Oh, Jerusalem! Berlin exhibition encapsulates troubled past, sobering present

THE IRISH TIMES
By Derek Scally in Berlin

An ancient book with Jewish text, part of the “Welcome to Jerusalem” exhibition in Berlin. The diverse challenges Jerusalem faces are presented in historical displays, artistic reactions and medial staging. Photograph: Felipe Trueba/EPA

When Germans talk of a Reise nach Jerusalem, they might be discussing a trip to the city recognised last week by US president Donald Trump as the capital of Israel. Or they might be referring to the game we know as musical chairs: too many people march around too few chairs and, when the music stops, the person who fails to grab a chair is excluded. Given that the game usually ends in tears, its German fits perfectly with Jerusalem’s 5,000-year history of too many groups fighting over contested spaces to the exclusion of one or more – often with catastrophic results. From now until April, anyone taking a trip to Berlin can take a quick detour to Jerusalem, in a striking new exhibition at the German capital’s Jewish Museum.[More]