Usually upon hearing the words “separate and unequal,” people in the
United States think of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case—Brown v.
Board of Education. In that case the Court determined that segregation
in public schools in the United States was illegal. In this
book, the term is used to describe circumstances in the holy city of
Jerusalem. While under control by the Israelis, Jerusalem is an
important city for all three major religions—Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam. As shown by the authors, the Israelis have made a number of poor
judgments in connection with governing the city.Most city
governments are rated on the basis of how well they provide municipal
services—water, sanitation, health care, and education, just to name a
few. According to the authors, the Israelis have failed time and again
in how they provide those types of services for residents of the city.
In particularly, they offer an indictment of the treatment of Arabs
residing within the city’s limits.As residents of Jerusalem
themselves, the authors are well-positioned to offer an assessment of
Israeli rule. In doing so, they draw attention to the long-time mayor
of the city, Teddy Kollek, and how he failed to perform his job
satisfactorily.Given the importance of the city itself, the
authors advocate better management of the city’s resources by the
Israelis for the benefit of all of its residents.