A Personal Perspective .. What Jerusalem Needs "Now, Not Tomorrow"

Author: Ghassan Abdullah

Because Jerusalem is not just stones or mere places for shopping or visiting, and as a citizen who observes, reads, and listens to what people share in secrecy and publicly, trying to understand their sighs and life challenges, even after death - the issue of exhuming graves recently - and since the cultural life has been witnessing a withdrawal that has never happened before, and since the educational reality has begun to roll from a state of misery to a complete absence of its desired active role in Jerusalem, all of this brings forth these words, which may not please some.

A quick glance at the landmarks of Jerusalem, the land of civilizations and the cradle of heavenly religions, and what its archaeological and religious sites reveal of differences, disputes, invasions, and wars, we see that they have formed and still are, a human, architectural, and cultural mosaic that is almost unique in the whole universe, whether we accept this or not, which obliges us to acknowledge the necessity of humanizing people and respecting what our predecessors have left us, regardless of gender, race, or religion.

A behavior has accompanied me for decades, as you might see me from time to time rushing to sit together in our private sanctuary, where we enjoy a cup of plain coffee followed by a sesame cake and a boiled egg (Hammim, as the pure Jerusalemites say) or a falafel disk, not to forget the thyme or salt with thyme flavor. During all this, we recall our sessions at the "Maqatir" oven, "Abu Ali's oven," may God have mercy on him, and allow ourselves to engage in conversations about what the jewel of the crown was like in the mid-seventies of the last century and what it has become these days despite the deception and superficiality and the attempts to fake it, and what it hides of disintegration, animosity, and hatred.

When one begins to talk about these situations, we wish for several wishes, the first of which is:
- That affection, love, and concern for unity and safety return to reality and not just words, and
- The second wish is that we find a satisfactory answer for the reasons behind the rapid deterioration of all aspects of life: health, education, social and psychological conditions, all of which are witnessing successive and varying disturbances, and that we do not suffice in using the reality of the existing power as a scapegoat to place our shortcomings and negligence upon.

The goal here is not to engage in self-flagellation by continuing to drown in diagnosing the miserable reality, as much as it is an attempt to search for a compass that may save what can be saved, towards starting to preserve not only what remains but also to recover what has been taken from us or what we have destroyed with our own hands, whether out of ignorance or due to personal interests, most of which lie in the realm of self-interest.

Regarding the first wish, social media has played a disgusting role in broadcasting contradictions and nonsense, which has led us to see behaviors rejected by religious beliefs and the values and morals contained within them. We see hypocrites and slogan sellers riding the horse of bravado, while we see expired food stands; we hear and see cases of severing ties of kinship, and we perceive that loud phenomena dominate the streets and alleys of Jerusalem. When you see/hear that, you feel as if the country is in the best condition and everything is fine, but when you witness and hear about episodes of fighting and deliberate killings (even for the most trivial reasons), and assaults on those performing the educational message in classrooms, and doctors' offices, and when you see and hear about bullying and various forms of harassment, and the constant threat of some women/children to their parents/spouses to resort to the police to resolve trivial disputes, and you see the disintegration of families and the decline in commitment to maintaining family ties even in the holy month, in the face of these situations, we are not left with only the necessity to energize our spirits and gather efforts to restore matters to their rightful course, instead of merely withdrawing as if the matter does not concern me!!

Here comes the desired role of reformers to undertake the humanitarian and even ideological mission entrusted to them, which is contrary to the profession of making a living or earning a profit, the task of reconciling between the parties and families according to the commandment: "And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah." Thus, civil peace is established and mutual love and affections spread among the people, at the hands of reformers who possess the fear of God and piety, and thus we guarantee integrity and compassion. We will find many such individuals in the Jerusalem community who are in dire need of them these days due to the existing political reality that necessitates crystallizing a clear vision regarding Jerusalem and its institutions, by entrusting matters to those who are active and possess vision and insight; "And announce good tidings to those who work," not to the theorists or those parachuted onto the Jerusalem community or climbers or those who extort in a forceful manner or those who use the title of Jerusalemite citizenship as a pass to achieve their personal interests. And let us always remember: "God sees," and let the motive for work be: "Say, 'Work, and Allah will see your work and [so will] His Messenger and the believers.'" Thus, their deeds will remain a treasure for them, their history, their mention, and their fragrant biography among the honorable members of the Jerusalem community, as is the case with many living and deceased Jerusalemites.

There is another step to achieve this wish, represented in what family affairs expert Dr. Rabeha Abu Hilal pointed out, calling for the start of a model style within the family, meaning that parents and siblings should be role models for younger family members in practicing all that is commendable and avoiding all that is blameworthy, as an established life approach.

Returning to the second wish, it is no secret that one of the most important reasons for the continuous deterioration affecting all aspects of life is the existence of a single reference that the Jerusalem community trusts, that is far removed from narrow partisanship and political affiliation. Such establishments cling to their luxurious offices and under many names, but what unites them is the avoidance of serious and tangible actions to solve community problems, or some of them, the most important of which is the exorbitant increase in housing rents and the outrageous high cost of property, and what may result from that of monopolies, and many times we hear about fraudulent schemes.

Therefore, we need to find a technocrat council of specialists and experienced individuals in their fields, who enjoy the greatest degree of integrity and community outreach in Jerusalem, ensuring that this does not replace the official bodies working within the Jerusalem community, but rather operates and exercises its desired role through continuous coordination and cooperation with these official bodies. Here, we would have taken the first step towards rebuilding the identity of the Jerusalemite individual in an atmosphere dominated by love, coordination, and unconditional and limitless cooperation.

After this, it becomes essential to pay attention to the most important component of civil peace and security, which is the education system that must be based on promoting the values of tolerance, pluralism, differences, and critical thinking, as this cannot happen unless we restore the prestige and meaning of the education message and involve its three pillars (teachers, parents, and students) in planning, implementing, and then evaluating and improving.