Mission, Jerusalem
«Oeverything starts here and everything will end here”shouts the elderly religious Jew outside the walls of the Old City. The eschatological doctrines of Jews, Muslims and Christians meet in the Holy City, especially when the sirens sound. You can see it in the eyes of believers and non-believers alike as they seek refuge from the Iranian missiles.
In the appeals of Divine Providence for the salvation of the loved ones and the destruction of the enemies, in the pursed lips, in the nervous movements of young and old when the siren finds them on the street. But nothing is over until it ends, they say, each side expecting the end of the world to happen on its own terms.
En route from the Jordanian border to Jerusalem, the Israeli driver calls his wife on the phone to alert her in case she didn’t hear the alarm. Holding the steering wheel with one hand and the prayer book with the other, he recites an invocation to the Creator and steps on the gas. Explosions are heard in the background as the car narrowly passes army jeeps coming from the opposite direction. “Bibi (the prime minister) is fulfilling a divine mission” he says to “B” when the danger has passed and we leave the road that parallels the Jordan River to climb the rocky hills to the city of the three monotheistic religions.
“We all make mistakes”
“We are not afraid, we are the most powerful country in the world” exclaims a few hours later the young employee Or Cohen in the once bustling but now deserted Ben Yehuda neighborhood in central Jerusalem. “When Iran is destroyed, the world will be better, but then the Arabs will turn against us again. Bibi is the best prime minister, as for those who accuse him, we all make some mistakes”. What would Israel be like without Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah? “You describe Heaven to me” says a jeweler who initially thought a customer had entered her shop.
The easing of Iranian missile attacks and the easing of security measures after a week of war has given Israel’s population a respite, but the return to normality is being thwarted by alarms sounding every now and then on mobile phone apps and the escalation of military operations in Lebanon. Tens of thousands of reservists once again made their way to the northern border, this time for a large-scale offensive which – if the far-right nationalist economy minister is to be believed Bezalel Smotrich – will turn Hezbollah strongholds as far south as Beirut into rubble, as happened in Gaza.
“We didn’t do anything to them”
THE David and his wife, in their twenties with a baby in a stroller, came from a mosav (cooperative farming village) in Ashkelon, very close to Gaza, to walk to a large mall in Jerusalem that has a shelter. “Jews are being targeted everywhere in the world. The government is doing everything perfectly, Bibi with him Trump» says David. As for the leveling of Gaza, “we hadn’t done anything to them, everyone there was celebrating on the 7th of October”, the woman adds, “perhaps there were good ones among them who were killed, but what is the army to do?”.
At every step in Jerusalem you feel the heavy religious and political heritage. The population is predominantly conservative, different from that of Tel Aviv, which constitutes the “other”, liberal Israel. However, here too the two different trends are recorded. “We will win, we must finish Iran. Netanyahu is very good” says the Doris as he buys fruit at the Makhne Yehuda market. “I hope it ends quickly, that we have peace, but I fear that in a couple of years we will have problems from Syria again” says o Vol. His partner Shelly she scolds him and then bursts out: “On the one hand is the accuracy, on the other hand the disproportionate influence of the religious parties and the Far Right in the government, they give them what they ask for”. OR Annapicking dates on the next bench, emphasizes that winning is more important than the purse. “If Iran gets out of the way, our lives will be better. For many years we have been living under great pressure, with the nuclear threat. I wanted change, for Bibi to be replaced, but now I don’t see it”.
“It’s a just war”
Compared to the 12-day war last June, Israel is now receiving fewer rocket strikes. Polls show that eight in ten citizens support war against Iran, a figure that jumps to 93 percent when Palestinians and other Arabs who hold Israeli citizenship are removed. The opposition has sided with Netanyahu in the war, while his supporters see him as a modern-day King David. Analysts consider it likely that he will lead the country to early elections in the spring by betting on military successes.
“We did not want this war, we must end it now that we have cut off the head of the snake in Tehran”, says the settler Michael, “I voted for Bibi and I am satisfied with his work”. “I’m happy when I go to the shelter, when I fulfill this role” she says smiling Sunny, who lives in a settlement near Jerusalem. Her partner It was happeningautomatic weapon slung over his shoulder, nods. “It’s a just war, I pray for peace”.
The leftist pacifist camp, which once made its presence felt, has been defeated. THE Yesan advocate of the secular state, is pessimistic. “There is no way we will have peace. There is a difference between democracy and religion. Bibi is getting stronger, I hope the coalition opposition will limit him, but in the long run the religious will prevail, it’s a question of demographics” he adds.
“Every day is worse”
Even more pessimistic are the Palestinians in the deserted Old City. Rolls down everywhere. “Nothing changes, always wars, this is my life since 1948” says the 82-year-old Isaac. “The American Jew from New York comes here by plane, but the Palestinian from Bethlehem next door cannot come”. He adds bitterly that in the midst of war, two Arab countries opened their borders to Israelis to facilitate their return to their country, while Gaza is blockaded and settlers do whatever they want in the West Bank. “Every day is worse for Christians and Muslims. My family has been here for over 1,000 years” a Palestinian shopkeeper tells us from his half-open door. “This government is the worst. They are fighting with so many countries, but their currency is getting stronger. It is also the fault of the Arab countries that support them”.
Loudspeakers from mosques call Muslims to prayer as Jews prepare for the Sabbath holiday and helicopters transport wounded soldiers from Lebanon, among them the minister’s son Smotrich. Will the nightmare of missiles come again with the darkness?
