Jerusalem and Tel-aviv – a Study in Contrasts

Jerusalem has never been a noteworthy sample of the new Jewish spirit in Palestine and is especially uninspiring to the new American visitor today. The city bears few external marks of the disorders. All is peaceful, but there seems to be suffering from deep spiritual wounds. Jerusalem Jewry is doubtless unshaken at bottom, but they seem deeply troubled.

The presence in the Old City of massed Arabs, always subject to unfriendly agitation, and thousands of Jews of the old Yishub, not integrated in the Zionist body politic, the presence of the Mosque of Omar and the Wailing Wall, the centers of trouble, cause a great strain on Jerusalem Jewry.

The Hebron refugees and the Georgians, whose quarter was partly destroyed, are a constant reminder of the conflict. The presence of the multitude of government and Zionist officials, the Inquiry Commission and the constant trials for murder and other offenses, perpetuate the tension. Everyone has “just spoken to someone on the inside,” everyone has a rumor, everyone is theorizing about the riots, placing the blame and not analyzing the present nor trying to pierce the future. The tea table conversation in any home or restaurant is highly spiced with politics. Jerusalem’s great product today is political discussion. It has assumed a brooding, almost morbid character, preventing real ease of mind, even for the greatest optimist.

Although the riots are months behind and danger no longer existent, the atmosphere makes the new visitor jumpy. One eyes every Arab suspiciously. To walk a dark and lonely road seems a daring adventure.

Traveling north reveals the first ruins behind the infamous Arab village Lifta. Near Motza, where Arabs destroyed houses and murdered five Jews, bloodstains are visible on the steps of the ruined houses. It was a relief to put the hills between oneself and Jerusalem and to strike out through the ancient countryside for Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv, unlike Jerusalem, is without a past. The days move so quickly there is no time to brood over sad memories. This is a blessing today because it enables the inhabitants to avoid the depression which has been weighing on Jerusalem since the riots. In Tel Aviv, business is going on as usual. The streets are filled until late at night as there is no curfew. The restaurants and cafes are gay with young couples. The Opera House, near completion, is a brave sight. This city is not filled with politicians and officials. The rumors which infest Jerusalem explode before reaching here.

Above all, the Jews are conscious of the important fact that they are a 40,000-strong united front against a few propaganda-drunk hooligans who will not be permitted to tear down what they have built in hope and peace, for they are competent to defend themselves if the occasion arises. Confidence growing from this knowledge enables Tel Aviv, despite the horror of the riots, to regard them as a mere passing incident in the history of the new Yishub.

Attention is centered around deeper problems. Instead of political theorizing, one hears discussion on economic and technical matters, the condition of the established industries and the possibilities of founding others, credits and the means of improving products. Plans are under way to capture the nearby markets.

Tel Aviv business men take little stock of the theory of Moslem unity against the Jews and ask why the Moslems did not unite against England or Kemal Pasha who suppressed the Caliphate. “If we produce better and cheaper we can win the Egyptian and Syrian markets and establish friendly relations, but we need the government’s aid, better tariff and other reforms. The Zionist Executive should give more aid to the industries and should have agencies abroad,” the business men say, suggesting permanent exhibitions of Palestine products in New York and London. It is impossible to prophesize the future, but a community must be taken seriously whose boundless vitality and enthusiasm is based on the following sound principle: “We cannot succeed solely by virtue of Arab friendship or fail because of the enmity of a handful of reactionary ecendis and fanatics. Eretz Israel’s fate depends primarily on the success or failure of Jewish production processes. To these we dedicate all our energies.”