Holyland divided

Photo essay: Old Jerusalem and beyond

by Mahin Bahrami
07-Jul-2008
 

When I first entered through one of the city gates into Old Jerusalem I found myself squeezed amongst hundreds of people each holding an unlit candle, politely pushing and shoving each other to get to a particular spot in The City. With great difficulty I managed to squeeze my way through the narrow walkways and escaped through an opening where I encountered hundreds more waiting eagerly for something spectacular to happen. With a big question mark dangling over my head I surveyed the crowd looking for clues. After a few queries my ignorance of the reason for the public congregation was quickly abolished>>>FULL TEXT

* PART 1: Road to Jerusalem, literally

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more from Mahin Bahrami
 
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Ms. Bahrami

by Anonypishi (not verified) on

Thanks for sharing. Would you be kind and explain picture #39. Thank you again.


samsam1111

Ms Bahrami! IRI is not my enemy. My enemy is "ignorance"

by samsam1111 on

IRI simply falls in that category just as a Texan Red neck or an arab Jehadist does. A big chunk of Iran,s problems have nothing to do with IRI.Getting rid of IRI to me is only a minute 1st step.Iranians have even bigger issues to surpass which existed way before IRI and gave birth to it & I,m afraid will exist way after it,s gone. One of them is the fundamental question of "Iranian Identity" & which side of history are we on .once figured out for masses , then & only then We can re visit our relationship & national interests vis a vis Arabs & jews..etc  on a ballanced manner.which I,m afraid will not be answered soon even after IRI.  So Palestine ,Israel & others must wait until we sort things out and figure out who "Iran khanoom" realy is.  

Regards!


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To those of you who complain

by Anonymous1 (not verified) on

To those of you who complain about Iran not allowing its citizens to visit Israel and vice versa. There are ways to get around this and it is what allows many Iranian Jews to go back and forth between Iran and Israel without any problems.


Zeynab

Ms Bahrami can not go to Iran??!!

by Zeynab on

Of course she will, someone suggested that she can not anymore due to her travel to Israel. I will bet , and give my first born to you !!! that she did not give any Iranian passport to go to Israel. Her Iranian passport is clean!!! and people do not have the courage to use the same passport.

Anyway why should intellectuals care about plight of Iranian women , minorities  and .... it is not cool.

It is more hip to light a cigarette and sip on their latte and care about Palestinians problems. Then they feel really cool and smart!

way to go Ms Bahrami you are very cool!!!


kaleh dar

now , you go to Iran

by kaleh dar on

Haj Khnoum , for your next project, why don't you go to Tehran and make your reportage about thousands of iranian youth who were mass murdered by this regime , also the plight of iranian women forced under islamic hejab , religious minoreties kicked out of universities and goverment jobs , intelectuals who lost their lives , just for saying the wright thing and then if you are lucky and the regimes Thugs dont crush your skull in prison,like that Iranian/Canadian reporter, you may come back and continue your investigative report about palestinian.


Mola Nasredeen

and more blahs from the ones who hide behind....

by Mola Nasredeen on

Anonymous this and Anonymous that.

Here are the reasons why we are concerned:

1. There will not be any peace in the Middle East as long as the Palestinian issue is not resolved.

2. Iranians mostly live in Middle East and the ones who don't live there are adversely affected by this situation. 

3. Israeli government wants to keep the war fronts going in order to manipulate the political process in the Middle East and USA.

That's why we are calling for a just solution to Palestinian issue. Do you get it or not? It seems some of these Anonymouses have eaten "maghze khar".


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Xerxes, Nasardeen & Namard

by AnonymouIrooni (not verified) on

Are the typical apologist for the IRI/Islamic Fundamentalist regime who have found a diversion in the Israeli Palestinian conflict. They have not once complained about all the stolen land from Iran by the Russians, Arabs.....which is 1000 times greater in size than the disputed land between the Pals and the Israelis.
They have not once complained about the ethnic cleansing and the Nazi tactics used by the IRI against the Baluchis, Bahais, Kurds, Azaris and the general Iranian population today (the numbers effected are 100 times more than the Pals). This Palestinain/Israeli issue is all BS. The Arabs were using it as a diversionary tactic and now the KOKOO islamist and leftist are doing the same.

Khak bar sareh Hamemon for falling into this trap!


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Wonder how many more years

by XerXes (not verified) on

Israeli citizens should not be alarmed by the bankruptcy of the Zionist regime. Zionist neo con regime of Israel wants all to think that their loss of power means loss of Israel. On the contrary the death of Zionism means the freedom and peace for all Jews and Muslims, the true citizens of Israel. Zionism has no place in modern human history and similar to all other racist regimes will be wiped out and humanity would only talk trash about their awful past existence. Amin


Abarmard

hmmm

by Abarmard on

So some people are suggesting that the country is not divided. Very interesting to see denial on this level!

How sad for those Palestinians who have lost their homes and see it being occupied by imported crowd not ethnic to the region.

On the light side, I agree that we all should shut our eyes and just enjoy the only democracy of the middle east because we are told so.

According to some, those backward Ayrabs (Arabs) who didn't "develop" the land as the "Israelis" did, don't deserve the land!! Wonder what Hitler thought about non Aryans.

It's an unfortunate human catastrophe this idea of Zionism. This has nothing to do with religion but a political agenda, from the Reich kind!

Agreement or disagreement with Zionism does not translate to agreement or disagreement with the Iranian Dictatorial regime. One must be intelligent enough not to mix the issues here. Just thought to mention that before the discussion gets away to lala land. It's the Human Thingi...

Highly recommend to read this:
//rwor.org/a/125/kovel-interview-en.html


Mola Nasredeen

I've read about Israel and they are racist and land grabbers

by Mola Nasredeen on

All you apologists for the crimes of Israeli government against humanity are not making any sense. Most of you are probably the same person who is afraid to use his real name. Israel is the most racist and hated country on earth and your blah blah blah is not going to change this fact. With zionists like you who needs Nazists?

PS: Interesting pictures and reporting Ms. Bahrami, thank you for your efforts and humanity.


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Jerusalem

by Negin (not verified) on

Jerusalem is and will always be the eternal capital of the state of israel.


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Projection vs objectivity

by Anonymousanonymous (not verified) on

Vivani: Mrs. Bahrami's view are highly biased and remotely objective. And as you eloquently put it,her views/picture are a reflection of her political and ideological predisposition.

I question her real motivations for taking this trip. If her genuine motivation was to create more discord and division, then I declare her triumphant in her endeavors..


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well said Aviva

by Payaam (not verified) on

I was there for business trip couple yrs ago and I had a great time.


Aviva

As a citizen of this city

by Aviva on

I must say you entered Jerusalem and left it with same state of mind and I am sorry.

Maybe if you had visit Yad Vashem, or look around yourself to see people with tatooed numbers on their arm, you wouldn't use the term Nazi, as easy as you do.

Your pictures are beautiful, but the lens of your camera like your heart and mind were restricted only to what you wanted to see, like you needed proves to yourself of how right you are.

Same goes on the discussion with your ex-army friend, or the taxi driver, trying to show others, look :"mosht nemooneh kharbar ast".

As for the Meah Shearim neighbouhood, the population of Netourei Karta and Satmars is not majority for many years now.If Ben Gourion would sit on a white donkey, holding a branch of olive tree, after declaration of independance, things might have been different.

I have never see any signs sayings that stone will be thrown on tourists, there is a warning for women to dress modestly, and not taking pictures of people.

Such a pity, you didn't visit any of Hadassah medical organization hospitals, or any social medical center to see how Jewish and Muslim doctors, and staff treat equally patients from all faiths including people coming from Palestinian authority.

You didn't see arab students in the university campus, nor their families and friends in the malls, and restaurants of west Jerusalem.

A shame you didn't visit any villages like Abu Gosh, or cities like Akko or Haifa...etc, to see that perfect pacific coexistance is possible.

We can not live in security without army and police, and in order to reach agreaments there must be a common accord, and not daily Qassam attacks ,even after demantelation of Gaza settlements.

We never promised you a rose garden, Mrs Bahrami  

and Holyland  is not divided.

 

 

 

 


Abarmard

Thank you Mrs Bahrami

by Abarmard on

great pictures. Gives one a good idea about the city. Some parts is a prove that Mr. carter was right in his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid"

 


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Jerusalem in Israel for ever

by Arash Kamangir (not verified) on

I enjoyed the pictures. Under Israel prosperity, peace and stability came to Jerusalem.This was not the case before 1948. We can see even in your pictures how people go about their business in peace. A country that was one of the most arrid places on earth has become one of most developed countries. This has caused alot of envy between Moslems including us Iranians.

Payandeh Iran


Mahin Bahrami

Dear Samsam

by Mahin Bahrami on

I can understand your frusteration with the Islamic Republic of Iran and some of the strange and sometimes outrageous laws enshrined in the Iranian constitution.  It is obvious from your anger that you are suffering from pent up frusteration, so much so that you seem to grab any opportunity to vent. 

But my dear, the posted article has no relation to your source of anger.  Exposure of this conflict does not endorse your enemy, the IRI.  It is actually possible to be a critic of both regimes.

Moreover, if group A is repressing group B should group C disregard the repression because C still remembers what B did centuries ago or even decades ago? 

Should France sit and watch England bomb Germany because Germany invaded France seventy years ago?

Should we always divide ourselves along genetic codes and compare DNA patterns before making a moral decision?

something to think about during your beauty snooze.


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Excellent pictures, truthful report

by observer (not verified) on

Thank you Ms. Bahrami for the pictures and your honesty. People like you bring us closer to what's really happening in Israel.


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Mr samsam you did not look at all the pictures, so you lie as...

by observer (not verified) on

usual. There are more than 20 pictures with police in it. Why do you Exaggerate all the time. You are what we call "nokhode har Ash".


samsam1111

Good girl!!Now go to Iran & spend your 25 years jail term for

by samsam1111 on

traveling to Israel according to Mullah-land traveling law. Then kindly if still in one piece & not accidently beheaded,assaulted or maimed, write us back with your "Arab occupied Iran" travel logs and enlighten us about the term "Police state". Unless ofcourse you are one of the "Khodis" and exempt from mullah-law.

btw; Not that I give a hoot but find me 1 and only 1..not 2 but 1 article,travel log  written or a speach given by an Arab Palestinian sympathizing with the plight & misery of Iranians whom under the "Khallifate rule " have practicaly become sacrificial lamb for Arab cause.  Millions of kids have paid the price for yours & Al Ahmad,Shariaati types fake cause.

Nice pictures though..only 2 police present outa 100 or so pics..What a police state in the midst of daily terror..Unlike Tehran and 5 Basijii on every block and "Harasat" even in rest rooms.

And You are preaching Israelis as how to run their country with the same rethoric as Jimmy the whack Carter.Master of disaster.Save it Sis!!  Palestinians don,t need another "Dayeh mehraboon tar az mo..."

time for my beauty sleep now!

Regards!