Palestine - Rhythm

Rhythm is one of the most important things to understand about Palestine.

The first thing to know about the rhythm of Palestine is the rhythms of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Judaism's day of rest is the true Sabbath (shabbat), Saturday, and in orthodox areas, which includes West Jerusalem, this means no work or operation of anything electric until the sun is down enough that three stars are visible. The lift even stops on every floor on Saturdays, so that one can get up and down without pressing a button, and in some settlements it would be ill advised to drive a vehicle, whereas in Jerusalem it's a great idea, because there is no other traffic. Once three stars are visible, the community exhales and has a bit of a party. Passover takes place in the spring. There are many, many other orthodox prescriptions for life's rhythm in Judaism, but observance of them varies widely.

Christianity's day of rest is Sunday, but the only observable effect of this is that some Christian-owned shops are closed, though many are not. Church bells can be heard daily in almost every city in Israel and the West Bank, and Easter and Christmas celebrations should be seen if possible. Catholicism (and other Western churches) and Orthodoxy, which has the greater presence, have different calendars, meaning that there are two celebrations of Christmas and of Easter.

Islam's day of rest is Friday, when many Muslims go to the mosque for prayers a little after noon. Islam prescribes one prayer within each of five periods of the day, and the haunting call to prayer will come over loudspeakers from every mosque, echoing off of the buildings and hills, beginning very, very early in the morning. During the Islamic month of Ramadan, there is fasting while the sun is up, meaning that many restaurants will be closed during the day, and many workers are on vacation. Muslims will pray almost anywhere they can lay a small prayer rug, and do not at all expect that guests or other Muslims keep silent or lower the volume of the television.



The general Mediterranean rhythm of life calls for late evenings, and there is always something to be had. A different area of each city tends to be alive at night than in the day, while in secular parts of Israel the whole city tends to be alive at night. Especially in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, many business hours are informal, based on demand; when in doubt, it is best to inquire if the businesses in an area will be open before walking there.

In the West Bank, hospitality and time together is valued over punctuality. Checkpoints and the lack of freedom of movement mean that most people are in little rush - it's unclear how much of the lack of punctuality is actually their nature. It's impossible as a guest to have a meeting without food, and even strangers will, after talking to guests about their house or their business, invite them in for coffee or tea. It's easy to add a day or two to each week this way, so visitors should plan accordingly if they wish to enjoy themselves, though the smallness of the country does help make it easy to accomplish much in a given time.



Within cities, there is a lot of traffic at certain times, especially at the beginning and end of the school day.

Between cities there is also a lot of traffic in the mornings and evenings of workdays, and as there are checkpoints between most cities, this can cause massive delays. It's best to avoid going through checkpoints at these times, unless one is prepared to wait like a West Banker.