Chris' Fish Place

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.

                While Nissenbaum’s title refers to a street that is home to both Muslims and Jews in Jerusalem, the title does describe any street really.    A street cuts though; it separates two blocks or two sides from each.  True, it usually isn’t a huge separation, and one that is easily solved by crossing the street.  In most cities, you can even hear the noise from the residents across the street.  A street by its nature is at once a way of transportation, a way of bringing together, and a way of separating.

                Nissenbaum’s street is in a neighborhood of Jerusalem, it is a border street, the flashpoint as it were, and yet it is also a street where Christians, Jews, and Muslims co-existed with various degrees of success.  This street is, today, called Assael Street, though it existed far back in history and religion.  It is a street where Nissenbaum himself lived.

                The history of the area is traced first, and there is the story of the lost denatures which raises all types of questions – you can save teeth.  Then, Nissenbaum chronicles the views and lives of various residents, both Muslim and Jewish.  It is to Nissenbaum’s credit that he does such an even-handed job in depicting the various conflicts that occur on the street.   There is a story about writing/painting on a wall, and Nissenbaum’s reporting of this conflict between a Muslim family and the Jewish woman whose wall was painted on, not only capture two different cultures but also different ways to look at what should have been done.  In other words, Nissenbaum doesn’t take sides.

                This is true even when the case isn’t simply one of Muslim vs. Jew.  There is a chapter that describes a Jewish family that moved into the neighborhood.  When the daughter reaches her teen years and draws unwanted attention from the young Muslim boys in the neighborhood.  The interesting thing is reading the interaction of the parents.  The father thinks it is boys being boys; the mother is upset, not so much because of who the boys are, but because of what they are doing.  She objects to the cat-calling, and when she talks about culture in this context, she seems to be referring to modern day versus back then.  It’s a wonderful use of reporting because it captures the discussion about catcalling, one that occurs in a great many places, as well as division between men and women in how it is viewed.

                And perhaps that is the point. 

                Nissenbaum looks at the impact of Israel on its Arab citizens, on how Jews combat various isms, and how Muslims do.  He looks at the conflict over land.  But at the heart of this book is how alike everyone is, whether or not they know it.  How, regardless of the family, fathers and son view things differently, the “war” between eh genders, the need to put friendship first.  In many ways, the book appeals to the humanity of people – like the story of the denatures that starts the book.

                Perhaps, there is hope after all if we use the street differently.