SPECIAL
COMMENTARY

Our February
Savings program has
one drawback:
only 28 days.

iSta t

MEMORY'S HARSH LIGHT

from page 27

40.11101.1110/0100111011 "Ik

come in the next two decades.
Hard by the signs of affluence are
equally disturbing reminders of poverty
and inequality Arab children, young
mothers with babies, old women with
soiled scarves across their heads beg
coins in the public squares. Laundry is
hung to dry on the balconies of cement-
block apartments near the Old City.
The modernity is apparent in the
cell phones clapped to the ear of a
black-hatted, black-coated haredi
walking briskly down the street. But it
also can be unsightly, like the televi-
sion antennas and cell phone towers
-that bristle like thorns in what should
be easier vistas.
From the walls of the Tower of
David, you can see in one breathtak-
ing glance the holy sites of three great
world religions — and you cannot
help also seeing the trash-strewn
courtyard of a housing complex
between the tower and those sites.
In 1973, Israel was bright with
promise — much as it was in the spring
of 2000. Over a chicken lunch in a
blossom-filled garden restaurant in
Ramallah, the Arab proprietor spoke
confidently of peace. The desert would
bloom, we were assured 28 years ago,
and the world's pilgrims would be wel-
come any place in the Holy Land.

Unyielding 6 Stones

The current "situation," as Israeli offi-
cials artfully call it, mocks that promise.
The cheerful, quarrelsome exuber-
ance of street life is muted, wary. A per-
cussive double blast in midafternoon
shocks a Jewish Quarter square into
adrenaline-heightened silence before it is
dismissed as the sonic boom from an
aircraft flying too low. Saddest yet are
the eyes of Arabs, who turn away as a
tour group passes down the Via
Dolorosa flanked by private security
guards carrying machine guns.
Perhaps it is just today, but the
haredim outnumber all others at the
Kotel (Western Wall). There are no
signs of the Moslem youth who had
hurled stones from the top of the
Temple Mount last September, but
the rigid zeal of today's worshippers
creates its own emotional distance —
our way or the highway.
Jerusalem seems always to have
been itself, an object or desire to be
fought over by 3,500 years of compet-
ing faiths. And each visitor must see it
through his own eyes, making what
sense he can of the currents of power
that hum in its stones.
I am not religious, but in 1973, I
touched the Wall and felt its warmth.
Today, it feels cold.

February

Sayings

Lease a 9-3 5-door

$339

Per mo:/
36 mos.

Amount due at lease inception

Turbocharged engine standard I In-dash CD I OnStar® is stan-
dard on every 2001 Saab — I Traction control system I Saab Active

Head Restraint systemt I 46 cubic feet of cargo space (largest in

$2,482.86

(includes down pmt., sec. dep.,
acq. fee & first mo. pmt.)

Buy a 9-3 5-door

2.9 /0* APR

Available for Qualified [3,yors

its class) I Head and chest side air bags I Split-folding rear seat.

People who test drive a Saab, usually buy one.

GLOSSMOM SOOB

On Telegraph Rd. at the Tel-12 Mall, Southfield

248 - 354 - 3300 or Toll Free 1-800-354-5558

oval. Delivery must be taken out of participating dealer inventory by February 28, 2001. Dealer financial participation may affect consumer cost. Terms apply to a 2001 Saab
approval
*Subject w/5-
todit
speed
manual transmission, in-dash CD, heated seats and sunroof based on MSRP of $29,170 (including destination charge) Plus taxes, insurance, title and registration fees.
9-3 5-door cre

Sew Adorable. Can 'You met?

These unique, very colorful,
hand-painted giftware
are delightful and fun,
yet practical.
They make great gifts for any age.
And... they're on sale at

(Rifts sugg retail)

Stop by and see the collection.

Shop Sherwood... ith worth it.

Fine Designer Furniture • Accessories • Gifts

6644 Orchard Lake Road at Maple Road
West Bloomfield • 248 855-1600
Mon-Thur 10-9 Tue-Wed-Fri-Sat 10-6 Sun 12-5

❑

Call The Sales Department

2/23

2001

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