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: .    Tht^ Canadian Jewish News, Frida>v June 30, J9()7 - I'a^e 5
BY PHILIP CILLpM Jerusalem Post Service
lis'
WHEN I accompanied an American V.LP. on a visit to Mr. Teddy Kolleit a few da.vs before June 5 thie Mayor toolt us up to the roof of the lofty Municipal building to point out the view. There, he showed us, even more remote than Tristan da Cunha, was the Tower of David; at that point was a Jordanian strong-point, /
AH that, of course, is now history; today Mayor Teddy Kollel< can look south, east and north, as well as west, and all of it is accessible. Now from his vantage-point he sees those symbols of Israeli democracy, the bulldozers, contemptuously laying low the old fire walls that used to terminate so many streets.
It is indeed difficult for a Jerusalemite to realize that the finite edge to his city is disappearing; we had grown fully accustomed to streets that dead-ended, to going to a garage that was at town's end, to travelling along a road that ran along a border. It is not easy to grasp that Mamilla Road goes somewhere, that the Kir« David Hotel is indeed centrally situated, that Jerusalem goes on and on and on.
What is the Mayor's vision of greater Jerusalem? What plans have he and his men prepared for a ci^ that will suddenly consist of 250,000 souls, of whom 100,000 will be Arabs(? Where they ready in any way for this momeritous rendezvous with destiny? Mr. Kol-leii replies here.
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"Only in one respect had we planned for a greater Jerusalem," Mayor Kollek admits, "and that wais in planning itself. Our Master Plan assumed all along that eventually there would be one Jerusalem. So all our roads and zoning are based in general outlines on this assumption. We knew that Jordan was using the Kendall Plan prepared in 1948 for the whole City - in fact, Kendall was serving them as an adviser. We knew what these plans were and took them into account,"
But will there really be a fusion o( such dissimilar areas as the two Jerusalem s that nave developed over the last 19 years? Is there not a danger that it will remain a city divided in reality, al-through fused in fact?
"I do not believe we wUl really have one city unless Jews settle in these other
parts of Jerusalem as well. I have already told the University and Hadassah that it is not enough to have lecture-rooms and wards at Mount Scopus; their people must live there. And we must revive the Jewish Quarter of the Old City at once."
The thought of shikunim conquering Mount Scopus as they have overwhelmed Ein Karem is one that discourages the most ardent patriot. Must such a price really be paid to unify the city?
"I agree that we must build in character, to suit the area. But it 'must be ohe town. And we mi'«t act very qulcKJy, with the same speed that we showed in war. At the moment, the imagination of the world is dominated by Jerusalem; we niust not lose what we have gained l?y sending people on a bureaucratic i-unaround from department to department Not only the Jews (rf the world, but also
the non-Jews, wai judge us IV how promptly and well we deal with Jerusalem."
Does the change iheah that Jerusalem can.now become a humming industrial metropolis, or will it preserve its character as a centre oi Government, religion, academic life, hospitalisation, and tourism, living at a stately r some say sleepy -tempo, quite different trom that of Israel's other towni^ We now have two Hebrew Universities, two Hadas-sahs, two Y.M.C.A.'s, numerous hotels - do we need factories as well?
There was never any reason why we should not have certain light industries, like electronics and optics - indeed, having the University here made this the logical place for such plants. There is an area close to Kallan-dia that is zoned for Ught industries like these. Tourism - tourism here has a fantastic future. The whole world wants to come to Jerusalem - but it is up to us not to lose .the opportunity because of. rigid ideas.There are many excellent hotels just waiting for the word.
"One thing that will change life in Jerusalem is that the Arabs do not observe Saturday as the Sabbath. Once again we will have Moslems observing Fridays, Jews observing Saturdays, Christians observing Sundays. I have already spoken to our religious leaders, and they appreciate the point. So, as far as the tourists are concerned, we will be able to offer them all sorts of things they could not enjoy until now."
He produced batches of letters that he is despatching to Dr. Nahum Goldmann, Minister of Police Sasson, and numerous other people, pointing out to them, clearly and crisply, that all previous demurrers to building
headquarteirs of various kinds in the Capital have now fallen away.
" The Diaspora Centre^ for example - can that be alny-where but in Jerusalem when the Jews of the whde world are alire about Jerusalem? Do you know that Jews who were anti-Zionist at one time, like Nieman-Mai-ciis in Dallas - have gone mad about ui^ This is the greatest opportunity ever given to the Jewish people and we must not make a mess of ft"
AGENTS OF MILITARY These are all visions of tomorrow: what about the problems of today? What is happening right now in the Old City and the Arab suburbs of Jerusalem?
"At the present moment, wg are working there as agents for the Military Government. Our aim is to reactivate their former municipal staff, and we are supplying them with whatever they need in the wqycrf equipment, manpower, technical help. The first two priorities were to get the city cleaned up after tfie fighting, and to re-establish the water supply. This has been done. We are going to need a transition period - Ihayeinmind about two and a half yeai-s, until the next elections-during which we will operate with a branch there, say, like London and Hampstead, We. can form some sort of an advisory council from members of their former municipality. Afterwards, of course, we wUl have<mecity council, selected hy all the citizens, but in the meanwhile we must get things going on the sort of transition basis I have described.
"There are many problems. We have different bylaws. They pay different rates of taxation, but they get different services. For instance, education, social weKare,   hospitalization -
THE WAR IS NOT OVER JUST BECAUSE THE FIGHTING HAS STOPPED
there are provided by voluhr tary agencies, which are willing to go on providing them. Why not? But then, we cannot tax them the way we do I the people on our side, to wllom we give such services. They have as yet no Compulsory Education Law.
"So, in the meanwhile, we want to reactivate their municipal employees, giving all the help they need. We have b^n doing this, since the fighting ended. They are without adequate transport; so, for that matter, are we, but we have been sending our vehicles there."
Who is going to foot the bills for Uie rehabilitation (tf greater Jerusalem?
"So far, we are payingfor . everything. I hope we'll get paid back. We stopped our campaign for funds, at the request of the Government, so as to help its Defence Loan - but still money comes in, unsolicited.'' He shows letters from all over tiie world, senduig mon^: one ex-Mahal pilot from the 1948 War sends $1,500 from Mexico Cily, somebody else sends $10 from New York, Peitours sends IL25.000 frwn TelAviv, But it is obvious that millions of dollars will be needed.
How are the Jews and Arabs in the Municipality working togeOier, I ask Mr. Kollek, as we drink some fairly good Turkish ctrffee at the conclusion of the interview.
"Go see for yourself," he says.
ARAB ENGINEER: •GREAT FUTURE* Armed with one (rf those precious pieces of paper that are becoming as rare as the l^rtoto prizei and vary in colour every day, we manage to get past the Cerberus-like guards that stand at the Mandelbaum Gate. In the Municipal Services Building we meet Yussuf Boderi, who was City Engineer in Jordanian Jerusalem.
M' Bodririi^^pQrtfe^ien-tleman, affap^e and knowledgeable, who at once arranges for us to drink some Turkish coffee so excellent that I hope his purveyor wUl give lessons to Teddy Kol-lek's.
He tells me that he was born in Jerusalem, near the Italian Hospital, and that his family owns property in the Street of Uie Prophets, Kat-amon and Talpiot, He is naturally most anxious to See these places as soon aspos-.sible.   Educated   at the
American University in Beirut, he began to work in the Jerusalem Engineering DQ)artmeht under Dr. Ber-ger 30 years ago, and, ai^r li948, became Ci^ Engineer of the Jordanian side dt the city.
"We have 120 out of our 160 men back at work," he says, "I dorft know where the others ard. It has been very easy to cooperate with ; the people of the Jerusalem Municipality. I know most di the veteran clerks from the old days. They have given us all the help we need in the way of manpower, transport, equipment and skill, to get the city going again."
At tfie moment he is concentrating on the problem of re-establishing sanitation services. His opposite numbers on the Jewish side, Akiva Azulai and Joshus ^o-hen, nod their heads to confirm their determination to help.
The first problem was to dispose of more than 200 bodies of civilians and sol-dies in the Police School, French Hill the Old City, Sheikh Jarrah, When I express amazement that the number of bodies was so low, Akiva says that his people buried 80 bodies. A Post staffer who was in thci battle for Jerusalem adds that his unit buried others. Never-thelesSj we all agree, thankfully, that the casualty rate among civUians was astonishingly low, and the amount of damage to the city was also almost incredibly restricted in area and extent
"But we had a very hard job to get the city going again", says Mr. Boderi. "Today we are nearly back to normal. Our main shortage is transport The curfew is also a big problem.
REUNITING ARAB AND JEWISH CITIZENS OF HOLY CITY: MAYOR TbDDY KOLLEK.
But things will soon be all right, I am sure."
Is he really as optimistic as he sounds
"Of course. We just have to get everybody's cooperation, I know we all want to preserve this city; we all love it"
When I compliment him on the indications that the Old Walled City must have beccOTie remarkably clean compared to what it was like when I saw it in 1942, he bridles modestly. I ask him how his men got into the alleys and stairways to clear out the rubbish.
"People from all over the world told us we had a very clean city. We used old types v oi equipment with a modem design so that we could get into the alleys. Then we made a road to Dung Gate so as to have access to the highest point Also from the other Gates, Then wheelbarrows went round with barrows to bring the rubbish from the alleys to the outside roads,"
Without discussing political issues, what does he think will be the future (rf Jerusalem?
"I foresee a great future. It is the most beautiful city in the world, 'lliere is no limit to what we who love Jerusalem can achieve."
MORE WATER THAN EVP:R BEFORE
Mr. Even, the smiling City Engineer of Jerusalem, loves water as-some men love Scotch; he is never happier than when he is busy making two cubic metres of the liquid flow where only one flowed before. The Six Days' War brought catastrophe to the water supplies of what was Arab Jerusalem; the City was cut off completely when pipes and other facilities were shattered in the fighting.
So Mr. Mohammed Zeiter, director of water suppliesui the Old City, with 40 years experience in the Municipality, and Mr. Ahmed Hus-seini, the Mechanical Engineer, produced their plans, and Mr. Even produced his. By superimposing plans, they were able to trace the easiest means of bringing water from Jewish Jerusalem to the afflicted part of the town. Working round the clock, they laid more than a kilometre of large pipes, with a diameter of six inches or upwards, and a further 500 metres (rf small pipes. Th^ repaired leaks, cisterns, dams, pumps. And so the water began to flow again.
According to Mr. Even, the future prospects of the Old City, with regard to
water, are vory bright Until now, the City received all its water from Ein Fara and other springs, with the Pools of Solomon as a reserve. Water was pumped through to the roof cisterns twice a week, and was very expensive.
With bigger pumps, large pipes,, automation, and other such improvements, water will soon, be flowing freely throughout the Old City and all its environs. And the jjrice will be right
*   ' *.      *     . *
Back with Mr. Kollek, I wonder when Arabs like Mr. Boderi and Mr. Zeiter will be free to wander around the Israeli sector of the City, renewing old frendships and seeing familiar or new sights.
"Very soon," he says.
And wUl Mr. Boderi be paid compensation if his properly is no longer available to him?"
"The Government has repeatedly promised to pay compensation under such circumstances. These people may be Israeli citizens, with their rights fully protected. In five years we should have a p()pulation of 500,000. And I see no reason why Jews and Arabs should not get together to build the city we all love."
Nor are the obligations of Toronto Jewry to Israel fulfilled just because others have given willingly and selflessly.
The Israel Emergency Fund will not measure up until every Jew has contributed to the fnaxifnum of his or her ability.
There is no final goal. How can there be a point where we can stop and say we have done all we can when the needs of IsraeL in this crisis are so enormous?
TOU
OPEN
PUAK UNDERStAllb
THE ISRAELI (3UARDS NOT ONLY HIS COUNTRY'S BORDER. HE GUARDS Oj^R HOME, OUR FUTURE, OUR HERITAGE; OURl SELF RiSPECT;
HELP
Send your cheque NOW to the UNITED JEWISH WELFARE.FUND SPECIAL FUND/ 150 Beverley Street, Toronto 2B. ( )
This is the COMBlflED Jewish Community Effort in Israel's EiTierj|ency
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Every^ollor given goes to Israel
It has now been announced in Jerusalem that the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem are available for visits as from June 25th, 1967. Details of a standard sightseeing programme are presently worked out and will be made known in a few days^
At present these sites can be visited by organized groups oiily and tours and b<x)idngs can be made through Travel Agents. However, hotels andt()urist services in the Old City an<i in Bethlehem are not yet operational^ Israel visa regulations, in force at the rtioment cover the above areas and no additional formalities, are required for entering the Old City of Jerusalem arid Bethlehem. Other areas such as Hebron and Jericho, cannot be visited by tourists at the moment yet everything possible is being done to get the situation back (o normal in : these new areas. ■■'„
All sites in Israel, as weU as hotels and regular services are ()peh to general tourism and the word in Israel is "business as usual". Israel's tourist facilities are already beginning to get an increased tourist flow from Canada, the U.S.A., andEur-ope/" \-
Tourist guides are attending special courses organized the Ministry of Tour-Ism in Israel. Thejcoursesu^ aim at giving tlje guides a Uiorough background on the new locations, (in additi<?n, the Ministry is planning to open a new tourist riforma-tion office in Uie area adjacent to the Old City. :
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Lchaim
Uchaim: a toast. A toast to you for all your help. All your prayers. A toast to peace.
Come, dnnk a toast with us in ^k^^^ Beautifiil, Exciting. Warm and friendly. Brimming ^ith life and
Come visit Israel.^There's nothing j| stopping you now.
^There's nothing ■
isiae
Sc^our local\avel agent or contact the Israel Government
jTounstOffic9^1117 St. Catherine St^^^^W^^^
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