ISRAEL: A week in the life of Jerusalem

Something's always going on in Jerusalem. Ordinary citizens attempt to go about their daily business, weaving their way among the entourages of visiting dignitaries, the prime minister's convoys, demonstrations against this and rallies in favor of that.

In Jerusalem, lofty political and diplomatic matters affect the running of the most mundane of errands and this week's specials include the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors, Nicolas and Carla Sarkozy, a demonstration for Gilad Shalit's release, the inauguration of Santiago Calatrava's tremendous bridge over the city entrance, 'Lovers of Jerusalem' planning to hug the Old City walls — and to top things off, the gay pride parade.  All it takes is 15 people of any age taking a can of paint to a bed sheet to create a banner for or against any of the above and standing at a crucial junction for a quarter of an hour for Jerusalemites to know they're going to be late to wherever it is they're going.

Big or small, Jerusalem does 'em all.

The Jerusalem police work hard to direct traffic, diverting drivers this way for that convoy and that way for this security detail. The municipal spokespeople are drowning in endless liaison and protocol- but hardest of all workers are the city's flag-hangers. XX hundreds of delegations visit the city every year, XX of flags are printed at a total cost of XX. It takes the city XX people to hang them with a fleet of XX cranes — and these guys work hard.  I did intend to give you the actual numbers, honest. But the city's press department has just been too swamped the whole week to provide the information, which kind of illustrates the point.

At least Israeli drivers get to play traffic-jam trivia and practice their flags while waiting at the entrance to town. Sarkozy left town Tuesday and the radio stations can stop playing those French chansons between the morning interviews. But Wednesday's bumper-to-bumper was still saluting France's three vertical stripes of blue, white and red.  

— Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem.

Top: announcement for a demonstration marking two years since the abduction of Gilad Shalit, Hebrew University Billboard.

Bottom: French flag over Jerusalem-bound traffic.

Credits: Batsheva Sobelman/Los Angeles Times.