海角大神

Facing an auditorium full of fidgeting junior high school students, the odd couple offered the traditional Jewish High Holy Day blessing that the students be 鈥渋nscribed in the book of life鈥� for the coming year.

鈥淵ou should have an easy fast,鈥� said Sheikh Samir Assi, chief Imam of the Al Jazaaar mosque in Acre鈥檚 Old City, who was preparing this week for Eid al-Adha. This year the Muslim festival starts at the same time as the fasting day of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.

The sheikh had been preceded by a sermon on forgiveness and spiritual stock-taking by Yosef Yashar, the chief rabbi of this ancient Mediterranean port in northern Israel called Akko in Hebrew and Akka in Arabic.

The clerics鈥� joint appearance was arranged because the rare serendipity of spiritual cycles is putting the civic fabric of Acre and other mixed Jewish-Arab cities in Israel 鈥� already strained by the conflict in the Gaza Strip this summer 鈥� to the test over the coming day.

Starting Friday evening, Jews will mark the holiest day of the year with prayer and abstinence while their Muslim neighbors will be doing the exact opposite with Eid al-Adha鈥檚 custom of feasts and family visits.

Rabbi Yashar and Sheikh Assi have been visiting both Arab and Jewish school groups this past week with an earnest appeal for religious tolerance and mutual respect. The ecumenical outreach is part of a preemptive city-wide campaign aimed at avoiding a recurrence of Acre鈥檚 troubled recent past.聽

In 2008, tensions during the solemn Yom Kippur observance sparked a week of rioting between Jews and Arabs. Fearing that the once-in-30-years syncing of sacred holidays could spur a repeat, Acre officials embarked on a multi-pronged campaign of informational outreach, sermons, and security deployments.

鈥淎t the time that Jews should be in聽synagogue and praying, they [Muslims] are celebrating. [The holidays] are totally opposite,鈥欌�� said Ohad Segev, director general of the Acre Municipality, which counts 28 percent of the city鈥檚 population as Arab. 鈥淭he whole big deal is 25 hours that we need to keep things quiet.鈥�

On Yom Kippur, a day of prayer, introspection, and asking for forgiveness, most residents of Jewish towns don鈥檛 drive and shops are shuttered, and the religiously observant fast for just over a full day. During the four-day festival of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice 鈥� marking Abraham鈥檚 willingness to sacrifice his son 鈥� traditions involve family visiting and holiday barbecues.

鈥淛ust the smell of barbecue is enough to drive you crazy,鈥欌�� says Yossi Aboutbul, who lives in a mixed neighborhood of villas that was engulfed by fighting six years ago.

Threat to city's image, and to tourism聽

Accounts differ about just what started the 2008 riots, but what everyone here seems to agree on is that a group of Jews first attacked an Arab who had driven into their neighborhood. Arab family members came within hours and attacked Jewish cars.

There鈥檚 a lot at stake for Acre: Beyond any further damage to the image of coexistence it wants to project to the country, ethnic violence would jeopardize tourism and an annual fall theater festival that draws thousands of Israelis to the city and is itself a symbol of that coexistence.

Though it鈥檚 been calm since the 2008 riots, relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel have been soured by the Gaza war and the murder of a Palestinian teen from Jerusalem, an act of vigilante revenge for the killing of three Jewish teens in the West Bank.

鈥淭he scars [from 2008] still exist. The war that we experienced moved relations between Arabs and Jews onto a lower plane,鈥� said Zoheir Baloul, an Arab-Israeli soccer sportscaster who lives in the city and is active in multi-faith dialogue. 鈥淣o one has an interest in fanning the fires.鈥� I would request that if Jews see some celebration, hear music, or see someone happy, they have to understand this is the spirit of the holiday.鈥�

The municipality wants to untangle and separate between the solemn and the festive as much as possible. Roads will be designated for Arabs and revelers will be encouraged to hold barbecues in聽predominantly Arab areas rather than Jewish neighborhoods. Police will be deployed throughout the city with the goal of nipping any friction in the bud.

Sermons on tolerance

East Jerusalem, always a potential flashpoint, will see a special deployment, and security forces will be on alert in other mixed cities in Israel, said a police spokesperson. Tel Aviv authorities say they have reached out to religious leaders in the mixed district of Jaffa and asked for tolerance.

Just as important, say officials in Acre, has been the outreach campaign. Muslim and Jewish clerics have been giving sermons on tolerance in mosques and synagogues, and the city distributed fliers calling on residents to respect each other鈥檚 holidays.

Back at the school auditorium of Jewish students,聽Rabbi Yashar spoke about the need to focus on personal introspection on Yom Kippur, and said Jews shouldn鈥檛 be angered by Muslim neighbors who are liable to be doing something different.

鈥淭hey are different in opinion, beliefs and customs. Great. That鈥檚 beautiful.聽What unites all is that we鈥檙e all human beings,鈥澛爃e said.

鈥淲e respect everyone who is different that us. So if it鈥檚 Yom Kippur for me, and Eid al-Adha for my neighbor, he observes this and I observe differently, we are still brothers. Even if we see someone who doesn鈥檛 behave like we do, we forgive. We don鈥檛 get angry.鈥�

Sheikh Assi told the students he often spoke with pride about the coexistence in Acre during drips to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He urged the students to preserve that.

鈥淲e have a life and a future, but sometimes there is a small minority that waits for the moment to wreck it all. Don鈥檛 let them,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 let anyone from the Jewish side or the Arab side dirty the beautiful picture of Acre.鈥�

Doves on fliers

Though the students looked slightly bored and emerged from the auditorium snapping selfies, one group of girls said they got the message. They too remember the riots, and don鈥檛 want a recurrence.聽

In Acre鈥檚 Old City, the Arab produce merchants show the dove-adorned fliers in Hebrew and Arabic from the municipality calling for calm and mutual respect. They said they plan to take special precautions not to barbecue near Jewish neighbors, or drive in cars to avoid stoking tensions.

Back at the municipality, officials are holding their breath over the next day. For all the public support for coexistence in Acre, Mr. Segev acknowledges that tension is a chronic condition.

鈥淚t鈥檚 built-in, in Israel, and our job is to take a small spark and close it down,鈥澛爃e said. 鈥淲e are doing everything we can to avoid another Yom Kippur riot.鈥�