The wolf will live with the lamb,
The leopard will lie with the goat,
The calf and the lion and the yearling
Together;
And a little child will lead them
(Isaiah 11 6)

Some times walking the Jerusalem malcha shopping mall, you sort of feel like you live in Isaiah vision of the “end of days”. Ultra orthodox Jew, sitting on a bench next to a scholar Jewish girl, Hyjab covered Arab woman shopping for clothes in Israeli clothing chains while Christian Priests are escorting disabled children around the mall. Children of every color and nationality playing in the children designated area- while their parents watch them. Where workers in the stores are Arab and Jews- and they get along with each others.

It almost seems like the conflict and the hate is forgotten- here is a place where everyone lives in peace, where everyone can get along… all wrapped up in a neat little capitalist package.

But it is all deception…

We start with the most simple fact, the mall itself is a symbol of the conflict. A fancy big mall built on lands that was once Arab- Malcha was an Arab village that was attacked by the Irgun in the 1948 war. After a terrible battle with casualties from both sides, the village was conquered- the original villagers flew and their houses, and new Jewish residents moved in. In the 1990’s a new upscale neighborhood was built next to the old Arab village. But unlike other cases, the resident (which I am one of them) cannot fully ignore the history of the place- the village is still there, including the mosque, and still inhabited (by Jewish resident).

You also can’t really ignore that fact that a 10 minutes ride from there, there is a wall and beyond that you have Bethlehem, Bet Jalla and similar West Bank cities. The residents of those cities cannot go shopping in this mall- the Arabs who shop there come from inside Jerusalem, and amazingly enough also from Jordan… but someone from the West Bank cannot go there.

You cannot ignore the fact that signs of racism are always there (and I go there a lot- I should know). From the guard that makes racist comments to Arab woman when they enter the mall… to the occasional violent fights between teenage Jews and Arabs. And the one simple fact- now it relatively quite in Jerusalem, once things will no longer be quite, the this capitalist Utopia won’t be the same anymore.

But for now, when I go to the mall, I try to ignore all of those issue and for a short time fell a bit like I’m in the end of days utopia- granted not the one envisioned by the prophets- but one more fitting to this day and age.

Cross-posted from my personal blog.