October20

Last week one of my neighbors took me for a walk to the top of the Jerusalem YMCA tower where,
as the saying goes, on a clear day you can see (almost) forever. At the very least, you can see much
of Jerusalem from a unique and interesting perspective.

Of course there are scores of well-known buildings in Jerusalem. Many of them are rather ancient, in
and around the Old City. But two very recognizable landmarks are down the hill a little, are not so
old, and are located directly across the street from each other—The YMCA and the King David
Hotel. The eye catching architecture of the YMCA made me curious about its background so I went
to the official website (http://www.jerusalemymca.org/ENG/Building/Building.html), which explains
its origins: "Visitors are always surprised to learn that Jerusalem's YMCA was designed by Arthur
Loomis Harmon, a partner of the same architectural firm that created New York's Empire State
Building in 1931…. Harmon, a devout Christian, seems to have taken the assignment as a personal
mission; with inspiration from Dr. Archibald Harte, general secretary of the Jerusalem YMCA, he
created a richly symbolic building that looks back at the early architectural traditions of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. Some masonry was hewn according to methods mentioned in ancient Jewish
accounts, and foundation stones were cut from quarries thought to have been used for the building
of the Second Temple."

The King David Hotel, in the meantime, looks more like a fortress than a work of art. It is known not
only for the royalty, diplomats, statesmen and dignitaries it has housed since its opening in 1931, but
for the controversial 1947 bombing of its entire south wing—by the Jewish "terrorist" group Irgun.
The attack was directed at the British, who were using that part of the hotel as their headquarters
and, to put it mildly and to make a long story very short, were not contributing to the well being of
hundreds of thousands of Holocaust victims, refugees, and Jewish citizens of Jerusalem. These days,
with only British tourists to worry about, it's a great place to enjoy a drink. The King David's famous
terrace overlooks the Old City and late in the day, with flags snapping in the distance, a breeze
stirring the nearby trees, and a glass of Galilee wine, it's very hard not to smile.

The little excursion to the top of the YMCA's tour provided a few interesting photographs of
Jerusalem "from above." I hope you enjoy them. L'Chaim!