For Seattleites, will December 2009 echo our sometimes divisive 2008 experience with urban snow? Or might snow provide a basis for new unity of purpose?

In one of the most documented, and most disputed urban places, sometimes it snows, bringing to mind the interconnectedness and universality of snow implied for a divided Ireland in James Joyce’s 1914 short story, “The Dead”. When I read of the 2008 snow in Jerusalem, I searched for new images to update photos from long ago, and in the process rediscovered some touching words describing how an earlier Jerusalem snow event brought a feeling of unity to an often divided Middle Eastern urban fabric:

“The flakes combined as they touched ground, forming a thin, crystalline layer on the surfaces of the city. From Saladin Street in the east to Jaffa Road in the west, the whiteness was gathering. It was early evening, and in the light of dusk, snow was falling in Jerusalem.”

Photo from Daily Mail, January 30, 2008:

Photo from onejerusalem.com, January, 2008: