Sunday November 16, 2008

I've Been Thinking:

Jerusalem held election for mayor this past week.
Billionaire, hi tech entrepreneur, Nir Barkat is the new mayor of the holy city. Barkat is not a religious man, but he is definitely respectful of religious life.
Jerusalem has special status for many people in the world, not only to those who live there.

Barkat lost the last election to Uri Lopolianksy who ran on a platform supporting religious life and the special religious status of Jerusalem.
Lopoliansky, a member of the ultra orthodox world, was a dismal failure.
Jerusalem suffered under Lopoliansky's tenure as mayor.

In many ways Jerusalem is a microcosm of Israel.
Jerusalem confronts the same challenges that confront Israel, only more so. Arabs make up one third of Jerusalem's population.
The secular/religious divide is fierce.
There is no real industry in Jerusalem.

If the newly elected mayor of Jerusalem chooses not to confront these problems the city will become more tense and more fractionalized than it already is.
The pulse of Jerusalem reverberates throughout the Middle East.

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