Ramallah is the boom town of the West Bank. As, bit by bit (under the settlement policy of Israel), the likelihood of East Jerusalem being the capital of Palestine is fading, Ramallah is emerging as the de facto capital of the country. It feels secular and relatively sophisticated, and there’s no question that it’s Palestinian. The PLO headquarters is here. Yasser Arafat is buried here. And it’s busy with NGOs and international agencies working on Palestine’s problems. As many Palestinian Americans have moved back home and live here, there are lots of American accents. The city of 70,000 people sits at about 3,000 feet above sea level. Its name means “God’s Mountain,” and it was cold when I was there. As it lacks the trouble-causing religious sites — and is more liberal and cosmopolitan than other Palestinian cities — it was the most relaxed place in the country for me.
Coming into Ramallah, a road was closed off with chunks of broken concrete. A few tires were burning in the distance. And a group of teenage boys were throwing rocks at an Israeli police station. It’s what some kids do here for a little “excitement” after school.
Ramallah is considered the most cosmopolitan city in the country; there’s nightclubs and fun after dark.
In Ramallah I slept at a friendly and comfortable hotel called Beauty Inn. Their breakfast was delightful.
Sadly, Christian churches throughout the Middle East are suffering from the rise of extremist Muslim groups. The Lutheran church in Ramallah is built like a fortress.
My guide, Iyad Shrydeh, took me to everyone’s favorite ice cream joint, Rukab’s, for a bowl of delightfully stretchy Palestinian ice cream.
Downtown Ramallah was the most sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and relaxed urban scene I found in Palestine.
Perhaps the number one sight in Ramallah is the tomb of Yasser Arafat. While, to many, Arafat is just a terrorist, regardless of what you think of him, he was instrumental in raising awareness of the plight of his people. I found that, while many Palestinians believe Arafat squandered some opportunities for peace that they would love to have now, nearly all respect him as an important leader who committed his life to forging a free Palestinian state.
Yasser Arafat led the Palestine Liberation Organization and — whether you consider him a terrorist or a statesman — he raised awareness of the struggles of his people.
Comments
5 Replies to “Ramallah, Palestine’s De Facto Capital”
Arafat stole millions in aid money for his personal use. To him the poor Palestinian people were to be used for his own enrichment much like Democrats use the poor in America for their own ends. Arafat had a nice estate in Switzerland to escape to.
The Lutheran Church in Ramallah was built in 1963, way before anyone heard of ‘Muslim extremists’, and the barbed wire surrounding the Church is not meant to protect it from any ‘extremists’, rather it is there to ensure the safety of students who occupy the first floor of the Church.
Neither of these comments makes any sense to me. ‘rather it is there to ensure the safety of students who occupy…” Safety from what if not terrorist actions?
Comparing Democrats is the US and the PLO is over the top.
Exactly how are the Dems using poor people? I thought it was the Reps doing that. In any case, totally irrelevant to Palestine.
Arafat stole millions in aid money for his personal use. To him the poor Palestinian people were to be used for his own enrichment much like Democrats use the poor in America for their own ends. Arafat had a nice estate in Switzerland to escape to.
The Lutheran Church in Ramallah was built in 1963, way before anyone heard of ‘Muslim extremists’, and the barbed wire surrounding the Church is not meant to protect it from any ‘extremists’, rather it is there to ensure the safety of students who occupy the first floor of the Church.
Neither of these comments makes any sense to me. ‘rather it is there to ensure the safety of students who occupy…” Safety from what if not terrorist actions?
Comparing Democrats is the US and the PLO is over the top.
Exactly how are the Dems using poor people? I thought it was the Reps doing that. In any case, totally irrelevant to Palestine.