Today, on the Jewish calendar, is Pesach Sheni, which in the times of the Temples was the make-up date for those unable to bring the paschal sacrifice a month earlier. It is also, traditionally, the anniversary of the death of a legendary wonderworker named Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes, Meir the Master of the Miracle. Tamar Marvin writes:

Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes has become a popular, saintly figure, thought to be an intercessor on behalf of the needy, particularly for the finding of lost belongings.

Beginning in the 18th century, various hasidic groups established charitable foundations, some of which continue to the present, to raise funds on behalf of those in need in the Land of Israel; their collection boxes became near-ubiquitous in the later 19th century. Today you can buy a portrait of Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes on TzadikimPortraits.com; read a graphic novel about him; or visit [a] semi-official website dedicated to Rabbi Meir or another devoted to his tomb. In times of need, giving charity and calling upon the God of Rabbi Meir to answer you three times is always a possibility; should one need to find a lost item, there is a special formula to say before invoking Rabbi Meir’s memory.

Who, then, is Rabbi Meir Ba’al ha-Nes? He is strongly and most commonly identified with the great, storied [2nd-century] Rabbi Meir, mentioned thousands of times on the pages of the Talmuds, the consummate sage, disciple of Rabbi Ishmael and especially Rabbi Akiva, ordained under threat of death, . . . as well as the descendant of the late-converted Roman emperor Nero, the student of the notorious talmudic heretic Elisha ben Avuyah, and the husband of the exceptionally learned Bruriah.

One of Hamas’s most notable failures since October 7 is that it has not succeeded in inspiring a violent uprising either among the Palestinians of the West Bank or the Arab citizens of Israel. The latter seem horrified by Hamas’s actions and tend to sympathize with their own country. In the former case, quiet has been maintained by the IDF and Shin Bet, which have carried out a steady stream of arrests, raids, and even airstrikes.

But there is a third category of Arab living in Israel, namely the Arabs of Jerusalem, whose intermediate legal status gives them access to Israeli social services and the right to vote in municipal elections. They may also apply for Israeli citizenship if they so desire, although most do not.

On Wednesday, off-duty Israeli soldiers in the Old City of Jerusalem shot at a Palestinian who, it seems, was attempting to attack them. But this incident is a rare exception to the quiet that has prevailed in Arab Jerusalem since the war began. Eytan Laub asked a friend in an Arab neighborhood why:

Listen, he said, we . . . have much to lose. We already fear that any confrontation would have consequences. Making trouble may put our residence rights at risk. Furthermore, he added, not a few in the neighborhood, including his own family, have applied for Israeli citizenship and participating in disturbances would hardly help with that.

Such an attitude reflects a general trend since the end of the second intifada:

In recent years, the numbers of [Arab] Jerusalemites applying for Israeli citizenship has risen, as the social stigma of becoming Israeli has begun to erode and despite an Israeli naturalization process that can take years and result in denial (because of the requirement to show Jerusalem residence or the need to pass a Hebrew language test). The number of east Jerusalemites granted citizenship has also risen, from 827 in 2009 to over 1,600 in 2020.

Oddly enough, Laub goes on to argue, the construction of the West Bank separation fence in the early 2000s, which cuts through the Arab-majority parts of Jerusalem, has helped to encouraged better relations.