Reform Reflections: To be a Jerusalemite

My municipal tax bill arrived this week, and on its envelope an unforgettable slogan: it pays to be a Jerusalemite.

My first response was to laugh out loud: the contents of the envelope made it abundantly clear that one has to pay a significant amount of cash in order to be a Jerusalemite - or at least one of that increasingly besieged species: Jerusalemites who pay any taxes at all.

The City of Jerusalem can be a demanding hostess. Only one thing could be more concerning than taking a brief look at its economic prospects - namely, taking a long look at those prospects. Destruction and construction are to be found strewn across the city in equal measure. The ultra-rich are displacing the working poor and also just regular folks from certain neighborhoods. To put the icing on the cake, this week I find myself banished from my own office due to the presence in this city of George W. Bush and the 8000 police personnel on duty here.

Often the magic of the city, so apparent to a passing visitor, can be hard for a local to perceive. It's messy and angry and less tolerant than it used to be. A steady stream of non-Haredi residents is heading (literally) for the hills, scouring the Jerusalem Corridor for a broom cupboard or a cubbyhole.

The slogan that "it pays to be a Jerusalemite" did indeed make me laugh, which was fortunate, since it helped soften my shock and awe when I discovered how much I was being charged for the privilege of living here. After the amusement and the amazement, however, came the realization that it really does pay to be a Jerusalemite.

For me it is not any particular aspect of what my Municipality does with my tax shekels which leads me to the conclusion that living here has such a hefty pay-off. The mayor is not likely to hire me as his PR spokesperson. It is not as if the garbage collection or the street lighting is so much better organized or enlightening than anywhere else one might choose to live. For me, it pays to be a Jerusalemite for three reasons: history, variety and involvement.

For almost any time during the last forty generations the claim to be a citizen of Jerusalem would have been at best implausible, at worst impossible. To live in Jerusalem was a distant dream, and the privilege of realizing the yearning of generations is palpable. Jerusalem's stones are seeped in time. History leaks from its roves. Tombs and temples, reservoirs and residences, and the prayers of generations - they are all here. It is a wonder to be part of it.

Jerusalem is In Your Face. Walk around the Machane Yehuda market and you will have every kind of produce and opinion held up right in front of your nose. Now it is true that one of the most important encounters of our time, that between Jew and Arab, has been severely curtailed in this city (and just about everywhere else in Israel). Still, there are some contacts and conversations which persist. The gulf separating rich and poor in this city has not been so egregious since the days when the Temple stood here, and that also presents a moral blight on Jerusalem. But despite all these real concerns, she is still a place where you can walk down the street and encounter friends, foes, strangers, teachers, provocateurs and prophets. It's not like living in a generic leafy suburb. There is much I dream about seeing in this city: high on the list at the moment are real East-West communication, a decent light railway system, bicycle lanes and a sea view. We are as likely to get the last of these as we are to see the first three any time soon.

As a Reform Jew, I hear the call of Jerusalem to be part of its impossible mosaic. I read the papers and see the signs, and I know that one day in the coming years the demography of the city may have little place for Jews of my disposition. In the meantime, the city remains what I called in an earlier piece a Jewish Disneyland. The sheer volume and quality of the learning and teaching going on here is stupendous. I don't want us Liberals here to go gently into that dark night of intolerance and narrowness. We must not give up on this place. We are not missionaries here in Jerusalem, but perhaps in some way we are heirs to the pioneers. If Jerusalem is to remain the capital of the Jewish world, those who espouse views reflective of that wider Jewish world will have an important role to play in preserving the city's variety, and also perhaps her sanity. I don't want Disneyland to turn into Theater of the Absurd.

As I pay the exorbitant City Tax I will have cause to reflect that whatever they are charging, the price of admission to the greatest show in the Jewish world is cheap. I can't be sure that my children will want to live in Jerusalem, or that tomorrow's Jerusalem will want them to be part of it. I think it's up to us to see that in the future, despite many sad, infuriating and often desperate aspects of life here, it will still pay to be a Jerusalemite. And I still think they should change the slogan to read: You'd Be Paying Less If Other Jerusalemites Were Paying At All.