by Ahmad Budeiri, reporter, Arabic service, Jerusalem, February 14, 2006

Living and working in Jerusalem for the Arabic service is so interesting but also difficult, particularly in terms of making sure that our stories are balanced.

Jerusalem is supposed to be a religious, calm, spiritual city, but with its lively mix of Jews, Moslems and Christians, things can get complicated.

In many ways this is just like any other city – busy, noisy, lacking car parking spaces – but always the big talking point here is politics.

Of course the big story at the start of the year was Ariel Sharon’s stroke.

Sharon the person

Standing in front of the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem for many days to report on his condition for an Arab audience was a little ironic, as Arabs have always regarded the Israeli prime minister as their enemy.

The reporting became more about Sharon the person rather than Sharon the politician who took the decision to withdraw from the Gaza strip – a move supported by many Arab leaders.

But still the Arab people have not forgiven him for what some say were massacres committed in Lebanon and Sinai in Egypt.

On top of that, his notorious visit to the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem in 2000 sparked the second Palestinian intifada.

It was a rainy week when I was covering Sharon’s stroke, and I had to buy a tent, some chairs, a table and even a light to be ready for what we thought might be the declaration of his death.

In the end it didn’t happen and after several days the media teams who had flown in from all over the globe started to leave, including our presenter Fouad Razek from the Arabic service in London.

I had some telephone calls from Palestinians claiming that we in the Arabic service had done too much on the story in spite of the fact that many other Arab networks gave it equal prominence.

A Moroccan Jew

Once interest in Sharon waned, I started focusing on the Palestinian elections, won by Hamas.

So I started thinking of angles about Israeli society, which might interest our audience without being stereotypical.

Israel is seen in the eyes of some Arabs as an enemy.

One of the packages I put together was about the Moroccan Jews who live in Israel, and how they are still closely connected with their homeland.

Amir Peretz, the new president of the Israeli Labor party, is a Moroccan Jew and a strong candidate in the next Israeli elections.

Another package was about the daily life of an Israeli man – his work, his hobbies and his relationships.

I also wanted to explain the story of the Arab Israelis so our audience would understand more about their lives inside Israel.

Then there was a piece about Israeli music, explaining how it is a mixture of eastern and western traditions reflecting Israeli society itself.

Other recent assignments included a piece on the Israeli media, and how, although it is supposed to be free, the authorities sometimes seek to control it.

I interviewed a high ranking police officer on the problem of crime, including murder and drug taking as well as the smuggling of drugs and weapons across the borders with Arab countries.

Jerusalem has a Mediterranean climate so the weather here is generally agreeable. Sometimes there is snow in winter, and that is when people from all religious sides – Jews, Moslems, Christians – will forget their differences and join in a snowball fight.

^

Back to top