supply you with electricity without payment (and this is friendly, established organisation)? Well....

The other side of the story is this: PA receives the highest (for a single man) help from abroad in the whole world. Forget Greece which is on first pages of EU newspapers. Forget really poor countries - South Sudan, Congo, Angola, Haiti, Western Sahara etc. It is Palestine Authonomy where population is at the 8th place of WHO list when it comes to obesity risk.

Where does this help go? Well, guess, definitely NOT to build schools, power plants, fight unemployment, build hospitals. In one of the previous posts I was writing about medical help given by Israel, schools are supported by UNRWA (it is the only territory in the world having its own UN agency), electricity is given by Israel just like water supply (and in this parched, hot region it is valuable and scarce resource). But the weapons, luxury villas and hotels are there.

Palestinian Authority wants to become state (or so they say, hardly anything is being done towards it; they rejected every opportunity so far). What kind of state relies on neighbour against which enmity is preached for water and electricity supply? What kind of stste does not even try to become independent from international help? What kind of state makes policy out of enmity towards neighbour from which it expects medical help for citizens?

Just remember, when in few weeks or months we will hear about "criminal Israel denying basic needs like fridges for Palestinians" check if you have paid your electricity bills. And think how long would you have to not pay them to have the electricity supply cut off. Months? Years? I don't think so... Yet "criminal" Israel with its "ethnic cleansing" (according to anti-Israeli rethoric) still supplies people in territory whose authorities openly declare they want to get rid of her and don't want "any Jew in new Palestine".

EU as super-Yalta conference?

EU decides that 80,000 city between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is NOT in Israel

EU considers itself competent to decide which territory is or is not within given country's borders. If a country is attacked and wins defensive war usually it leads to changes in borders (with the exception of Israel that should always give away any gains from defensive wars). Ridiculous specially as even EU admits it was no Arab land and Modiin is between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem.

Let us just remind that in 1948, a day after its Independance Declaration Israel has been attacked by 7 Arab armies with the intention - widely advertised - of driving her to the sea. Miracoulously and with great casualties she won but nowadays she is treated as if she were aggressor (in the middle of this war, when Arabs were declaring that no Jew will be left Israel offered full citizenship and rights to all remaining Arab population - they have never been treated any different than Jewish citizens under the law; seems obvious but when one thinks it was in the middle of cruel war it changes perspectives, just think that by the end of IIWW there were plans to permanently dismantle Germany).

Anyway, if EU is such an expert in somebody else's borders changed in war maybe it could try with her own members borders for starters?
Let me remind you that during Tehran conference in 1943 Churchill offered Stalin 90% influence in Romania and Bulgaria and 50% in Yugoslavia in exchange for 90% Western influence in Greece - and it all on paper. I don't need to say that nobody from Romanian, Bulgarian, Yugoslavian or Greek authorities was present.
Same went for few other countries - division completed.

The fate of Polish borders (one of the main allies with government in exile stationed in London and army involved in fighting Nazizm bigger than De Gaulle's French one) was also decided on this conference without notifying anybody from Polish authorities. Its eastern border was to be on so called "Curzon line" (cutting quite a lot of territory).
In itself it was anything but a friendly act by supposedly ally forces (nobody believed ever Soviets to be close to allies, British were believed but without any reason as was proved). But there remains one small fact - Curzon line written down in Tehran and never changed in Yalta or Potsdam includes in Polish territory Eastern Prussia with the city of Kaliningrad (before war: Krolewiec). Stalin wanted it and has taken it - till this day it is a small piece of Russia between Polish and Lithuanian borders. Maybe EU, so concerned about borders decided in 40s by somebody else than parties involved would start with returning this piece of Poland (according to Churchill-Stalin agreement) to Poland? VAT from the region would go to EU, EU territory would gain, treaties from 40s would have been executed?
Don't you think it is better way to start than taking Modiin from Israel?

All facts above are correct. All my comments are deeply sarcastic in case you'd have doubts :)

Why leftists hate Israel?

Obviously for a long time Israel is scapegoat to vent hatred and frustration of (nearly) all European left. Here you may find some very frightening facts and the list is far from complete.
how hatred is preached and introduced

Yet I was always a bit intrigued why Israel and how did it start. I remember cold war time and hatred preached by communist in communist regimes against the USA and against capitalism; I know the rethoric of speech against "zionism" in former USSR; against USSR and freedom (strangely enough to combine these two) in China during Mao Zedong "cultural revolution" and against anybody thinking, educated (even remotely) or just wearing glasses by Pol Pot murderous regime (still pyramids of skulls can be seen in many places in Cambodia). Rarely anybody in the Western left cared but they also rarely engaged in such "happenings". This time - as said in above article - it reminds Germany under Nazi regime (BTW Nazi regime was very leftist - it was national socialist party and however it was fighting communists but rather as competitors (which was later proved in 2-year-long cooperation with USSR during war years including shared plans, coordinated attacks and join parades).

But why Israel now? How did it start? Where did it come from? When you look at the map Israel is but tiny spot surrendered by large enemy states, it is smaller than Belgium, 1/4 size of Ireland. Hardly - at the first look - a state all leftists would bother with. And yet....

And now I have just finished a brilliant book by professor Frank Furedi called "Where have all the intellectuals gone. Confronting 21st century philistinism". It is not about Israel at all. It is about leftism. But it contains (to some, but in my opinion significant level) the answer to my above question.

The book shows how leftist inteligensia and activists in many Western countries (notably Western Europe) despise the Enlightment values and have contempt for people. And it happens in mainstream. The book deals with policy (now official in e.g. UK) of "inclusion" (no matter what it is to be participated in, participation is value in its own), of deminishing standards of education, knowledge and culture so everybody can participate, and without effort, in everything. How the existence of Truth was questioned (everybody have their own, there is no such thing as truth for leftist educationers; just incidentally by the virtue of this statement of theirs it is also but a statement and not truth), how the high culture, university standards and good science are accused of being "eliticitist", how debates are avoided as they are "not nice").

Let me give few examples of what he writes about - he describes the highly financed by UK tax payers theatre play "Who is afraid of William Shakespeare?" in which actors make breaks to explain plot (!) and answer questions from viewers. A government report condemning public libreries for having too many books and not enough music fascilities, cafes, meeting rooms etc. (meaning - the libraries are ok but the books aren't; they require effort and can't be consumed without some time and effort and intelectual work spared and people surely are not capable of it - that they were until now skips the record). The official directions for education of children where it is said that "the story taking part in the mountains is unfair towards children from lowlands" and "we should not require children to read and understand stories taking part in different places that they know from personal experience" (on this basis the story of blind climber climbing the summit of Mt McKinley was banned as hurting for children not knowing mountains!!!!). Dorothy Rabinowitz in her report about Harvard law school writes that it is "hard for the 1st grade students to avoid realising official condemnation around everything close to conflict or debate" (for people who are supposed in future to live from participating in conflicts).

The leftists are trying to create the same as communism tried (and Orwell described in famous "1984") - a new breed of men made into one pattern, believing in The State, not asking questions, being infantile and concentrated exclusively on every day personal problems. It is also contempt for people (everybody who has children knows they are curious, wanting to learn, very capable of understanding concepts and imagening different places and circumstances, the only ones officially NOT knowing it are official educators. Children are also easy pray to ideology - thus if school denies them intelectual challenges different fanatics will use it, unfortunately - just look at the story of Hitler Jugend).

The book is brilliant but what has it got to do with Israel? Let me tell you!

Israel is still democracy where people have different opinions and express them, and debate them and fight (vocally) over them. And by far not only when it comes to the conflict between Jews and Arabs. It is when it comes to taxes, and education, and secularity versus religion, and IDF draft and prices of real estates in connection with state policy. Whatever you can think of is highly debated, humans are respected (like in the USA constitution based on Enlightment ideals), believed to be capable of understanding, making their own decisions, taking their citizenship responsibilities.
Israel is also the state which - despite being so small - has wonderful science. It is hard to find modern piece of knowledge, technology, medicine or agriculture in developing which Israel would NOT participate.
Children are generally treated as future of the society and their capabilities are not questioned and individual decisions regarding the kind of education for them (e.g. more religious or more secular; more scientific or more humanist)  are left with the caretakers. And in spite of the lack of policy of inclusion for the sake of inclusion education has high standards (something hated by the leftists) and is valued (at the time when brilliant but demanding art like classical music is more and more ridiculed in Europe).

Is it strange that of all places in the world Israel is hated by leftists? It is the antithesis of what they try to do and how to design and create "brave new world".
Maybe because Israel has real problems and chellanges it is not susceptible to this modern nonsense of inclusion against will and for the pure sake of inclusion, design education for everybody (hello, we are different) and diminishing scientific standards so nobody feels excluded (even if they are not interested in science and not knowing they should feel excluded at all).
What Israel does (and doesn't do) and what it achieves is showing what the leftists try to do for what it is.
What Islamic regimes in some Arab countries do is not dangerous at all from this point of view - no standards, no science, unificated education (for those receiving it) in Islamic spirit... Welcome to the brave new world....

And the above (in my opinion) shows why leftists hate Israel, but also what kind of society they want for us and our children. It already was tried. 100,000,000 people paid with lives for the experiment of communism. I am personally afraid it has not all died yet and communism or national-socialism or fascism (the very term "totalitarianism" as proud description of what state should be comes from Mussolini) didn't say the last word.

Another reason to stand for Israel!!!!!!

Medical treatment in Israel

medical transport for Palestinians in need

Short video about one form of medical help for Arabs from West Bank and Gaza. Started by a brother of Hamas terror victim.

treating heart disease in Israel

Here is some information about treating in Israeli hospitals children from conflict zones, Gaza included. Finally here is a story about

Hamas's leadership seeking medical help from Israelis


Israel, a country with definitely one of the best medical services in the world, engages in many opportunities to treat people from outside of Israel if they are in need and can't get a treatment where they come from. In all developed countries a number of foundations, private funds, state-sponsored programs and volunteer organisations try to help those whose countries/ territories of origin are not able or willing to provide needed medical treatment.
Israel is not different. What is different are the scale of help given (considering size and population of Israel there are significantly more cases when medical help is given on humanitarian ground) and the variety of recipients including many of countries and territories hostile towards Israel. Of course the biggest such recipient is Palestinian Authonomy. Specially the last story shows that even next of kin of people who are self-declared enemies of Israel seek such help. And receive it.

In 2011 over 115,000 Palestinians received medical help in Israel. Is this the way to commit "ethnic cleansing" that anti-Israeli activists in Europe and elswhere (mistakingly called pro-Palestinian ones) accuse Israel of? Rethoric question. But it definitely is a way to build bridges. Even on youtube if you are willing to look for them there is a number of stories when such medical help in emergency started some kind of links between common people on both sides. Or at least helped to ease enmity or lack of understanding, or confronted presumptions. Families of children treated in Israel go back to West Bank or Gaza knowing (even when - for various reasons including personal safety - not admitting) that what they heard from their authorities about Israel and Israelis is just not true. And the lasting peace can be build upon interactions between common people (which is probably one of the reasons why Israel engages on such a scale in this activity).
Yet, if not an average person but brother-in-law of someone in authority, living very comfortably (to say as little as possible) from foreign help paid for with our taxes seeks medical help in country that this authority declares to "wipe of the map" yet denies (as seems to be the case) this treatment to his subjects (as not citizens, the Gazans are never treated as citizens by Hamas) fearing they will discover that there is no devil they constantly hear about but neighbour; common people with the same problems, joys, fears and lives to live; it is an equivalent of, say, Fidel Castro from old USSR time sending his relative for free medical treatment in the US.

There are many people in Israel keen on building some kind of relations, understanding, neighbourly feelings with Palestinians on basis of humanitarian medical help. It is also state's policy. I believe there are many Palestinians who appreciate it and who are aware that better, less hostile relations on ground (no matter what big politics is) are available and long for them. Yet the barrier is constantly being reinforced by Palestinian authorities (both Fatah and Hamas, but Hamas especially). Even when it means abusing sick people and abusing humanitarian aid. Sad!

Pictures from Negev

I realised that putting the description of Negev, that I have fallen in love with, I didn't give you a taste of it looks through some of my pictures - so I share them now and please, let me know if you like them :)

Mountain hero from Israel

detailed description of the conditions and action
another link with the story

I used to climb, many years ago, nothing so extreme as Himalayas,but it was passion for few years and I knew lots of Himalaists at the time. The passion for mountains, respect for them and apprecietion of true human values high above the earth stayed with me for all consecutive years.

Thus I really read with passion and understanding the story of young Israeli climber. It happened in May this year. He is just 24 and had a chance to become the youngest Israeli to climb Mt. Everest but 300 meters below summit, with all chances of making it, he encountered Turkish climber, unconscious, lying in the snow without some parts of the gear and without oxygen supply. He hesitated not! He abandoned his climbing attempt and risking his life helped this man to get out of the "death zone" (above 8.000 meters above sea level) to the camp. It took him some 9 hours of hardship but he never gave up. On his way he had an occasion - not lost - to help one more climber in trouble.

It should be natural for people in extreme conditions to help each other, but for a long time it is not (was it ever?). Climbing Mt. Everest takes months of preparation, years of previous climbing, lots of money and days of torture in extreme conditions. When the summit is reachable most climbers dream about nothing but "making it and going home". Yes, there are those who always come back, who love it and depend on it but even they (and I used to know a few of them) talk about suffering. People put their lives in danger, the wellbeing of their near and dear to satisfy this "fever of summit". It is hard to resign (even when one should do so for one own's sake, let alone for somebody else's).

A famous, long gone (and perished in mountain rescue action) Polish climber once said: "you don't leave a friend in the mountains even if he is just a frozen burden". He lived up to it but most climbers nowadays don't.
Many of you have probably read "Into thin air" and remember that even saving lives of the members of the same team was sometimes not undertaken (even when there was NO risk - like leaving dying man, who to everybody's surprise made it, alone in the tent as nobody wanted to share it with him, keep giving him fluids, steroids and take care that he stays covered). South African (though led by British hoax) team refused allowing use of their radio batteries for rescue purposes, a month after 1996 tragedy 2 Japanese climbers just passed on their way up 2 dying men from Indian team - they had altitud sickness but no water, no help was given, no questions asked, the men perished.

So in my view everybody trying to rescue somebody (specially unknown) up there is a hero. In the death zone some claim the rescue attempts are just gestures endangering rescuers and not changing the outcome, but that is not true. There were many ocasions when rescue was succesful and human live saved but it was always done with extreme danger to the rescuers. Just let me remind the attempt to climb K@ by Americans in 1953 and efforts (unsuccesful but heroic) to save Arthur Gilkey; a rescue of Polish climber on Mt Everest after 5 perished in avalanche carried by his tem members or a help given in 1996 Everest tragedy by IMAX team).

The young Israeli was alone (and rascue action is so much easier and sensible when there are more rescuers), it was not a member of his team, attempting rescue he had absolutely no guarantee of success and guarantee of abandoning summit and risking his own life. Yet he did not hesitate!

He is a hero!!!!!

Tour through Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is approximately 4,000 years old and during 3,000 years of her history as the most sacred city in Judaism there were few times when Jews were banned from her. Notably:

• after Bar-Kochaba's insurection against Romans in 135 when genocide against Jews was full blown, Jerusalem (or her remains after 66 insurection) leveled and city rebuild as Aelia Capitolina with Jews banned from entering her,
• during Byzantine era when Christianity became state's religion and anti-Semitism was official policy Jews were sometimes banned totally and sometimes allowed to enter the city only once a year for Tisha b'Av (day of mourning for destroyed temple; strangly enough both first and second temples were destroyed on the exactly the same day according to Jewish calender, the 9th day of the month of Av). There was a break in this ban during reign of Julius Apostate who was not Christian and wanted to resurrect paganism but he also allowed Jews back to Jerusalem and allowed them to rebuild the temple, before it could have been accomplished his short reign was over.
• maybe right after the first crucade when city was completly destroyed and Jews and Muslims either slained or thrown away by crusaders (but we have no adequate statistics to be sure),
• during Jordanian occupation between 1948-1967 (but that goes for the Eastern Part and Old City only as from 1950 West Jerusalem that was in Israel is capital of Israel; the Old City against international treaties and ceasefire agreement was off-limits to Jews to the extent of checking baptismal certificates of the foreigners applying for visa. 

Until very late XIX century all inhibitants were living behind walls created in XVI century by Suleiman Magnificent. Only in late XIX century overcrowded city became expansion and one of the first districts for Jews was build by sir Moses Montefiore (today it is Artist Colony, beautiful as can be). War, siege and division wounded the city. When it was united in 1967 the Jewish Quarter was in ruins, synagogues blown up, stones from ancient Jewish cementary used for pavement in army's latrines (tell the true in the place of the old Muslim cementary in Western Jerusalem 5 stars hotel was build but at least the graves and stones themselves were not defaced). It was rebuild using exactly the same stone and plans and - as was for centuries before - The Old City is divided into four quarters: Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim with very distinctive character each.

There are lots of memoirs, books, documents, scetches of the Old City from different times. One of my favourites is "Forever My Jerusalem" by Puah Shteiner, but today I would like to tale you for the tour of the Jewish Quarter with me and show you my pictures with my favourite places. Will you join me?

The above is mosaic at the entrace to the Jewish Quarter from the direction of David street.

The above lot is from 4 sefardi synagogues united into one complex.

These 3 pictures are from Old Yishuv Court Museum, in Ottoman Era there were living quarters but also a small synagogue and as it was illegal when police was approaching Tora scrolls were hidden and people pretended they were playing cards.

The last two show board game from the time of II WW from Jerusalem and I have no doubts you have no problems recognising the two characters meeting their fate....

Hope you have liked it :)