Many
tend to think of post-Zionism Jerusalem as a forsaken provincial Ottoman town,
entangled in a net of hatred originating in its various religions. This image coincided
with the Zionist redemption vision, which sought to revive the deserted land.
Lemire,
studying Jerusalem of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century from
within its own context – the writings of its inhabitants, documents of its
governing bodies, maps, and economic reports – depicts a completely different picture.
For over seventy years, members of the different religions - Jews, Christians,
and Muslims - lived a life of incredible coexistence.
Mutual
respect and reciprocation dominated the city and its enlightened Ottoman rulers
were aware of the needs of its various communities. Only the rise of
nationalism and the city’s partition into quarters destabilized its unique
social fabric.
Vincent
Lemire did not write a nostalgic document about a long-lost past, but rather illustrated
an important political outlook, demonstrating that the national and religious animosity
in Jerusalem is not necessarily inherent to the city.