Op-Ed
West Side Story
Socialist Socialite
April 23, 2008 - 12:00amFour years ago I sat at this very desk in room 1069 filling out forms for Cornell housing. Once again I am scrambling to email professors (and in this case my editor) work from my balcony overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, squinting from the blinding glint off of the Dome of the Rock. With the rest of my family is sitting at the pool I am left alone to reflect how much this city and I have changed since I spent the year studying here.
Having spent a year living in the Old City of Jerusalem I know the area pretty well. I used to love to wander around the Armenian Quarter or the Arab shuk thinking I had earned local status and would be shown the real deals. I regularly took tours of each of the three monotheistic religion’s holy places. Even though I felt comfortable walking through the Armenian quarter at night I would always get in a cab before reaching the end because I found the walk right outside of the Old City jarringly different — creepy and desolate. If I ever walked from the Old City into town I always stayed on one side of the street, dreading a four block blighted empty construction site.
Today everything is different. An open air shopping center with cafes overlooking the Old City bustling with tourists, Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs has opened on this strip extending all the way to my hotel. I used to view the hotel as the last point of civilization before the Old City. Now it is part of a continuum that connects the Old City to the new development called Mamilla, named after the neighborhood it is in, and a burgeoning gentrified artists’ colony also at the outskirts of the Old City.
The stores in Mamilla are a mix of the familiar Israeli mall stores (Castro, Renaut and Michal Negrin) and some very welcome international imports (Mac, TopShop and a rumored but undiscovered American Apparel). At first I was disappointed with the break from the local commercial tradition. The Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Arab quarters all house local artisans, antique shops and souvenir traps. While each quarter has a distinct feel the commerce is tied with the place. In Mamilla the stores reminded me that even the yeshiva bachurs, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepluchre, the Armenian monks and the waqf need to shop sometimes.
Whenever Cornellians complain about the lack of shopping in Ithaca someone inevitably suggests opening a J. Crew and other national clothing chains. I used to think that should be our top priority in terms of commercial development. For awhile, however, I was swayed by some of my CRP classes that we needed more ethnically diverse stores. Having spent time in Mamilla I now realize that a pretty even mix is necessary. Hopefully an American Apparel would draw Cornell dollars into the Commons. But hopefully those dollars would also be spent at locally owned stores selling one-off items. Beyond the obvious economic stimulation that commercial developments spur, Israelis (and I would venture suburbanites) view the mall as an activity in of itself. They go for the movies or the cafes as much as the stores. Excepting the Old City, the malls were some of the most ethnically and socio-economically diverse places I went to in Israel. Ithaca may not seem similar to the war-torn image of Israel familiar from CNN but both communities are religiously diverse, socially fragmented, small-cities with local appeal and industries.
Unlike Ithaca where our limited social experience is determined by our own laziness, planning in Israel has at times impeded integration. Like Ithaca, Jerusalem is hilly. Similar to Cornell’s statement about its elevated status and intellectual pursuits, topography in Jerusalem is laden with claims about status, ownership and defense. It easy to assume the built environment occurs the way it does organically however planning has been shaping cities for centuries. Zoning and infrastructure have played a large role in keeping many of Jerusalem’s pockets as self-contained neighborhoods. Jerusalem is fragmented and defensive because of collective trauma due to inter-religious and ethnic conflict occurring before and after the State of Israel’s creation. Ithaca is also fragmented, spatially divided into nodes that have limited interaction. However it remains this way because of tensions between Cornell and the City of Ithaca, and our own inability to see beyond Ho Plaza. Ithaca, like Jerusalem, is religiously diverse with the Namgyal Monastery and the Twelve Tribes in addition to the various churches and synagogues. Ithaca, like Jerusalem, has places of worship spread throughout the city.
Cornell as a non-denominational school lacks a religious affiliation. All religions are housed together in Anabel Taylor Hall. It is ironic that religious practice is the only example I can think of on campus that has not been consciously segregated. Unlike the program houses which encourage self-selected segregation and are detrimental to social cohesion on campus, religious denominations do not have the ability to become insular. Cornell correctly takes religious sensitivity and unity to a higher level than I have experienced at any other school I have visited. Personally I have experienced Cornell’s articulated approach to religious integration through the availability of kosher (sometimes even hot and fresh) food all over campus.
However while Cornell’s dining plan has facilitated religious observance and social integration, campus is lacking infrastructural additions that could further welcome practicing Orthodox Jews on campus. Instead of rebuilding the Diversity Arches my parting request to the University, Hillel, the Board of Trustees, alumni and students is that it builds an eruv, a symbolic boundary that makes Sabbath observance much easier, as a practical symbol of Cornell’s religious sensitivity and diversity. My efforts in trying to organize this while on campus have been informed and informed by urban planning classes. I learned about municipal roadblocks, institutional politics and leadership failures. I encourage other students from all different communities, not just religious ones, to take on similar projects that will enrich their experience and Cornell’s campus.
Simone Greenbaum is a senior in the College of Art, Architecture and Planning. She can be contacted at sgreenbaum@cornellsun.com. Socialist Socialite appeared alternate Wednesdays this semester.
Eruv
Just thought I'd let it be known that an eruv is in the works. If you'd like more information about it, you can feel free to contact JLI Rabbi Meir Klein.