Twice in his youth, Bambi’s dad visited Jerusalem, from out of Beirut, on his Vespa scooter; the first time with his friends, the second was with his family members.
Unlike her dad, Bambi has never visited Jerusalem. Only once, she had the chance to visit this place for work reasons, as a PhD candidate. Unfortunately, although the reason of that trip was a dream conference and it was fully funded by one of her supervisors, she decided to decline this opportunity to keep being able to visit her family in her birth country. Indeed, for those who do not know it, Lebanon and Israel do not have diplomatic relationships still (and now there is a current re-occupation). In other terms, these two neighbouring countries remain in a legal state of war.
Even if she can see the beauty of Jerusalem in pictures, videos, and/or hear stories about it from here and there, Bambi does not have any spiritual dream to visit this place. She can read Jesus’ stories, or listen to prayers or Christmas songs, while using her own imagination and this is enough for her.
Despite the above, of course she understands the spiritual attachment toward this place in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Of note, the order used in the former sentence is strictly alphabetical since, in Bambi’s opinion, no religion should have an exclusive monopoly on Jerusalem’s beauty. As a matter of fact, the charm of this place (city or capital, as you wish), is its rich historical and spiritual heritage, at least in her mind… and from very far away.
She does not know about your own thoughts, but as far as Bambi is concerned, she is allergic to the religious component of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to any other armed conflict, including the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). With all due respect to everyone, she isn’t fond of the religious tension or rivalry among religions. She finds it both dangerous and absurd.
Whether it is perceived as the Temple Mount or as the Alqsa Mosque, for Bambi this so-called holy site is the same: a beautiful historical and spiritual place. The same “house” of God/G-D and maybe also a touristic site that everyone would enjoy visiting and finding inner peace in. Why not?
Of course, the above is Bambi’s own perception (yours is likely different) and the reality on the ground is something else. We all know the facts or learned about them in school, regardless of one’s preferred historical and/or current lens. One thing is clear: over the past 59-60 years, there have been many tragedies and crises related to this Temple-Mosque holy site. Many innocent people absurdly lost their lives. Others were injured. Sadly, some unwise Israeli politicians as well as Palestinian religious men fired up the crowds—on both sides.
Most recently, the media keep reporting about an odd AND uncivilized Israeli character called Mr. Itamar Ben Gvir. Along with a few settlers, Mr. Ben Gvir went to Jerusalem, despite his own government’s imposed status quo on the Temple-Mosque holy site (in which he is a Minister, imagine; https://tinyurl.com/ydeb5jcw). In the name of a personal prayer there, which would have been his natural right in a different context, he once again provoked Palestinians and many, if not most, of his fellow Israelis who do not like his reckless methods or messages.
In this highly tensed powder keg of the Israeli-conflict, as an extremist, Mr. Ben Gvir keeps provoking the extremists of the other side (e.g., Hamas et al.). Mr. Ben Gvir is putting his beloved Israel at increased risk of more troubles. Hasn’t he heard of the wise French saying that goes like this: “who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind”?
Because of this risk, at a critical time of history, does Mr. Ben Gvir deserve to remain part of his government? And most importantly, will he remain a politician after the forthcoming Israeli elections? Or will he return to his legal career and let the Israeli public life as well as the world be free of his shocking actions and statements? If so, can this give the cause of peace a better chance of one day seeing the light… if miracles exist even in apparently unsolvable world conflicts?
