Jerusalem

Yehuda Amichai

On a roof in the Old City

Laundry hanging in the late afternoon sunlight:
The white sheet of a woman who is my enemy,
The towel of a man who is my enemy,
To wipe off the sweat of his brow.

In the sky of the Old City

A kite.
At the other end of the string,
A child
I can’t see
Because of the wall.

We have put up many flags,

They have put up many flags.
To make us think that they’re happy.
To make them think that we’re happy.

 originally written in Hebrew & has been translated in over forty languages
 speaker of the poem is looking at the “neighborhood” in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The laundry image in the first stanza is significant because you can think of “airing dirty laundry”–a phrase
implying embarrassment and a sort of awkwardness with revealing yourself in some way. The white sheet in the
first stanza is important because it resonates peace and innocence, surrendering, and death–in this case, a surrender
to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict post-1948.

The use of the word “enemy” in the first stanza is important because it refers to a Palestinian as the enemy of an
Israeli–the Palestinian “enemy” is a foe, yet is human like the speaker as both have to do laundry.

The “wall” in the second stanza can certainly be read as metaphorical–this metaphorical wall serves as a complete
separation between Israelis and Palestinians. With this, while both know that the other is on the other side of this
“wall,” they can’t see each other. The “wall” can also be read as an actual, physical barrier (as Jerusalem has many
walls).

Specifically, to this stanza, the speaker cannot see the child because of the wall. The child here represents a sense of
innocence–a child flies a kite on one side of the wall and is innocent to the knowledge of the conflict. The speaker
cannot physically/metaphorically see the child and this innocence because he understands the conflict all too well.

The last stanza refers to “flags” as a representation of competition–an attempt to “prove” happiness. Each side of
the “wall” puts up “many flags” to show that they are happier than the other–in actuality, nobody is happy. The
ending to this poem adds to the tone of weariness within the Israel/Palestine conflict.
 Author’s Profile

https://kaitlinsgill.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/yehuda-amichais-jerusalem/