Europe's Jerusalem

It didn't take me too long to track down the local synagogue - but in a country where religion is such an issue historically at least, it's something of a surprise to find this has at least one tourist map called "Sarajevo - the european Jerusalem" (meaning all the faiths are here).

Sure enough on every street corner there is a mosque and then varying shades of catholic or orthodox christianity - few sign of methodist missionaries here!

But regular readers will not be surprised to learn that I tracked down the Jewish Museum and the Ashkenazi synagogue _ I've been past the historic (oldest?) jewish cemetery but haven't been back yet with the camera...

The Jewish community here is down to just 600 but before WWII was at over 12,000... and the museum reflects the cultural panoply of that community. But in practising terms, I understand the old synagogue is just a museum used annually and this Askenazi synagogue is the only operational place of worship for Sarajevo's jewish community.

NW3's Embassy

One of the more significant bits of public space is here in NW3, at the end of Eton Avenue, just outside the Hampstead Theatre and the Central School of Speech and Drama.

The School has an amazing schedule of alumni and a proud track record of providing high quality education and training.

But the building itself has considerable history and hosts the Embassy Theatre.

The Theatre accomodates about 700 people and is a former Music Hall and dates essentially from 1928 when it was converted by architect Andrew Mather. It was previously Eton Avenue Hall from 1890 then Hampstead Conservatoire of Music.

During WWII the building was damaged and so saw an extensive refurbishment in 1945/1946.

The Theatre has a crucial place in the history of the development of modern Hampstead and Belsize in that it hosted the meetings of the AJR (Association of Jewsh refugees). This group initially met at 26 Belsize Park and then rented small premises at 279a Finchley Road before moving to 8 Fairfax Mansions.

On 27th May 1945 a meeting at the Embassy Theatre to mark the end of the wa saw 800 people in the theatre and 200 more outside and again on 3rd September the venue was used for the next stage of the AJRs work. A fascinating little part of the rich tapestry of NW3.

Blog-log day 12 - that dialogue over that fence over there

Two days ago I got the number 18 bus from East Jerusalem Bus Station, Nablus Road, and went to Ramallah - it was only brief and I hope to go back this week. But what I saw was full-on city - with an economy, with ambition, with potential. If it were (and this risks sounding trite) a part of London you would call on the council to take it's responsibilities seriously and crack on with the physical and economic regeneration that would move it forwards in leaps and bounds.

But whilst the government, people and army of Israel feels compelled to defend itself then the whole thing is depressed and maintained at a level that cannot and will not thrive.

The over-riding topic in Israel and on the West Bank in political conversations is that of security - and yet there is a curious double existence with the religious pilgrimages going on all around from Christians, Jews and Muslims.

This photograph of the security fence around the West Bank is taken from Mount Zion (Ironically I was visiting Oskar Schindlers tomb). It wasn't a clear day, but you can see the dominance of the Israeli security fence.

For a long time I have held the instinctive position that constructing walls between communities is wrong, that use of violence is wrong, that human rights are fundamental. Much of these 'western values' emerged from the wreckage of World War II and are principles that my grandfather's who fought in that war would recognise.

We tend to view the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians as a conflict that just needs sorting out. But here it is a battle for survival. There are groups, movements, armed individuals, groups and even countries that don't want Israel to exist. But the right for Israel to exist is now a permanent one and is now accepted in most Arab capitals.

So if you accept the right for Israel to exist, and then regret the existence of the walls and fence and the conflict you still have to handle the fundamental issue of security. And this it seems is where the mainstream debates in Europe and Israel differ. This week in one of the papers here, the former Israeli Ambassador to Germany described Israel and Europe of having two monologues instead of one dialogue and it feels to me like that's an accurate call.

There are countless community peace initiatives - in the UK, in Europe and even here in Israel - I saw the joint music centre in Ramallah - but it seems to me that these community led initiatives will count for nothing whilst the wider concerns over security exist. This is where Europe seems to part company with Israel. Whilst Europe's assumption is that that peace will come through trust, it feels like a pipe dream here. Neither side is going to stop it's current conduct. If anything it feels more likely that it will escalate. Israel will do anything (almost literally) to defend itself, it's people and it's existence - here on the ground I see and understand that. And the concerns over human rights, over atmospheric tension, over the effect on the next generation of Palestinians are put to one side.

The task for those of us who care about this is to reflect the concerns over the future of statehood - for both sides - understand the scale of passion on the need to defend yourself and security, security, security. Then and only then can a dialogue start that might enable real borders (not fences and walls) and then move into ordinary economic and human rights work. If this was easy it probably would have progressed - but it is not - and on the ground I guess I just understand the impossibility of the situation and the passions aroused by religion and borders and statehood. You end up trying to decide whether to try and make a difference or whether to walk away and try something else in another sphere of the world.

Blog-log Day 10 - getting under the skin of old Jerusalem

This risks being one of the most unlikely blog post yet - and I sense you have doubts already... bear with me.

• The American Colony Hotel (much recommended by a friend) in East Jerusalem.
• The road sign for Nablus Road - which is where the Hotel is...
• And Palestinian Pottery - specialising in hand decorated tiles Est 1922.

The Hotel is the heart of diplomatic, international visitors in East Jerusalem - a regular hang-out for journalists, businessfolk and politicians. But the Amercan Colony Hotel also has an amazing history and heritage to it and a visitors book to wonder at.

The Nablus Road sign is perhaps a shade unfair - but as I walked from Damascus Gate along the Nablus Road you have a sense that you are moving into the European Quarter yet you are in the much spoken of East Jerusalem and it looked to me like this was a bullet pitted street name sign.

And so to the Palestinian Pottery - I was reading my book by Edwin Samuel (Sir Herbet's son), A Lifetime in Jerusalem - and I recollected that I read that he set up a fair in the Old City of Palestinian craftsmen.

"In 1921, the first exhibition of indigenous Palestinian arts and crafts, largely peasant ware, was held in the Citadel, and I was made the organizer" Edwin Samuel, Second Viscount Samuel.

So the connecting threads are these:

1. all three are on the Nablus Road, there is much much more to East Jerusalem than Palestinian/Israeli dispute (don't judge a book by it's cover or just the reviews),
2. Herbert and Edwin Samuel are inextricably links to all three - Nablus Road was a main thoroughfare for Mandate officials,
3. the Colony Hotel was a key part of the British Adminstration and there some pretty compelling empirical evidence that Edwin Samuel was involved in the promotion that led to this company setting itself up...

Blog-log Day 7 - history, current affairs, future hopes all in one

Readers of this blog will know I have always tried to illustrate a story with a picture - but it can be quite hard t use just one picture - sometimes the local history find is such that I have a bonanza of pictures. Today, my excuse is that I am in Jerusalem...

[A reminder that where it's a small picture the reader should be able to double click on the photo and it open up at full size so you can see the detail].

Here you are quite literally walking on history and walking on layer upon layer of the stuff. But this isn't history as some cool, detatched even academic perspective - this is the stuff of current affairs, international diplomacy and religious passion.

But of course the other thing about Jerusalem and the history is that it is SO important to those today that it is still living and breathing and all around.

So this picture of the Dome of the Rock - one of the most venerated of Muslim sites - photographed here from the roof terrace. This is in fact a few hundred yards away and the modern satellites betray that there are people living amidst, what in the rest of the world would be historical sites and just historical sites. In this charged environment they are residential, precisely because they are so so important.

So you walk away from the Western Wall plaza, take a staircase, wander on aimlessly a bit - gazing at your guidebook trying to work out what appears next and you find you are literally on a roof and there are three layers of shops and residency and worship beneath you and due to the landcape of the mountain up to four storeys of archaeology under that!

In fact I was so high up that this massive spire of the Lutheran Church was almost at eyesight level - and this is one of the highest points in the city! It's amazing.

And it was that point that got me thinking - the issue here is what has gone before. It's not what happens today, it's not yesterday - it's who has been here before. On one level it is the pilgrims, the residents, the soldiers (too many soldiers) and the generations of events and activity - but most of them were/are here for the religious devotions that are undertaken in memory of the historical figures who were themselves here.

So this graffiti - devotional, dated, carved into the wood and the marble and the stone of the door frames of many and most of the churches gives you a powerful realisation that your steps are but two steps amongst literally millions of others.

But the challenge is making those traditions of the past work today shoulder to shoulder, cheek by jowel. And it would seem to the tourist eye that there is an equilibrium.

But that in itself risks being a deception. The Israeli governance over Jerusalem only really dates from 1967 in modern terms and that led to the clearing of the old housing that clustered in front of the Western Wall [aka the Wailing Wall]. So what is now a great visitors plaza is in fact a highly political space - for all Jews - perhaps it is now the most precious religious space. In fact in that context one of the great outstanding issues in the peace talks of the future is the Temple Mount.

But right now you have the Western Wall and nest to that a convoluted wooded construct walkway that leads to the Dome of the Rock - all to accomodate the various histories that currently co-exist.

Now the general assumption over the years was that history - whilst it is grasped and clutched to the breast of each cause and faction to their advantage - that in fact time is a healer of sorts, in that the human memory forgets knowledge and fails to pass it on.

The Western Wall is significant for two factors - the first is it significant because it is the closest wall to the former site of the Holy of Holies - this was the temple built upon the site where Abraham was going to sacrifice his son. The destruction of the temple by the Roman Emperor Titus after the first Jewish rebellion was pretty complete - some 50 years later a more intense form of destruction was wreaked by the Emperor Hadrian to surpress another revolt.

Both of these events have led to a human recollection that says that the bit of the Western Wall visible from the Plaza (above) is the only surviving structure.

Two issues with that. First is that in fact bits of the other walls - north, west and south all survive but for Jews it's the proximity to the Holy of Holies that is religiously significant. Secondly archaeologists have confirmed and now opened up the full length of the Western Wall as a tunnel and with it the site of the earliest synagogue - and that tunnel was my experience today. Pictured here are the stones of the Herodian 2nd temple, still standing, still acting as foundation stones to the constructs of subsequent generations over them.

So being in Jerusalem - in Israel - listening to issues around the conflicts of the middle east - I was really struck today that with the history live and in front of us - it's also above and below us, all around and is a relevant now as ever before.

Blog-log Day 6 - a giant of the 20th century

This was high on my list of visit options in Tel Aviv and managed to get there today before heading up to Jerusalem via Mobi'in.

And sure enough, David Ben Gurions house did not diappopint. Getting there early meant there was no-one else in the house so we had the whole place to ourselves.

The charm, the simplicty, the learned knowledge hungry nature of the man that I had read about stood out more than anything else.

The ground floor is so of it's time - 50's I think - the green tiling has a style that is so retro today, the furniture if unfussy.

The only element that feels like it crowds the house at all are the gifts from Heads of State and adoring associations. Just how many elephants died for high quality african tusks to be presented to him..?

But upstairs was the gem - or gems. The library. This was clearly a book thirsty, knowledge hungry, avid reader. Books everywhere - wall to ceiling. To say I felt some jealousy would be to go too far but when you appreciate the breadth of the reading and you realise that the collection is stunning...

Ben Gurion was not without his critics - his ability to leave his party and form a new movement occurred twice - relatively unsuccessfully - the last when he was over 80!

But his role on the world stage is undisputed and he was a political giant whilst being of very small stature.

There are no shortages of biographies on line and published available and it;s worth getting behind the man and his achievments to understand who he was and what drive him.

Crucially he fought for his nationality, created a nation, established institutions - he quite literally led and drove the movement that made Israel a reality and not just an intellectual concept - and at a time when pogroms and the genocide of the holocaust created such a need for hope and refuge,

Blog-log Day 5 - the British High Street legacy in Tel Aviv

So what is the visible and immediate UK legacy here in Tel Aviv?

It feels like an incredibly liberal, vibrant and positive city - many communities, still growing - the nearest thing, bar the climate, to a London-esq sense of village communities.

The amusing thing - and when Herbert Samuel arrived a Governor of Palestine the legacy must have been still very live - is the way the streets are named after British figures: Herbert Samuel, Arthur Balfour, George V and Edmund Allenby.

Happy to be corrected but I reckon most people will be aware that George V was King but little sense of his significance to Israel or Tel Aviv, as previously posted no understanding of who Herbert Samuel was, Edmund Allenby I think has no recognition - being interested in history I knew him to be a soldier and the leader of the middle east campaigns of the first world war but I think I'm in a minority.

Arthur Balfour however, in reversal of his recognition rate in the UK is heralded here as for his Balfour Declaration that led in time to the creation of the modern state of Israel... But Allenby's road/street is the larger, more significant route through the city. :-)

I'm staying on Allenby Street and I have to say it has a quality that is incredibly reminiscent to the Kilburn High Road - that sense of different by day and by night, all traders cheek-by-jowel, an amazing history that is much underplayed (though hinted at a bit) and is a key road through the midst of this whole city - much like the High Road is to north west London.

So in that comparative vein I thought I would draw in my age old tradition of looking at the variety of street signs - there is something incredibly charming and special about street names.

It's as though the way in which a community is signed is an insight into the way in which that community has a self-esteem supported by the governance arrangements that sustain it.

I think Allenby Road has an incredible sweeping effect through this city - one of the guidebooks describes it as 'enigmatic' - for me it the best insight there is into what Tel Aviv is, where it has come from and where it might be going...

All great stuff and there for anyone to see - for me this afternoon in was a great wander, stopping, looking up, taking pictures (too many over the course of just 3 hours!) and gazing at what was hidden, but yet still very visible to the inquisitive eye.

Blog-log Day 4 - Hampstead Liberal in Tel Aviv

So just howdoes the main road along Tel Aviv coast end up being named Herbert Samuel Esplanade?

Herbert Samuel, later Lord Samuel, has largely dropped from public knowledge in the UK but in terms of several elements for me he's a crucial piece of a local jigsaw.

On a simple and political level Herbert Samuel was leader of the Liberal Party - not the most prestigious period from 1931-1935 - and is one of the Leaders during an almost 'dark ages' following the splits with Lloyd George and well before the Grimond Revival.

Further, Herbert was a school boy at UCS, University College School - then in Gower Street, now in Frognal, Hampstead. Thus making him an Old Gower (as frmer pupils of UCS are known).

And finally and crucially he was the first Governor (Commissioner) of Palestine under the British Mandate - making him the first Jewish ruler of what is now Israel since ancient times. It's for this third role that he generate the kudos to gain the main street in Tel Aviv being named after him... There's a short video on him here: www.youtube.co.uk/474towin

I just wonder how many other UCS boys have a main road in a city named after them?

Blog-log Day 2 - Yitzhak Rabin Square

It's pretty shocking at any level - to lose your Prime Minister through violence - but the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin sent a serious shock wave through all those seeking peace.

It was probably the biggest world event for 1995 - considering the impact of the Middle East on world affairs...

So for me heading to the now named 'Yitzhak Rabin Square' was always going to be a core staple of being in Israel and specifically Tel Aviv.

What I hadn't quite thought through was the extent to which not only is he honoured and recognised - the bust and the plaque etc, but the entire assassination is almost rehearsed through - the plaque of all the key players (including the un-named murderer), the spots on which they were all standing and the graffiti wall with the peace posters that went up now preserved.

Hmmm, lots to think through - but when I was first in Israel - it was the personal dynamic between Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres that was a key factor in all of the politics and diplomacy for Israel and the Middle East. That was shattered with the bullets of an assassin.

If nothing else it's a clear confirmation that the removal of weapons is the crucial lesson for all roads to peace. At the end of one year and the start of another the prayers for peace from Israel seem all the more poignant.

Blog-log Day 1 - the beach at Tel-Aviv

At first glance this could be any holiday snap taken anywhere - beach, inclement weather, historical features, art galleries, meals out - but somehow its not just anywhere: it's Israel.

The beach is stunning - fine sand, lovely depth, surfers, animal lovers, swimmers and families - all the usual components.

But being Israel there's a significant hesitation in people's voices when they ask 'why holiday there?'

But as you can see a beach is a beach is a beach.

But of course, as we all know it's not quite that simple - Tel Aviv is only 100 years old this year and Israel as a modern state was only founded in 1948. That first year was no simple delcaration of independence - in the days immediately after Israel found itself at war for it's very survival. This monument, on the beach at Tel Aviv, speaks of the role of the Altalena ship.

My short hand version is that the Israeli Government shelled the ship, which was carrying arms and ammunition for Israeli paramilitaries and it was the show of force between the Government (establishing itself) and the paramilitaries not yet incorporated into the mainstream army.

It's all pretty heady stuff and part of the rich tapestry that comes about at the formation of states, however controversial...

Bergen-Belsen blog report 2

One of the slightly unlikely elements of the camp at Bergen-Belsen was the number of Russian prisoners held there. And so these pictures record the Russian cemetery and the Belarus Ambassador to Germany (?) leading the tributes (below - suited).

This was essentially due to it's being used as a prisoner of war camp initially. It's only later that it was used for Jewish and civillian prisoners and then subsequently as a concentration camp.

So it is that over 50,000 Russians lie buried here... a truly awful number of people. And of course being so far removed from Russia, in western Germany, it's one of the more over-looked elements.

The burial mounds are all laid out and marked with a brown stone witha slavic cross - the number of them is the most daunting feature of the graveyard.

The other element that is so stark is just how far away from the document centre and the Jewish memorial the Russian monument is...

It adds to the sense of a forgotten sacrifice and reveals a small element of the tensions that existed.

Further, it also illustrates the size of the camp when in operation and the extent to which the forest has since encroached back. The other factor is that actually the prisoners in the camp were themselves segregated and kept very very much apart...