The Columnist Manifesto

If you're Jewish, you should spend Christmas day in Israel at least once in your life. You can then have the experience of really feeling yourself to be in the religious majority for a change.

In Jerusalem, as throughout Israel, Christmas is a day just like any other. The banks are open. Obviously, the various Christian holy places will be different, but I didn't visit any of those. I did, however, go to a bank.

And yet, no day in Jerusalem can be called "a day just like any other." I'll have more to blog about Jerusalem, but for now I leave you with this photo. I call it: "Outside the Jaffa Gate: Man carrying two wooden doors on his head while talking on cell phone and smoking cigarette."*



*See no. 4 in this post.