Jérusalem(s)

As an Israeli and as a person in love with Jerusalem I have waited for a long time for somebody to approach the theme of the many facets of Jerusalem. The city with many names in many languages, symbol of peace but subject of discord and conflicts all over its history, Jerusalem holds an important place in the history of mankind and of the three great monotheistic religions. The problem and the tragedy of the city is that while the history is shared, its interpretation and meanings are different for every people and every religion. Director Salfati made a wonderful job in retelling this story of a city seen differently by each category of its inhabitants, as well as by each category of its visitors. He did this by filming in the sacred places and joining tours where guides explain the same places, as well as history and present according to their own individual visions, by hearing people from Jerusalem and all over the world debating history, religion, and politics, by watching Jerusalemites praying and teaching their children about past and future. The result is extremely interesting and very accurate, as I could recognize not only the political and historical views of each side told by the speakers, but even the characters, faces and the familiar places of the huge and complex mosaic that composes today's Jerusalem. It is also a beautifully filmed documentary, catching the complex magic of the city streets, and of the human landscape of locals and tourist that fill them at any time. I hope people of different faiths and convictions will have an opportunity to see this film, and after seeing it will reach the same conclusions that I reached and that the director I think intended to pass to the viewers without doing it in an explicit manner - for peace to get a chance people need to listen not only to their own story but also to the stories of other, and by doing it they should look to the what is shared and not to what is dividing.