Jerusalem's Crosstown Traffic

Friday was one of those days that Israeli police dread in Jerusalem. Over 75,000 Muslims were streaming to the Temple of the Mount to celebrate the third Friday of Ramadan, while at the same time 25,000 ultra-orthodox Jews were crossing the city to bury former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira, 96, a spiritual leader who opposed giving land back to the Palestinians.

Helicopters buzzed over the Old City, casting a fleeting shadow across the golden dome of the Temple Mount. Streets were blocked off and tougher measures were imposed on Muslim worshippers: travel permits were canceled for Palestinians coming in from the West Bank and no man under the age of 45 was allowed to attend prayers at the Temple Mount, considered one of Islam's holiest shrines. It was from here, on the same rock where Abraham is said to have offered to sacrifice his son, that Prophet Mohamed is believed to have ascended for a round-trip to paradise.

The security measures seemed to work. The opposing currents of Jewish and Muslim worshippers flowed past each other over the pavement stones of Jerusalem without mishap.

Because Rabbi Shapira died during the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, his disciples urged followers “not to shed tears” as the funeral procession wound up to the Mount of Olives. But not all Israelis wept his passing.

Considered a great spiritual leader and Chief Rabbi between 1983 and 1993, Rabbi Shapira was a thorn in the side of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during the 2005 disengagement of Jewish settlers from Gaza. He said that surrendering any land to Palestinians was forbidden under Jewish law.

One critic, Yossi Beilin from the leftists Meretz party, told the press:
"What he did created a very serious crisis for an entire generation. He sought to nurture faith but was in fact responsible for the biggest spiritual crisis in recent years. An entire generation of young people was willing to believe, because of him, that the disengagement wouldn't happen – and when it did, he had no answers to offer them," said Beilin.

But Rabbi Shapira's supporters claimed he was sagely right about Gaza. Says Knesset Member Benny Elon, "He was the rabbi of all rabbis. Today we know how right he was regarding the ridiculous uprooting of (the Gaza settlement) Gush Katif." Many Israelis say that the many rockets fired out of Gaza by militants show the fallacy of offering to trade back land for peace with the Palestinians.

---by Tim McGirk/Jerusalem